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55 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, May 9, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend April 4, 2004 Bush administration loosened restrictionson forest management By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune The Bush administration made major amendments to the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan on the eve of its 10th anniversary, whittling down restrictions on logging old-growth timber on federal forestlands. One change announced late last month removes the survey and manage mitigation measure standards, meaning that the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management don’t have to look for rare plants and animals before allowing an area to be logged. The other change is found in the plan’s aquatic conservation strategy. The agencies will no longer evaluate individual projects on whether they help achieve those goals, but only on whether the agencies meet those goals on a broader, watershed-wide basis. The changes will save the agencies $16 million per year while improving their ability to meet the other resource goals, such as forest restoration, hazardous fuels treatment and commercial timber harvests, officials said. The changes were applauded by the timber industry but opposed by environmentalists. Advertisement They were the result of a timber industry lawsuit which argued the survey and manage rules were unworkable, taking years to complete. The rules had required studying the potential effects of logging on about 300 plant and animal species. The old rules required that protections such as buffer zones if evidence of rare species were found. As a result, tiny islands of old growth timber often remained within logged areas. Under the new rules, forest managers will review information provided by state heritage programs to determine whether the proposed area to be logged contains rare species. State heritage programs gather information about rare species. Buffer zones or other measures would continue to be used to protect those species. However, the change includes reducing the potential old-growth species being monitored from 300 to 152. None of the species included in the survey and manage guidelines were listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. The aquatic conservation strategy was developed to restore and maintain the ecological health of watersheds and aquatic ecosystems on the federal lands. It consists of a system of riparian reserves, a system of key watersheds, requirements and procedures for conducting watershed analysis and a program of watershed restoration. The clarifications do not change any of those components in the strategy. The change requires that the objectives be met on a watershed scale and not on a project or site level. For more information, check out the plan on the Web at www.or.blm.gov/nwfp.htm Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times