Bush Administration Proposes Sale of National Forest Lands

By Shirley Hsu, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Calif.

Mar. 1–NATIONAL FOREST — Two parcels of national forest land in Azusa and San Dimas could be up for sale under a Bush administration plan to sell public lands to help pay for rural schools and roads, according to a map released Tuesday.

The two parcels, totaling 90 acres, are small compared to lands earmarked for sale in other Southern California forests, such as the San Bernardino National Forest, where about 380 acres are marked for sale. More than 300,000 acres nationwide are listed for potential sale under the controversial proposal, including about 80,000 acres in California.

The two parcels in the Angeles were chosen in part because they are surrounded by private land and not contiguous with the rest of the Angeles National Forest, said Raina Fulton, the park’s recreation and lands officer.

“We are not using either, except as open space,” she said.

One 13-acre parcel in Azusa sits in a wash area between Encanto Parkway and the San Gabriel River near Vulcan Materials’ Reliance Quarry. The other, in San Dimas, is a steep undeveloped 77-acre parcel south of Johnstone Peak.

The Bush administration plan has drawn criticism from legislators and conservation groups.

While the acreage in the Angeles is small, other forests in California would be hit hard by the sell-off, said Carl Zichella, Sierra Club regional staff director for California, Nevada and Hawaii.

“We are adamantly opposed to this idea. Selling off public lands for short-term funding is very bad public policy,” Zichella said.

Sierra Club Angeles Chapter officials said they are looking into what effect the sale of the two parcels could have.

Under the plan, forest land nationwide would be auctioned to provide funding to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, which provides funding for rural counties.

Forest Service officials said the parcels considered for sale are isolated, inefficient to manage and make up less than two-tenths of one percent of the Forest Service’s 193-million-acre forest system.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary Mark Rey said in a news conference the sales are necessary because there is no alternative funding for rural schools.

“Even though some parcels may serve public needs, they don’t serve national forest needs,” Rey said.

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