Document text
Call for Northwest Forest Plan update draws praise, concern By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Calls for updating the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan by the Bush administration have been met with both applause and apprehension in Southern Oregon. Timber industry representatives see it as a positive step forward while members of the environmental community fear it is a step back toward overcutting on public forests. Dale Bosworth told The Oregonian newspaper that logging on federal land in the state has been far below projected levels as a result of the plan. He has instructed several agencies to recommend updates to the plan produced by the Clinton administration. "Everything we're looking at is within the administration's discretion," Bosworth said, and noted that the Bush administration has made revising the plan a priority. It couldn't happen too soon, said Dave Hill, executive vice president of the Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association. "The plan has been absolutely terrible as far as meeting the objectives of commercial timber production," Hill said. The plan set aside millions of acres of federal forests for protection for the threatened northern spotted owl and other wildlife while permitting cutting of nearly 1 billion board feet of federal timber each year. That target amount is about a fourth of the wood that came off federal lands in the Northwest during the logging boom of the late 1980s. But the targeted amount was never achieved, and was since reduced to about 800 million board feet. Less than 200 million board feet was cut last year, the result of litigation brought by environmental groups, court orders and procedural demands. The Pacific Northwest region of the Forest Service produced 50 million board feet, about one-tenth of what the Northwest Forest Plan called for, Regional Forester Harv Forsgren said. In the Rogue River and Siskiyou national forests, the plan allows a combined 50 million board feet of timber to be cut each year. However, less than 5 million board feet has been cut each year in recent years. "There was never a serious effort on the part of the Clinton administration to reach the target levels," Hill said. "That, combined with the provisions like survey and manage set back serious efforts. If there had been a serious effort, it was set up for immediate failure." Hill hopes Bosworth will either increase the timber sale program or scale back the Northwest plan. "Anything that is done under the Bush administration will be to improve, not only commercial logging but also the environment," he said, referring to thinning. "Commercial thinning can be a great benefit to improve wildlife habitat and reduce fire hazard," he added. Environmental activists disagreed, countering that the Bush administration wants to return to cutting mature timber in the face of increasing public opposition. Weakening the plan would be illegal, and result in increased loss of habitat for forest-dependent species while degrading salmon habitat and water quality. "The courts have said the Northwest Forest Plan is the bare minimum to protect living communities that depend on mature and old-growth forest," said Brenna Bell, staff attorney for the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center. She was referring to decisions by the late U.S. District Court Judge William Dwyer, who determined that agencies must fully implement the plan to ensure environmental laws are met. Wildlands center spokesman Joseph Vaile believes the focus should be on restoring federal forestland, not cutting more mature trees. Noting that Bush received some $1.1 million from timber firms in Oregon during the 2000 campaign, Vaile said Bush is now ready to repay the firms for their support. "This is kick-back for campaign contributions," he said. "Bush is handing over federal forest policy to the timber companies, much like he has handed over energy policy to oil companies." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.