No Rocks in Forest, but Dump Is OK?
* I watched news reports recently about a rockslide on Highway 133 in Los Padres National Forest near Ojai that was caused by winter rains. It seems that this highway has been closed since the rains and Caltrans is unable to clear the rocks and debris from the roadway because the U. S. Forest Service will not allow them to place the debris into the forest (May 15).
The rocks blocking the roadway are natural material that was once a part of the mountains and the national forest, but the Forest Service is concerned that this could have a negative effect on the environment and ecosystem of the forest.
Now I am really confused. The Forest Service, without an environmental-impact report, is concerned about the damage to the forest from natural elements. This is the same Forest Service that would not be concerned about the environmental impact to the ecosystem from a 190-million-ton dump in Elsmere Canyon in the Angeles National Forest if a “mitigated” EIR said it was OK.
This EIR would not state that there would be no harmful impact to Elsmere Canyon or our community, it would merely say that such an impact could be “mitigated.” And even if there were major environmental concerns, they could be ignored by the Forest Service.
Is there a double standard here? It’s OK to dump your trash in the forest but it’s not OK to dump forest land in the forest. I don’t get it.
LEE SCHRAMLING
Santa Clarita
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