Forest Service FOIA Response Inadequate; Appeal Pending

As already reported on this blog, the Forest Service responded to a FOIA request for records related to the Upper Echo Lake Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project by withholding large amounts of material the agency was obliged to disclose. One of the more egregious examples is an e-mail from Forest Service staff to Regional Water Quality Control Board staff displayed below.
The agency invokes the attorney-client privilege for a communication on which there are no attorneys.  And it claims deliberative process for a communication not only outside the agency but to a state government employee acting in a regulatory capacity.  This is plainly contrary to the law.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Relief at Upper Echo Lake Overshadowed by Prescribed Burns Elsewhere in the Region

On the heels of a settlement agreement that signals the end of the Forest Service's plans to cut, pile, and burn vegetation around Upper Echo Lake south of Lake Tahoe, there are grim reminders of continuing agency mismanagement of forestry resources in the vicinity. First, prescribed burns in the El Dorado and Lake Tahoe National Forests contributed to poor air quality in the region, as reported here .  This led regulators to encourage Washoe County residents to stay indoors. Second, according to reporter Jason Hidalgo , the Little Valley Fire, which has destroyed dozens of homes and other buildings in Washoe Valley, may have been caused by prescribed burns in the area. Federal and state forestry agencies are staunch advocates for prescribed burns.  We wonder if there is empirical research to support their position.  At least one expert thinks otherwise as reported some time ago on the NEPA Lab blog .  Robert E. Keane in his book Wildland Fuel Fundamentals and Application (S
Read more

Context for Forest Service Action

Image
This image provides wonderful context to assess the Forest Service's ill-conceived Upper Echo Lake Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project. Notice how sparse the vegetation is at this elevation.  Certainly when one thinks about wildfire risk, this is not the image the mind conjures.
Read more

Forest Service Activity at Upper Echo Lake Threatens Water Quality

Image
The Upper Echo Lake Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project being implemented by the Forest Service threatens to degrade water quality in both Upper and Lower Echo Lakes.  The Project includes placement of large amounts of biomass adjacent to the lakes.  In the photo below, piles have been placed in the foreground. This material, which the Forest Service plans to burn in place, could soon end up in the lakes with devastating consequences.
Read more