Scores of Timber Sales Rushed Through to Beat New Rules
11/11/98
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Scores of Timber Sales Rushed Through to Beat New Rules
Source: Oregon Natural Resources Council/Northwest Ecosystem Alliance
Status: Distribute freely with proper credit to source
Date: 11/11/98
Contact: Doug Heiken
Oregon Natural Resources Council
(541) 344-0675
or
Dave Werntz
Northwest Ecosystem Alliance
(360) 671-9950 ext. 14
Clinton administration put logging targets ahead of forest wildlife
protection
SEATTLE--Scores of Northwest federal timber sales, totaling over
half-a-billion board feet, were rushed through by the Clinton
administration this fall in order to avoid forest wildlife protection
rules that took effect Oct. 1, according to a new study.
The review of federal data by the ForestWater Alliance--a coalition
of 21 conservation groups representing over 100,000 citizens from
Northern California to the Canadian border--shows the administration
has been putting timber cutting targets ahead of wildlife protection
rules established in President Clinton's Northwest Forest Plan.
Conservationists have long been critical of the government's frequent
practice of waiting until the closing hours of the fiscal year to
approve a host of projects and policy decisions.
A Sept. 14, letter from two U.S. forest supervisors reveals the
government's motivation for this year's last-minute rush of
decision-making.
Noting surveys would be required after Sept. 30, for 71 species of
wildlife dependent on old growth, forest supervisors Ted Stubblefield
and Sonny O'Neal wrote, "Projects like ours face possible lengthy
delays if decisions are not signed prior to Oct. 1, 1998." (The text
of the letter, along with a list of all logging sales rushed through
to beat the Oct. 1, deadline, are available on the ForestWater
Alliance Web site, at: http://www.forestwater.org)
"If the Forest Service did not rush these timber sales through to beat
the new rules, then before proceeding with logging they should have
done the required surveys and provided appropriate protection for
these wildlife species," said Eric Espenhorst, policy associate at
Friends of the Earth, in Seattle.
"The federal government made a promise to the American people that
they would protect our ancient forests," said Doug Heiken of the
Oregon Natural Resources Council, a member of the conservation
alliance "But federal officials are avoiding the forest protection
rules because of a political timber target."
"When push comes to shove, the federal government doesn't care about
protecting ancient forests or even following their own rules," said
Heiken. "They just care about providing old growth timber to a few big
timber corporations."
"We see this as the first step back to the dark days of federal
forest management, when political timber targets held sway over
forest protection," said Heiken.
The ForestWater Alliance found that 94 timber sales were pushed
through before October 1, amounting to more than 618.73 million board
feet of timber. In Oregon 67 sales were signed or advertised,
amounting to 515.5 million board feet. In Washington 16 sales and one
ski area expansion were approved, amounting to 62.5 million board
feet. In California 12 sales were signed or advertised, amounting to
about 40.73 million board feet.
Changing the rules to cut ancient forests
In addition to rushing timber sales through, the White House is also
attempting to renege on President Clinton's Northwest Forest Plan by
delaying implementation of the forest protection rules and allowing
another year of cutting ancient forests without the protection rules
in place.
At issue are scores of "at risk" plants and animals that depend on
ancient forests for their survival. The Northwest Forest Plan requires
that these species be surveyed for and protected before stands of
ancient forest are cut. The Forest Plan set forth a timeline for
implementing surveys for these plants and animals. The "survey and
manage" requirements for timber sales kicked in on October 1, 1998, at
the end of the 1998 federal fiscal year.
The federal government has thwarted these ancient forest protection
rules in two ways: 1) by rushing through timber sales before the new
protection rules kicked in, and; 2) by rewriting the Northwest Forest
Plan's rules to allow continued logging of ancient forests without
surveying for "at risk" wildlife species.