May 29/31 - Seattle - 1998 National Wilderness Conference - Register by May 15 - See following article
May 28/31 - Portland - Sustainability Conference - Call Kim Chaloner in New York at (212)239-4221 or sustamer@sanetwork.org
H.R. 2515 DEFEATED
And you all deserve thanks, too, for calling and writing. On March 27, by a vote of 201 Nay to 181 Aye, with 48 not voting, the Smith "Forest Health" bill was defeated.
"With this vote we just redefined the forest health debate by declaring that logging is not the cure," said Marty Hayden of the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, formerly the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund. "It shows that the idea of logging forests to health doesn't penetrate very far into the moderate Republican ranks."
"It's not about forest health," said Rep. George Miller (D-CA). "It is about a waste of taxpayer money and a devastation of our national forests."
Please take the time to call Rep. Dicks' Tacoma office at 800/947-6676, or his D.C. office through 800/504-0031 (new number), and thank him for his "no" vote on H.R. 2515. It's courteous to let him know you appreciated how he voted.
Appropriations for the Forest Service will be coming up soon, and we'll be letting him know how we want him to vote then, too.
National Wilderness Conference
Mountaineers Bldg., Seattle
Wilderness is the basis for maintaining wildlife habitat; clean water and air; it is the storehouse for biological diversity; and the well-spring of our children's future on earth. Join citizen activists from North America. This is a great opportunity to hear Wilderness specialists from across the continent sharing their unique perspectives on Wilderness preservation.
Conference topics include: Achieving Wilderness; Wild Alabama; The Nuts & Bolts of Organizing; Economics & Wilderness; Media Training; Yellowstone to Yukon; Restoring Wilderness; Mapping & Visual Impact; The Spirit of Wilderness; Wilderness Issues; Building the Movement; and The Future of Wilderness.
Speakers include Denis Hayes, Susan Tixier, Lamar Marshall, Harvey Locke, Celia Hunter, Harvey Manning, Reed Noss, Ed Whitelaw, Bill Meadows, David Brower and Carole King.
For more information call Seattle (206)362-3296 or e-mail nwwpc@speakeasy.org
LOGGING AND LANDSLIDES
The Western Ancient Forest Campaign (WAFC) states that reports continue to link logging to landslides. An article by Lance Robertson in the Eugene Register-Guard details an Oregon state study that found landslides are up to four times more likely in logging clearcuts than in unharvested older forests.
The study was launched after a 1996 storm caused thousands of landslides in Oregon's forests and collapsed hundreds of logging roads. Investigators documented more than 600 slides after walking 136 miles of streams and inspecting 170 miles of logging roads.
The study found the volume of erosion in clearcuts was about double that of slides in mature forests, possibly indicating that logging-related slides are more intense and deliver more sediment into streams.
ROADS AND EROSION
On a related note, road impacts are noted in the current National Marine Fisheries Service's "Draft Proposed Recommendations for Amendment 14 to the Pacific Coast Salmon Plan for Essential Fish Habitat."
"The impacts of logging roads on erosion and sedimentation have been well studied. Logging roads can erode at 50 to more than 220 times natural level during the construction phase. Although road erosion declines with time, roads continue to erode at levels several times greater than natural for the life of the road. These increased levels of erosion are generally translated into increased amounts of sediment entering the streams.
"A review of literature in Washington revealed that construction, use, and maintenance of roads in Washington increased sediment delivery. Other studies have shown that roads typically double suspended sediment yield in streams even with state of the art construction and erosion control and that suspended sediment contributions from roads alone, even in the absence of mass failure, are typically in the range of 5 to 20 percent about background and remain at elevated levels for as long as roads are in use (Rhodes et al. 1994)
"Road use can cause chronic sediment inputs to streams nearly as great as during road construction. The road surface can break down with repeated heavy wheel loads of hauling trucks, particularly under wet conditions, resulting in a continual source of fine sediment input (Murphy 1995).
"In one study in 1984 of 10 road segments older than 5 years old in western Washington's Clearwater basin, a heavily used road segment was found to produce 130 times as much sediment as an abandoned road segment and more than 100 times as much as a paved road segment. Sediment production from roadcuts in the study area was relatively minor compared to that from the road surfaces, accounting for approximately 5% of the total (Reid and Dunne 1984)."
