Encompassing some 5.7 million acres, the Shasta-Trinity, Klamath, Six Rivers, and Mendocino National Forests contain some of the largest roadless areas remaining in the West, including well-known places like the Trinity Alps Wilderness and remote areas like the North Fork Eel River Wilderness. The rivers in these areas were renowned for their historically large salmon runs, and many are designated under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act due to their outstanding natural values and recreational opportunities.
However, the Forest Service now has numerous logging plans slated for ancient forests and roadless areas, and rampant cattle grazing is causing serious harm to salmon and steelhead habitat. These and other damaging activities are posing serious threats to our National Forests, along with the spotted owls, coho salmon, steelhead trout, and other wonderful creatures that rely on them.
EPIC monitors all activities proposed within the four National Forests in our region, submitting detailed comments, preparing solid appeals, and seeking judicial review on the most egregious of them. Since its start in 2001, EPIC's National Forest Conservation Program has led a coalition of organizations to halt a massive, 1,050 acre logging sale adjacent to the Trinity Alps Wilderness through successful litigation, and we have won several administrative appeals.
