To the editor: The choice by Los Angeles County to bulldoze, chain-saw and burn mature chaparral within the Santa Monica Mountains within the title of fireplace prevention is counterproductive and dangerous (“Man, machine and mutton: Contained in the plan to stop the following SoCal fireplace catastrophe,” Oct. 14).
Counterproductive as a result of outdated progress chaparral and sage scrub is much less flammable than the flashy, invasive, non-native weeds that can inevitably exchange these native shrubs and herbaceous vegetation as soon as this intervention occurs — exacerbating fireplace danger. And dangerous as a result of the vegetation themselves, which have intrinsic worth and that soak up carbon, can be destroyed, and wildlife can be killed or compelled to maneuver to ever-shrinking, threatened habitat.
Why is the state utilizing valuable public {dollars} to extend our danger, exacerbate local weather change and dominate and destroy nature?
Tessa Charnofsky, West Hills
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To the editor: Thanks for reporting on the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy granting greater than $3 million of our tax {dollars} to grind up what little is left of our native habitat within the Santa Monica Mountains. This ill-conceived venture, supported by Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, has been fast-tracked with out giving the scientific group and the general public the prospect to weigh in. As Dan Cooper signifies, we can’t consider that paving over (or chopping down) all the system will present a viable resolution.
Eradicating invasive grasses with grazing goats: nice. Creating large gas breaks: a waste of money and time.
Snowdy Dodson, Van Nuys
