Plan for Sierra may create jobs, healthy forests
By Marc Benjamin, Fresno Bee
A state agency overseeing the 22-county Sierra region is preparing an ambitious plan to add jobs in mountain communities, keep forests healthy, protect water supplies and reduce fire danger.
And, to make sure the Sustainable Sierra Nevada Initiative has wide support, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy is working with timber, environmental, biomass and government officials to develop it.
Most agree that forests need thinning to reduce the threat of catastrophic fire, and those forest operations could create new job opportunities.
But balancing forest management with environmental concerns has been a tricky proposition.