December 07, 2016
Fuel Break Would Destroy Rare Plants that Exist Nowhere Else on Earth
On behalf of two California conservation organizations, Los Padres ForestWatch and the California Chaparral Institute, Earthrise filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Tuesday to protect rare and sensitive species that live in the path of a massive, remote fuel break recently approved in the Los Padres National Forest.
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<picture class="lw_image"> <source type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 500px)" srcset="/live/image/gid/456/width/500/64229_los_padres-refugio_manzanita-_pic_by_miguel_vieira__.rev.1481143668.webp 1x, /live/image/scale/2x/gid/456/width/500/64229_los_padres-refugio_manzanita-_pic_by_miguel_vieira__.rev.1481143668.webp 2x"/> <source type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 800px)" srcset="/live/image/gid/456/width/800/64229_los_padres-refugio_manzanita-_pic_by_miguel_vieira__.rev.1481143668.webp 1x"/> <source type="image/webp" media="(min-width: 801px)" srcset="/live/image/gid/456/width/1000/64229_los_padres-refugio_manzanita-_pic_by_miguel_vieira__.rev.1481143668.webp 1x"/> <source type="image/jpeg" media="(max-width: 500px)" srcset="/live/image/gid/456/width/500/64229_los_padres-refugio_manzanita-_pic_by_miguel_vieira__.rev.1481143668.jpg 1x, /live/image/scale/2x/gid/456/width/500/64229_los_padres-refugio_manzanita-_pic_by_miguel_vieira__.rev.1481143668.jpg 2x"/> <source type="image/jpeg" media="(max-width: 800px)" srcset="/live/image/gid/456/width/800/64229_los_padres-refugio_manzanita-_pic_by_miguel_vieira__.rev.1481143668.jpg 1x"/> <source type="image/jpeg" media="(min-width: 801px)" srcset="/live/image/gid/456/width/1000/64229_los_padres-refugio_manzanita-_pic_by_miguel_vieira__.rev.1481143668.jpg 1x"/> <img src="/live/image/gid/456/width/1000/64229_los_padres-refugio_manzanita-_pic_by_miguel_vieira__.rev.1481143668.jpg" width="1000" height="750" alt="Refugio manzanita" data-max-w="1024" data-max-h="768"/></picture>
Refugio manzanita
Miguel Vieira
On behalf of two California conservation organizations, Los Padres ForestWatch and the California Chaparral Institute, Earthrise filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Tuesday to protect rare and sensitive species that live in the path of a massive, remote fuel break recently approved in the Los Padres National Forest.
The Gaviota Fuel Break would clear-cut native chaparral vegetation across a six-mile-long, 300-foot-wide swath along the crest of the scenic Santa Ynez Mountains in Santa Barbara County. Far from any structures, the fuel break will destroy rare Refugio manzanita plants that exist nowhere else on earth.
The Gaviota Fuel Break would clear-cut native chaparral vegetation across a six-mile-long, 300-foot-wide swath along the crest of the scenic Santa Ynez Mountains in Santa Barbara County. Far from any structures, the fuel break will destroy rare Refugio manzanita plants that exist nowhere else on earth.
The lawsuit asks the court to order the Forest Service to conduct a proper environmental analysis of the Gaviota Fuel Break and to implement the project consistent with the Los Padres Forest Plan, which requires buffers around Refugio manzanita populations and basic protections for at least two other rare plants and animals in the path of the fuel break.
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Allison LaPlante
Allison LaPlante
Earthrise Law Center
Lewis & Clark Law School
10101 S. Terwilliger Boulevard MSC 51
Portland OR 97219