Lacks Creek Recreation Area Closures Planned for Public Safety Late April-End of August
This is a press release from the Bureau of Land Management:
The Bureau of Land Management will implement intermittent road, trail, and campsite closures in the Lacks Creek Recreation Area from late April through the end of August 2026 to ensure public safety during major forest health and maintenance operations.
These temporary closures are necessary to protect visitors while crews conduct road improvements, forest thinning, oak woodland restoration, and prairie restoration. Heavy equipment will be active throughout the project area, and the BLM urges all visitors to follow posted closure notices and use caution when traveling near work zones.
This restoration effort is being carried out in partnership with the Hoopa Valley Tribe as part of ongoing work to revitalize ancestral lands and improve long‑term ecosystem health. Crews will remove dense stands of Douglas-fir that have encroached into prairies and oak woodlands—open spaces that historically depended on frequent fire to remain resilient. The project will yield approximately 1.6 million board feet of timber across roughly 100 acres of forest health and fuels treatments. Clearing these areas will help make these areas more resilient to catastrophic wildfire and restore habitat for wildlife.
The Lacks Creek Recreation Area encompasses 8,673 acres of public land in Humboldt County, located approximately 20 miles northeast of Eureka and 15 miles inland from the Pacific Coast. While some recreation opportunities will remain available, weekday operations may limit access to certain roads, trails, and campsites.
The BLM encourages visitors to plan ahead and contact the Arcata Field Office at (707) 825-2300 for the most current closure information.
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IMHO:
Wow… taking out woodlands that sequester Carbon Dioxide !!!
Replacing them with human burned prairies.
A key politico word… resilient… that is if it’s burned every couple years.
Ain’t that a hoot !
Will they be killing the barred owls in this project?
IMHO:
Dunno on that one… it looks like the Hupa Tribe is receiving $4.5 million to carry out the ‘holocaust’ on the barred owl.
Meanwhile… here’s what Mr. Clark is referring to.
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has finalized a 30-year plan to remove over 450,000 invasive barred owls from the Pacific Northwest to protect the native, threatened northern spotted owl. While the USFWS has not officially released a total budget, opponents of the plan estimate the cost could exceed $1.35 billion, based on pilot project data. Animal Wellness Action.
Cost Per Owl: Based on a $4.5 million grant to the Hoopa Valley Tribe to kill 1,500 owls (about $3,000 per bird), estimates suggest the 30-year, 450,000-owl plan could reach $1.35 billion, according to Animal Wellness Action.
“The grant to the Hoopa, who are the most practiced owl hunters in the United States, underscores that the FWS talking point that ‘volunteer’ hunters would conduct the shooting program is folly,” added Jennifer McCausland, senior vice president of the Center for a Humane Economy. “We’ve said from the start that this program would have an enormous price tag, but these numbers have even startled us.”
In recent weeks, the Center and Animal Wellness Action also highlighted an additional element of the plan that is deeply disturbing: opening up 14 units of the National Park Service to owl hunting, which will persist for at least 30 years if the scheme is implemented as proposed. The units include Crater Lake, Mount Rainier, Olympic, Redwoods, and Yosemite national parks.
https://animalwellnessaction.org/price-tag-for-us-fish-and-wildlife-barred-owl-management-plan/
Alternative Cost Estimates: A 2024 study mentioned in a report from The LA Times suggested that the initial stages could cost between $4.5 million and $12 million per year, which would result in a lower total of around $360 million over 30 years if costs do not rise.
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-07-19/plan-to-shoot-barred-owls-to-save-spotted-owls-could-be-in-jeopardy
Funded Activities: The plan allows trained, authorized agents to use recorded calls to attract barred owls and then shoot them in Washington, Oregon, and California. Animal Wellness Action.
Political Response: The high cost has sparked bipartisan criticism. Senators and representatives have introduced resolutions to block the plan, labeling it a “budget buster” and a wasteful use of taxpayer money. Animal Wellness Action.
Go figure.