Posted on 08/21/2002 9:47:05 AM PDT by madfly
08/21/02
When he speaks Thursday in Medford, President Bush is expected to push for more intensive thinning of Western forests to reduce fire danger. And he will likely support legislation streamlining environmental rules that have slowed many Western logging projects.
It will plainly signal the administration's approach to forest management against the backdrop of epic wildfires burning throughout Oregon and the West.
It could also incite a storm of opposition from environmental groups that argue logging only will do more harm to Western forests.
And the White House, which in May joined Western governors in backing plans to thin forests, has invited governors to appear with the president Thursday.
Administration officials have blamed tangles of environmental rules for slowing logging on federal lands and want cutting accelerated to meet targets set by the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan. But so far the administration has not offered specific plans or direction on how to surmount either hurdle.
The president's visit comes as Western lawmakers, led by Craig, draw up legislation to speed cutting of overgrown forests. Craig was part of a bipartisan group, including Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that appeared at an Aug. 1 news conference pledging to work to lessen the fire risk that accompanies overgrowth.
Craig said Tuesday that after the news conference he had discussed plans for a new wildfire policy with administration officials and discovered that Bush already had taken a strong interest in the topic. Craig said he expects the president to make a statement on the issue in Oregon, where many of the nation's largest wildfires are burning in forests clogged by decades of fire suppression.
"Public policy of the past has created the crisis of today, and I think our president recognizes that," Craig said. "He is willing to lead us on the issue to see if we can find some common ground to begin to treat these forests and bring down these wildfires."
Environmental groups, long critical of the president for appointing friends of timber and other industries to top posts, said the president is simply using Western wildfires to justify increased logging. They said cutting would likely target the most valuable large trees instead of the smaller wood that poses the greatest fire risk.
"This administration was pushing logging before these fires, it's pushing logging because of these fires, and it'll be pushing logging after these fires," said Nathaniel Lawrence of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The White House on Tuesday invited Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber to join the president in Southern Oregon on Thursday, when Bush will ride in a helicopter over the huge Biscuit Fire and visit a smaller fire closer to Medford.
Kitzhaber has led an effort by the Western Governors' Association to address wildfire threats across the West.
The Bush administration has signed onto the governors' plan of stepped-up thinning, and Bush will promote that Thursday. But the administration has so far not committed to the funding the governors want and in some cases has suggested firefighting costs have escalated out of control.
Governors from Idaho, Arizona and Montana also have been invited to join the president in Medford.
Craig's staff is still drafting its new wildfire policy, giving priority to 30 million acres of Western forests that are most densely overgrown and infested with insects.
Spokesmen said it would be similar to language devised by Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., that exempted thinning projects in his home state from appeals and lawsuits that could hold them up. Western senators from both parties have expressed support for the move, said Craig spokesman Mike Tracy.
"We know also the White House will be pushing for this," he said.
Daschle has said his language, approved as a rider to a defense bill, came only after South Dakota environmental and industry groups had reached agreement on the thinning and related wilderness designations.
Among other things, Craig said the bill might allow timber companies to thin forests and use the material -- a practice known as "goods for services" -- and would not allow lawsuits on thinning projects. He said companies should do the work because they have the expertise to do the work efficiently.
"I want people in there who are professionals who can follow the rules established by the Forest Service to thin and to clean," he said. "We can't spend the next three years training a work force."
But Craig said he would not support a bill that allowed for logging of the large old-growth trees that scientists think are most able to withstand fires.
"I am not talking about logging old growth, period -- end of statement," Craig said.
Craig is also working with Wyden on a bill that would protect old growth on the west slope of the Cascades, while speeding up thinning on the drier east side by easing legal and procedural hurdles for projects there. Many environmental groups oppose the measure, saying it sacrifices one forest for the other.
Josh Kardon, Wyden's chief of staff, said Wyden is interested in bills that would let agencies approve vital thinning projects more quickly as long as it does not eliminate the public's option of going to court to block a project.
"If it means ensuring timely judicial process for management activities where fire and other risks are present, Senator Wyden is very interested in pursuing bipartisan solutions," Kardon said.
Chris West, spokesman for the American Forest Resource Council, said the industry would welcome a commitment by Bush to forest health. Forest thinning under the National Fire Plan hasn't been able to get off the ground, he said.
Michael Milstein: 503-294-7689;
michaelmilstein@news.oregonian.com Tom Detzel of The Oregonian staff contributed to this report.
Great idea giving him a copy of Natural Processes.
Good luck BUMP!!
Probably won't go anywhere without corporate sponsorship though, cost a lot.
EBUCK
Same as Daschle.
Like Dashcle, Wyden is in need of thinnin' out of his elected post.
It is not logging "for profit" which is the problem. It is clear cutting that damages.
Timber management, which includes logging "for profit" benefits trees because when it is done right, the trees thrive and reproduce and the SAME AREAS can be reharvested every dicade without harming the forest AT ALL. "For profit" logging as a part of overall timber management is therefore the solution.
Their whiney protests will probably be funded by the Canadian government.
The Canucks don't like it when we use our own natural resources.
It causes the meager value of their socialist "looney" dollar to plunge even further.
Hmmm....corporate sponsorship. Maybe from the lumber industry....but they might be afraid the content is "divisive" or something.
EBUCK
It's obvious we're in agreement on the timber management part....we need a way to promote intelligent timber management as the only solution which will keep our forests healthy and provide wood for our lumber-hungry nation.
I'm not talking about "tree-farming", but the practice of timber management which you describe. I'm not fond of tree-farming in it's strict sense.
We need the silent majority of the timber industry, those who love the woods and love trees and understand the need for management to ensure the healthiest possible forests (there are quite a few of them who happen to be former or current firefighters) to be able to get their vision out.
I'm talking foresters, loggers who are former or current firefighters, even the Parks people who agree that management, including thinning, is necessary.
In short, we need some kind of image campaign....I'm not sure how to do it.
I do: power. Absolute control, and all the perks the average emperor expected at the very least for the rest of their natural lives, and all on OUR dime.
Yep, Daschle is the biggest toadie of all.
I think the only way to help unjam the Senate is to take it back...but now that the libertarian party has activated their Perot machine with occasional help from Rush, I don't know how much chance of success we have.
Also, the constituents need to LOUDLY proclaim their anger and disgust with the filibustering of judiciary appointments as all as the HOST of other idiocies they are guilty of.
We might even see some action....McKinney MIGHT have been a wake up call....we can only hope.
Sorry...that is exactly what I was referring to. My husband is a logger, working on Federal land in NYS right now...however, as dedicated as he is to timber management, and as much as he loves forestry, trees and the outdoors in general...in the end...the bottom line.....his base motive is profit.
I guess we both misunderstood the meaning of each other's replies....and my brain cells are beginning to overheat.
Now I'm gonna get flamed as a nasty greedy profit loving clear-cutter ....sheeeeeesh
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