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Environmental protection at issue Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Central Point log buyer Don Blumenfeld, left, and Dave Hill, executive vice president of the Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association, discuss the future of the timber industry in light of a new bill in Congress. The bill would direct the Forest Service to sell 3.6 billion board feet of timber this year. The men are standing in the Central Point Lumber Co. stud mill, which has shut down temporarily because of poor market conditions. Bill calls for more logging, but both sides see problems By Paul Fattig CENTRAL POINT � Dan Page wants to inspect the final product before putting his stamp of approval on a national forest logging package milled by Congress this week. The general manager of the Central Point Lumber Co. stud mill intends to take a close look at an appropriations bill that directs the Forest Service to sell no less than 3.6 billion board feet of timber in the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. That�s about 65 percent more than the agency sold during the last fiscal year. "There would probably be some positive impacts," said Page, whose mill temporarily shut down at the end of August, laying off 89 employees, because of poor market conditions. "It could put a little more timber in the pipeline. "But," he added, "will they carry through?" That�s the crucial question, said Dave Hill, executive vice president of the Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association. "Congress may provide money to the Forest Service for additional timber sales, but unless some of these environmental constraints can be overcome, I�m not optimistic there will be more timber sales coming out of this," Hill said, noting he was referring to what he believes are unnecessary constraints that do nothing to protect the environment. Spencer Lennard, director of the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, an environmental watchdog group that keeps an eye on the Klamath-Siskiyou region, hopes Hill is right. "We�re very upset about this bill," Lennard said. "It�s another example of the stranglehold big timber has on the political process. These corporations that want to get the resources from public-owned lands put huge pressures on their employees in Congress." But Congressman Greg Walden, a Hood River Republican, disagrees. Walden represents the 2nd Congressional District, which includes Jackson and Josephine counties as well as Eastern Oregon. "Congress has done the right thing in providing the funds for a reasonable harvest from federal lands," Walden said via e-mail Friday afternoon. "What remains to be seen is whether the administration will use these funds for their intended purpose. They�ve failed to do so in the past. "The Northwest Forest Plan envisioned a certain harvest level, and we have fallen far below that, causing real hardship for families throughout rural Oregon," Walden added. "We need to bring more balance to the management of our national forests." The House approved the bill backed by Walden on Tuesday, and the Senate followed suit late Thursday. Since the White House helped negotiate the bill, President Clinton is expected to sign it. The bill includes $256 million for timber sales this fiscal year, $35 million more than the Clinton administration had requested. It was also about $10 million more than either the House or Senate originally had provided. Under the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan, the Forest Service estimated it would sell 476 million board feet of timber in fiscal year 1999, but the agency offered only about a third of that. In the Rogue River National Forest, about 300,000 board feet of timber was sold during the last fiscal year while about twice that amount was sold in the Siskiyou National Forest. The annual harvest level on the Rogue River forest is 25 million board feet, while the Siskiyou�s annual cut is 24 million. Most agree that lawsuits, largely at the hands of environmental groups, and regulations aimed at protecting sensitive and endangered species caused the logjam in the harvests. Environmental groups don�t intend to let down their guard, Lennard said. "Groups like the Wildlands Center will continue to fight these timber sales because they are ultimately a loss of taxpayer dollars," he said. "They are huge giveaways." The industry also plans to continue to work for change, Hill vowed. "We need to amend the Northwest Forest Plan," Hill said. "We need to give some leeway to agencies to do sustainable management planning, and not have planning by professionals held hostage by environmental groups." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.