KTVN Channel 2 - Reno Tahoe News Weather, Video - Forest Service Releases Angora Fire Area Restoration Proposal
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From the U.S. Forest Service:
The U.S. Forest Service, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) is seeking public comment on a proposal for restoring the Angora Fire area.
"Since the fire affected the entire landscape, the proposal looks at National Forest System lands in the Angora Fire area from an ecosystem restoration perspective, setting forth desired conditions for vegetation, fuels, wildlife, watershed and roads and trails and outlining activities to achieve them," said Forest Supervisor Terri Marceron. "The goal of the proposed action is not to restore the fire area to the conditions immediately prior to the fire, but to move toward a more properly functioning ecosystem."
In early summer 2008, the Forest Service identified opportunities for potential restoration activities and sought public input. Approximately 60 people attended a public open house meeting and an additional 15 people submitted written comments or called with input. The proposed action incorporates this initial public input, comments from local agencies, resource inventories, water quality monitoring and Forest Service resource management direction.
A public meeting to explain the proposal and encourage public comment is planned for Tuesday, March 3rd, at the meeting rooms of the Inn by the Lake, 3300 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe, Calif., from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The meeting will use an open house format, with brief presentations at 4:00 p.m. and again at 5:30 p.m. In between the presentations, attendees will have the opportunity to visit information stations to learn about the project in more detail, ask questions and submit comments.
The proposal is the third phase of restoration efforts for 2,700 acres of National Forest Lands burned in the 2007 Angora Fire. The two earlier phases included immediate rehabilitation of fire lines and other impacts of fire suppression, as well as Burned Area Emergency Response projects in the fall of 2007 to reduce erosion potential, stabilize soils and control noxious weeds.
Comments concerning this project will be most helpful if they are submitted by Friday, March 13, 2009, which is the end of the 30-day public scoping period. We encourage you to be as specific as possible in your comments with regard to potential effects of the proposed action.
