Tuolumne Residents Stage Protest Rally In Sacramento

A coalition of Tuolumne County residents traveled to the Capitol this morning to stage a protest rally at the state´s Attorney General´s office.

The group came out against a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Bill Lockyer which seeks to set aside a 2004 revision of a plan to manage the 11.5 million acres of the Sierra Nevada forests. The 2001 plan, called the Sierra Nevada Framework Decision, sets out guidelines in the management of the forests aimed at preventing wildfire and regulating recreational use of the lands.

The plan was overhauled in 2004 to relax certain restrictions on the forest service and revise certain management procedures. The attorney general´s suit is aimed at returning to the original 2001 plan, which the coalition says will increase restrictions on the forest service and compromise the quality of forest management.