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Post Office Box 506 Santa Cruz, CA 95061 | 831-423-3191 www.ventanawild.org vwa@ventanawild.org |
Bruce Emmens, Monterey District Ranger
Los Padres National Forest
406 South Mildred
King City, CA 93930
August 23, 1999
RE: TWITCHELL GRAZING ALLOMENT: SCOPING COMMENTS
Dear Bruce:
Thank you for allowing the Ventana Wilderness Alliance this opportunity to comment on the Twitchell grazing allotment.
We agree with and applaud your proposal to eliminate grazing on this allotment. Even the permittee, Mr. Avila, agreed with the proposal at the recent meeting at Pacific Valley.
The Forest Service obviously recognizes the tremendous ecological importance of the Cone Peak Gradient Research Natural Area, and this proposal to retire the grazing allotment there is one of sound policy and judgement.
Please consider giving attention to the following issues if the proposal to eliminate is approved, and feel free to call on the VWA for volunteer assistance:
1. Remove the barbed wire fencing at Twitchell Flats and along the access road leading from Highway 1.
2. Remove and/or relocate the existing water tank and trough inside the Ventana Wilderness at Twitchell Flat and at the spring above the Flat. Please also remove all of the plastic water pipe in the area.
3. Develop a vegetation monitoring plan, possibly using volunteers and/or Big Creek Reserve researchers, to study the effects of removing cattle grazing from this allotment.
Thank you for this opportunity to comment. Please mail us a copy of the draft NEPA document for this allotment so that we may offer further input.
Sincerely,
Steve Chambers, Jon Libby, Boon Hughey
Ventana Wilderness Alliance Grazing Committee Co-chairs
