U.S. to double tree cutting for fire prevention in Sierra | S F Chronicle

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U.S. to double tree cutting for fire prevention in Sierra
Forest Service scraps Clinton-era quotas

Lynda Gledhill, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Friday, January 23, 2004

Sacramento -- The U.S. Forest Service made final an ambitious plan for doubling the amount of timber cut in the Sierra Nevada forest Thursday, drawing the ire of environmentalists and only tepid support from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration.

The "Forests with a Future" plan is designed to decrease catastrophic wildfires in the Sierra Nevada's 11 national forests by aggressively thinning on federal land.

Officials said the devastating wildfires in Southern California last year should be a wake-up call for action for the Sierra, where 850 communities have been classified as at risk of a catastrophic fire.

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