The Forest Service will use heavy industrial equipment to log trees and remove chaparral and other native vegetation on up to 90,700 acres of Los Padres National Forest. Living, healthy trees up to 24″ in diameter can be cut using a variety of methods according to the proposal. Fuel breaks thousands of feet wide and miles long would be created across even the most remote parts of the forest, far from communities at risk.
38,317 acres of roadless areas.
The plan clears vegetation across some of the last wild, undeveloped areas in our region. It overlaps 34 areas that are supposed to be protected under the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. It will substantially alter the character of these lands with a network of fuel breaks, some 1,500 feet wide or more.
6,844 acres of proposed wilderness.
The plan could disqualify lands proposed for permanent protection under the Central Coast Heritage Protection Act. This bill is part of a decade-long community driven effort to expand existing Wilderness areas and establish new ones using our country’s most powerful tool for land conservation.
290 miles of trails.
Some of the most popular trails used by hikers, mountain bikers, trail runners, equestrians, and off-road vehicles will be stripped of plants and shade. It could make trails hotter, more exposed, and susceptible to erosion, diminishing the outdoor experience for everyone.
Undisclosed tribal sacred sites.
The plan would affect an undisclosed number of sites and landscapes that are spiritually and culturally important to Native American groups and Tribes, including the Chumash, Salinan, Esselen, Yokuts, and Tataviam people. These sacred places hold deep significance to Indigenous people throughout the region for ceremony, gathering, and storytelling. Indigenous voices and traditional knowledge must help guide the future of these lands.
26,048 acres of critical habitat.
Federal biologists have identified “critical habitat” that is essential to the survival of endangered and threatened species. The project would eviscerate this habitat, destroying a safety net for imperiled wildlife like California red-legged frogs, arroyo toads, southwestern willow flycatchers, and a rare plant called the Camatta Canyon amole.
16 miles of steelhead streams.
Streams are the lifeblood of the forest, providing havens for wildlife in an increasingly arid climate. Many of these waterways provide spawning grounds for steelhead, a unique species of fish that lives part of its life in fresh water and part in the ocean, returning to its native stream to spawn and start the cycle anew.
