A Newsletter by and about the Quilcene Ancient Forest Coalition, July 1997

CALENDAR

Once again Rep. Norm Dicks succeeded in championing a "compromise" in favor of logging interests. Dicks offered an amendment to the Porter/Kennedy amendment, and his version passed 211-209. This only cut the timber roads budget by $5.6 million instead of the original $41.5 million, and retained $25 million of the proposed $50 million cut in the purchaser road credit program.

Purchaser road credit (PRC) refers to the arrangement where the timber sale purchaser builds the road to the sale, gets to basically deduct that cost from what they pay for the timber, and taxpayers get stuck with the future maintenance costs for the road.

Rep. Dicks knows when and how to get what he wants passed. His amendment was presented at 11 p.m. He took advantage of and perpetuated confusion over road work terminology. He claimed Administration opposition to the original amendment, using a draft version of a letter that was later changed. And politicians claim to wonder why the public is cynical about legislative processes...

His position swayed other representatives who aren't as familiar with the issues, such as Adam Smith. So while there was a lot of support for stopping new logging roads, a "compromise" always seems to offer a more comfortable solution.

During floor debate Dicks claimed that timber harvest can't occur without roads. He said 90% of the roads are used for recreation, and offered to take Kennedy out to show him some roads. [We wonder if this would include all the slides and washouts.] He claimed road reconstruction means going out and stormproofing roads. Re-construction more often means upgrading an existing road so it can be used to haul logs from a timber sale.

Rep. Joe Kennedy referred to Dicks as having "become the Paul Bunyan of our national forests." [Perhaps Babe would have been a better reference.]

The Senate Interior Appropriations bill has actually worsened the roads situation. The Dicks version has that $25 million cap to PRC, but the Senate version takes away any cap entirely, creating an unlimited subsidy to the timber interests.

Senator Bryan (D-NV) has agreed to sponsor an amendment similar to Porter/Kennedy. The vote could happen as early as this week. It could also get delayed until after the August recess.

In any case, the first action will be to call our senators on Tuesday, July 29, between 9 a.m. & 5 p.m. ET (6 a.m. & 2 p.m. local time) and ask them to support the Bryan amendment to the 1998 Interior Appropriations bill to cut subsidies for building logging roads. There's no need to rush to another compromise. Call the Capitol Switchboard number above, ask for Sen. Murray's office and leave your message; call back and ask for Sen. Gorton's office.

The Administration did undermine the Porter/Kennedy amendment during House deliberation by letting the earlier version of their letter get to the Hill. They should now utilize their influence to correct the situation and clearly support cutting logging road subsidies.

President Clinton - White House Comment Line - 202/ 456-1111

Katie McGinty, Council on Environmental Quality - 202/456-6224

He also believes that continued logging requires more roads. Nationally there are 377,000 miles of existing road access. The few remaining unroaded areas simply do not need to be entered. He thinks letting purchasers build the roads results in "a more environmentally protected forest." He obviously doesn't understand that roads cause environmental degradation of forest ecosystems.

We know Smith heard from his constituents to vote for the Porter/Kennedy amendment. If Mr. Smith claims he had a hard time deciding how to vote, perhaps he should have listened to his constituency rather than to Mr. Dicks.

Letters to the editor of The Seattle Times, responding to Mr. Smith's piece as well as appreciating their recent editorial (see below), would be helpful. Be sure to include your name, address and phone number.

Two Seattle newspapers ran editorials criticizing the results of the Porter/Kennedy vote. On July 15, The Seattle Times' was headlined "The timid timber vote."

"Shame on the state's congressional delegation for selling out to corporate welfare champions in the timber industry last week. With the lone exception of Democrat Jim McDermott, every one of Washington's House members voted to continue massive federal subsidies to private businesses that build roads in national forests ...

... Rep. Dicks asserted that 'these roads are very important in terms of the transportation system.' But according to the General Accounting Office, 70 percent of the na-tion's subsidized logging roads are used almost exclusively by private timber companies and their contractors ...

... It was especially disappointing to see the delegation's lone freshman, Democratic Rep. Adam Smith, pass up a chance to demonstrate independent thinking on an issue of both national fiscal importance and regional environmental interest.

Bipartisan timidity on ending welfare to Big Timber should not be forgotten."

On July 21, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's editorial headline was "Logging roads paved with taxpayer subsidies."

"You shouldn't have to listen to members of this state's congressional delegation railing against wasteful taxpayer subsidies to special interests any time soon.

If you do hear any such nonsense, call the hypocrisy police.

With the exception of Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Seattle, Washington's congressional delegation has disgraced itself by voting to keep building logging roads for the timber industry with taxpayer money ...

... But there's not enough money to maintain them, so the roads erode and choke salmon stream beds, dump silt into streams and contribute to flooding.

So what sense does it make to build even more roads for money-losing timber sales ... ? If the industry needs roads, the industry should pay for them--and for their upkeep.

A bipartisan compromise to cut the road-building budget by $41 million and end the subsidy was defeated with a misguided assist from Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Tacoma ...

After the vote, we wrote to Mr. Dicks' aide, Mike Bagley to clarify some points in a recent conversation we had had. The two Olympic Salvage Rider timber sales came up (as they often do), and it became obvious that some review was in order. We wrote:

In our recent conversation when we were discussing Rocky and Caraco Cat, you stated, "They didn't get clearcut anyway. The streams got protected."

As Congressman Dicks has just pulled off another "compromise" with the Porter/Kennedy amendment, I thought it might be timely to provide you with a visual reminder of what compromises can end up looking like in reality, on the ground, and not just in theoretical conversations.

I am enclosing copies of pictures of Rocky and Caraco Cat. As you can see, Rocky did get a small stream buffer, but the rest of the 55 acres on 70% slope did get cut over and scraped, as the second Rocky photo demonstrates.

On Caraco Cat, the stream protection was in another unit, and the purchaser got to clearcut a 60-acre swath along the hill in trade, instead of two smaller separated units. The second, closer picture does show a few tiny "whips," or small non-merchantable trees left on site.

I hope you have a better "picture" now of the effect of the compromise on those two sales. The results sure do walk and quack like clearcuts...

Note that they haven't been planted yet, either, due to the enforced rush of the Salvage Rider precluding the Forest Service's being able to order stock in time.

Congressman Dicks and you continue to promote "compromises" that greatly favor timber interests over what's good for the forest ecosystems. We'll continue to document and publicize the consequences.

If you'd like to let Rep. Norm Dicks know you're disappointed with his actions, you can use the Capitol Switchboard number to reach him any day.

Other contact info: 202/225-5916 fax 202/226-1176 (no e-mail)

Tacoma district office: 800/947-6676

The Honorable Norm Dicks, 2467 Rayburn House Office Bldg., Washington, DC 20515

Call 360/385-6271 for information about these issues.

QUAFCO News July 1997