The U.S. Forest Service, also known as the Forest Disservice, is at it again with plans for clear cutting parts of 1,200 acres near Frisco. It is critical to comment, however briefly, on the project at FS.USDA.gov/project/?project=63395 before May 15 .

The scoping letter and hard-to-read map give little detail but basically would give them carte blanche authority for “fuel-reduction treatment.” The letter also suggests that the Town of Frisco was involved in the plan. So, if you live in Frisco, please contact your council members to see where they stand and start thinking about who should be running in the next election.

Don’t let fear mongering about fire threat justify the decimation and expect people to accept it. While hauling away the trees — “fuel reduction” — may reduce the mass of material available to burn; the grasses, weeds and then bushes that dominate for the next thirty years or so after deforestation will catch fire far more readily and spread that fire far faster than any forest. Just ask the people of Marshall. 

The “Frisco Backyard” has already suffered immense damage. Ask locals about Rainbow Lake; ask cross-country skiers about the giant hole in the Peaks Trail. Give nature a break. After 80-100 years since its last clear-cutting, the beetle-impacted forest is just now finally at the stage where it is beginning to morph back into the wonderful, stable, age-and-species-diverse, climax spruce-fir forest that it once was and always should be. 

While you’re asking questions, play detective, follow the money. Who could possibly benefit from the deforestation? A contractor in Hotchkiss? A Forest Disservice planner 100 years from now plotting once again to cut it down?