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Management plan proposed for Shawnee Forest

BY BECKY MALKOVICH
THE SOUTHERN

Thursday, April 21, 2005 6:44 AM CDT

MARION - The mission for U.S. Forest Service personnel sounds simple enough: Draft a Shawnee National Forest management plan that will care for the land and serve the people.

However, given the scope of the draft - it must provide for the management of some 280,000 acres of land spanning nine Southern Illinois counties - simplicity is not an option. That's because the plan must take into account not only the land, but the plants and animals it contains, as well as the hundreds of thousands of humans who will visit the forest over the next 10 to 15 years.

So instead of simplicity, the management plan, at more than 800 pages, is a complex document that tries to balance the needs of the public with those of the forest. The proposed forest plan decides the type of projects that are appropriate but makes no site-specific decisions and is the result of several years of study by the forest service. The plan is a requirement of the 1976 National Forest Management Act and must be revised every 10 to 15 years.

The plan addresses seven primary issues including watershed resources, biological diversity, and wildlife and aquatic habitat, recreation management, forest ecosystem health and sustainability, minerals management, wilderness, roadless areas, and wild and scenic rivers and ownership adjustment.

"Our goal is conservation and using the resources

in a way that will provide for them in perpetuity," said Becky Banker, public affairs officer for the service. "This is a relatively small chunk of land but there is huge interest in it. Frequently, those people who are interested in it have thoughts on its management that are diametrically opposed. By definition, that's controversy."

And the plan did draw plenty of controversy at the first of three public open houses held by the service Tuesday in Marion to solicit public comment and answer any questions attendees might have.

One of the biggest bones of contention is the proposed plan's limiting of equestrian use to designated system trails and prohibiting the use of all-terrain vehicles. While ATV use is currently prohibited, that is because of a court injunction rather than because the ban is part of the current forest plan. Equestrian use is currently allowed on some 95 percent of forest service land, but that use will be limited under the proposed plan.

"Yes we have concerns about the plan," said Garry Jenkins of Marion. "Everyone should have. They are limiting my access to federal property as an equestrian person."

While Jenkins admits there is some "slight" damage caused by equestrian use in the forest, "With a little maintenance, that could be corrected. If they'd (forest service personnel) get out of their little green trucks and fix those trails, we wouldn't be in this mess."

James Tanner of Stonefort attended Tuesday's meeting because "I'm not for shutting anyone out of public land. There's room for everybody. They took ATVs out, now horses. What's next? Hunters?"

Of the proposed plan and its alternatives, Jenkins prefers the plan that would keep current forest practices unchanged.

Clara McClure of Carbondale, a self-described "spring wildflower freak," has been walking the trails of the Shawnee since 1958, and said she has seen the damage caused by horses in the forest. "I came today because I wanted to put my two cents worth in about the trails. I've been to these meetings before and they have been very painful. People think when you are against cross country equestrian use, you are against the people, but I'm not. I just want the forest to stay a place unspoiled," she said.

That is also the goal of staunch environmentalist Sam Stearns of McCormick, who has been involved in at least one lawsuit against previous forest service actions. "I am fully in favor of equestrian use in the Shawnee. For decades, individuals and locals rode in the forest with no significant impact and if it stayed at that level, it could continue in perpetuity without causing significant damage. It's the volume of commercial riding that has caused the damage - the erosion of soil, the damage to vegetation, the sedimentation of streams and the displacement of wildlife," he said.

Stearns said the proposed plan is a step in the right direction. "This plan is a tremendous improvement over previous plans. I really hope a new day is dawning and the agency will put protection of the land above commercial exploitation," he said.

The other aspect of the plan that seems of concern to many in the public is the proposed use of burning to manage the forest. Wildlife biologist Steve Widowski of the forest service was on hand at the Marion meeting to answer questions about the plan. Widowski said the trees that once dominated the forest - oaks and hickories - are in jeopardy unless something is done to control the growth of shade-tolerant species and sugar maples.

"The plan is to open up the canopies. Burning will benefit the oak and hickories and negatively affect the others," he said. "We've managed some local areas with burns in the past and saw changes happen quickly. Both native plants and animals responded positively." Some people don't want to see any disturbance or manipulation used and want to see the forest evolve naturally, he said.

Christian Doogan, a forestry student at Southern Illinois University, said he thinks the proposed burning plan is excellent and would provide for the rejuvenation of oaks in the forest. He is concerned, however, that the burning could be put on hold because of court action. "(In class) we discuss the social influences behind forestry management and try to have a good grasp of what the public viewpoint is. Here there are a large number of disagreements on how best to manage the forest," he said.

Stearns said he does not believe the forest service knows enough about the effects of burning and should not use the proposed management tool on a large scale just yet. "My complaint about the forest service is the approach they always take: Ready, aim, fire. They will go off with some management technique on a large scale before we know what the results will be," he said.

For example, Stearns said, clear cutting used to be a popular management tool. "It turned out that was a horribly wrong approach," he said.

Comments from Stearns and those who attended the open house meetings are appreciated by forest supervisor Allen Nicholas. "This is all part of the process and is a natural outcome of the passion people feel for our resources and our management of them," he said.

Public comments will be accepted until June 16, he said, and the forest service will analyze public response to the plan and try to incorporate what they can into a final plan. A final decision on the plan is expected early next year.

beckym@onecliq.net

618-927-5633