The U.S. Forest Service has announced a massive burning project for the Sequoia and Sierra National Forests in California that covers 2.4 million acres—including all Wildernesses on these two national forests—over 842,000 acres total.

In the so-called "Sequoia and Sierra National Forests Prescribed Fire Project," some of America’s most loved Wilderness areas are at stake, including the Ansel Adams, Dinkey Lakes, John Muir, Kaiser, Kiavah, Monarch, South Sierra, Dome Land, Jennie Lakes, and Golden Trout Wildernesses.

While we recognize that fire has played, and continues to play, an important ecological role in these Wildernesses, the Forest Service proposal represents a huge human-driven manipulation of Wilderness that is inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the 1964 Wilderness Act. From a wilderness perspective, it is far better to allow natural, lightning-caused fire to play its role, rather than to invade Wilderness to cut down "undesirable" trees and burn forests based on human wishes and desires.

Wilderness Watch is urging the Forest Service to spare all Wilderness areas in the two national forests from this extensive burning and habitat manipulation project.

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Photo: Manager-ignited burn in Sierra National Forest by Kari Greer/USFS.