What is one policy supported by Republicans that you think would be bad for Ojai?

Larry says

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is proposing to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which established broad prohibitions on road construction, road reconstruction, and timber harvesting within inventoried roadless areas on National Forest System lands. In the department’s own words, the intent is to reduce regulatory burden and return the management of these areas to the individual forest plans written under the National Forest Management Act.

Rolling back the 2001 Roadless Rule could open parts of the Los Padres National Forest to road building and logging that have long been restricted.

For Ojai, our priority must be wildfire protection. We cannot allow federal resources to go to backcountry extraction while the fuel breaks and forest management right next to our community wait. That is the question I want the city asking on the record, and it is the same reason I have been pushing for a dedicated, fully funded fire clearing and hardening budget at City Hall.

From what I have read, if this rollback moves forward, Ojai and Ventura County should pursue Cooperating Agency status and the Good Neighbor Authority, so that forest management around Ojai prioritizes protecting our community from catastrophic wildfire. Cooperating Agency status is how a local government asks for a formal seat at the table when a federal forest plan is written. It is granted at the lead agency’s discretion, so we would have to ask for it and make the case for why Ojai belongs in the room. The Good Neighbor Authority is the tool that lets local crews do the actual brush clearing work on federal land, and in California it runs through the state and the county, so we would need Ventura County or CAL FIRE alongside us.

You do not have to wait for the city to act on this. Anyone can file a comment with the Forest Service, and the comment period closes on September 21, 2026.

larryforojai.com/ask/19