Brawley Mountain
Responding to U.S. Forest Service proposals is at the core of what we do. Along with our staff forest ecologist, volunteers called District Leaders get out on the ground to determine if agency proposals are accurate, make sense ecologically and will not harm streams, rare habitat, older forests or protected areas. ForestWatch is fighting a controversial proposal that would use a combination of logging, burning, and spraying herbicide on Brawley Mountain.
ForestWatch Fights 725-Acre Logging Proposal
In December of 2005, the U.S. Forest Service proposed various levels of logging, prescribed fire and herbicide use on 725 acres on the south side of Brawley Mountain in Fannin County, Georgia. ForestWatch staff and volunteers studied the proposal and surveyed the mountain.
After 3 visits to Brawley and careful review of the proposal, ForestWatch drafted a detailed response which led to delaying the project and a re-design of the total proposal. We await a final decision for further comment on this controversial project.
In a nutshell, our position on this proposal is as follows: If the U.S. Forest Service wants to do experimental forestry practices, these should be done on a small scale with preliminary studies and follow-up monitoring for judging success, either making adjustments or ending the project. We believe the original scope of this project is too large to justify the experimental techniques being proposed and it would result in damage to older forests.
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U.S Forest Service Documents:
- ForestWatch response to the agency’s Environmental Assessment (NEW)
- ForestWatch response to the agency’s proposal
- Newsletter article: Spring 2006 “Apples and Oranges and Clear Cutting for Golden-Winged Warblers”
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