Also included in the draft are discussions of other road effects such as intercepting and re-routing water, soil compaction, culvert blockage, landslides, and road failures. There then follow a number of conservation and enhancement recommendations. The final one is to "Reduce existing road mileage in all watersheds over time, with priority given to those within riparian buffer and floodplain areas."
In a chart describing general criteria for target habitat conditions, a Properly Functioning Habitat would have a road density level of less than 2 miles of road per square mile, with no valley bottom roads; At Risk Habitat would have 2-3 miles per square mile, with some valley bottom roads; and a Not Properly Functioning Habitat would contain greater than 3 miles per square mile, with many valley bottom roads.
HOME DEPOT PROTEST
WAFC reports that a coalition of environmental groups called on Home Depot March 27 to stop selling old-growth wood products and instead offer third-party certified wood products.
"Selling old growth wood products is like killing elephants for ivory, or making ashtrays out of gorilla paws," said Lynn Cumiskey, southeast organizer for WAFC. "We are asking Home Depot to do an easy thing: to make a public commitment that old growth products will be phased out at all stores."
In 1997 Home Depot agreed not to sell or purchase old growth redwood lumber, but continues to sell old growth from British Columbia and the tropics. Around the world, old growth forests are falling at an alarming rate. Only 22% of the world's old growth forests remain intact and in the U.S. less than 4% are still standing. Contact Lynn Cumiskey at 404/378-2111, or email lcumiskey@earthlink.net for more information.
PRIVATE FUNDS NEEDED
FOR LOOMIS ROADLESS AREA
Mary Humphries of the Northwest Ecosystem Alliance (NWEA) writes, "Since 1889 Washington state residents have been forced to make an unreasonable choice -- either cut down our healthy forests OR send our children to cash-starved schools. Nobody should have to make that choice. And thanks to an historic agreement reached between conservationists and Washington's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on April 7, you and I won't have to."
The Loomis State Forest is a 134,000-acre block of Common School Trust land in Okanogan County, in north central Washington. It is bounded by Canada and the Pasaytan Wilderness and Okanogan National Forest to the west. It is part of more than 1.8 million acres of lands owned by Washington and managed by the Board of Natural Resources for the benefit of the Common School Trust, which provides construction funds for kindergarten-12th grade public schools.
30,000 acres would be taken out of the trust in this agreement, is the largest remaining roadless area of state-owned trust land, and is home to the healthiest lynx population left in the contiguous 48 states.
The settlement resolves three lawsuits against DNR. The plaintiffs include NWEA, Friends of Loomis Forest, The Mountaineers, Kettle Range Conservation Group, Washington Environmental Council, and Gerald Henderson.
Mary continues, "I'd like to invite you to participate in an epic campaign to protect the pristine boreal wilderness of the Loomis State Forest. We have a remarkable opportunity to save magnificent wildlands while funding the state's Common School Trust Fund. The end result is that both schoolchildren and rare wildlife end up winners because of our innovative work.
"Never before has a state been willing to accept private dollars in exchange for forest protection of trust lands. However, we only have 15 months to raise the funds needed to successfully execute the terms of this agreement.
"More urgently, we must raise $75,000 in earnest money by July 7 -- to defer three timber sales that would slice the very heart out of the primeval forests we aim to save. DNR will log the Loomis if we fail to meet the terms of this agreement."
Funding for the balance of the transfer must be secured by July 1, 1999 and plaintiffs must pay fair market value for the parcels. The $75,000 in earnest money represents about 10% of the total price.
Mitch Friedman, executive director of NWEA, welcomed the opportunity to develop a partnership. "I am convinced these forests can benefit the trusts and the public more as habitat than as lumber. This settlement gives us the time we need to market this positive solution."
Make a contribution or find out how to help with this campaign by contacting Mary Humphries, Northwest Ecosystem Alliance, 1421 Cornwall Ave., Suite 201, Bellingham, WA 98225, (360)671-9950, extension 15, e-mail: meh@ecosystem.org
QUAFCO News April/May 1998
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