Save Upper Echo Lake

In a one sentence memo dated July 20, 2015, the Forest Service withdrew its November 2012 decision to implement the Upper Echo Lake Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project. This marks an important milestone in the effort to address both the impacts of the Project and the agency mismanagement that led to its development in the first instance, including the effort to skirt required federal environmental review.

On July 13, 2015, Dennis Murphy submitted a request for correction under the Information Quality Act to the U.S. Forest Service. The request seeks correction of information in two documents generated in support of the Upper Echo Lake Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project: 1.   USDA Forest Service, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit of El Dorado County, CA, Decision Memo – Upper Echo Lakes Hazardous Fuels Reduction (November 15, 2012). 2.   United States Department of Agriculture-Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Biological Assessment/Biological Evaluation Terrestrial Species (April 23, 2012). The documents overstate the fire risk in the project area and understate the environmental impacts associated with implementation of the project on native species, wetlands, and water quality. The Information Quality Act (IQA) requires agencies to develop guidelines to assure a basic quality of information is disseminated.  The Office of Management and Budget (OMB)...