Douglas Canyon – Ely BLM PJ Deforestation and Cow Project Expansion
This vague project was planned under a NEPA non-analysis “DNA” tiered to a series of Ely BLM’s destructive deforestation-based Watershed EAs. The DNA treatments cut down, pile burn and masticate trees on 3000 acres (nearly all the existing forest cover) across a 20,000 acre project area. BLM used its usual lofty language about “restoration” and “fuels reduction” but never clearly specified which forest or sparse tree areas would be attacked. When we visited the site on a brutally hot day, we found that portions of the project area are home to tiny ancient juniper trees and cliffrose that should recognized as a national treasure. The photos depict the “hazardous fuels” BLM wants to “reduce”. The main hazardous fuel is cheatgrass in areas previously disturbed. This landscape should be an ACEC given the alluring ancient trees and other fragile native flora. Not ripped to pieces with Ely BLM treatments and more cow projects. BLM segmented in more cow projects under a separate decision. Why are carbon-sequestering shading trees being wiped out during an escalating climate catastrophe? The Bureau of Livestock and Mining, with its baked-in unreformable Manifest Destiny management of public lands, needs to be abolished – and a whole new agency with a preservation mandate created.
Old growth Cliffrose. Native shrubs and mountain mahogany growing among PJ communities also fall victim to BLM and USFS PJ “treatments”. The agency Landfire models used by the Region 4 Forest Service have fire return intervals” that are ridiculously short for all wild land woody plants. Witness the series of recent “Condition-Based Management” Region 4 “Prescribed Fire” EAs – where all mature native woody vegetation communities from Greasewood to Limber Pine are in the “treatment” crosshairs. Particularly absurd and egregious examples of this are the Manti-La Sal Plan and Dixie forest “treatment” documents.
Portion of the Douglas Canyon site. Utah Juniper typically are the lowest elevation forest species in central Nevada. Then a mixed Pinyon-Juniper community, with Pinyon dominating at the higher elevations – and other conifer species above the pinyon if the mountain range is high enough.
Pale Jackrabbit trail across great biotic crusts (dark color) and soil surface complexity. The rabbits don’t break through the crusts, but skim a little off the surface leaving the weed preventing crusts intact. BLM mastication or pile burning “treatments” are accompanied by lots of cross-country motorized travel harming crusts and sage as collateral damage.
Such marvelous old junipers here, and there is evidence of past wood cutting and destruction of many others.
As part of a separate segmented decision from the vegetation “treatment”, BLM imposed some new cow projects in Douglas Canyon to intensify cattle grazing even more. This is despite this general area of BLM and Ely Ranger District Humboldt-Toiyabe Forest lands developments that concentrate cattle causing extensive ecological degradation, as shown below.
