POLICY SUMMARY:
forests
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FEDERATION OF WESTERN OUTDOOR CLUBS
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General
The idea of "Charter Forests" is poorly conceived and should not be approved or implemented. Under it, national forests would be turned over to a stakeholder group which would be dominated by municipal, county, state, and tribal officials. While federal officials would be present, those representing all of the people who own them would be overwhelmed. Rural communities would be in the "driver's seat." This would not be in the interests of the general public across the country. [Res. 19, 2002]
For over forty years, the Forest Service and the BLM have been cutting timber from federal lands at rates beyond levels of sustained yield. Reckless, ecologically unsound road construction and logging have been devastating watersheds, wildlife, and forest ecosystems, as well as reducing opportunities for recreation. [Res. 19, 1992]
It is time to cease all commercial logging in national forests. Commercial logging has been the source of too much damage: eroded landscapes, silted streams, degraded habitat, with species driven to extinction, as well as the loss of 90% of the ancient forests. The Forest Service's commitment to logging as the primary activity in forests is the main cause of this problem, with the timber industry bringing enormous political pressures to bear. It is now clear that neither the timber industry nor the Forest Service can be trusted to protect our priceless National Forests (including their wilderness, scenic beauty and resources for outdoor recreation experiences and their wildlife and fisheries) as long as commercial logging is allowed. However, logging for administrative purposes, for subsistence, public safety, the safety of adjacent private property or the restoration of wildlife habitat (based on sound scientific principles) could still be allowed. [Res. 5, 1997] Legislation to end ecologically destructive timber sales in the national forests should also include provisions to retrain workers and ecologically restore areas that need it, using funds that had been subsidizing such sales. [Res. 2, 1998; see also Res. 14, 1999] Legislative efforts to end commercial logging should extend to cover all federal lands (i.e., BLM lands as well as national forests). [Res. 12, 2000]
Congress should reformulate the basic charter of the Forest Service so that its mission is to maintain the well-being of forest ecosystems as habitat (replacing the mission of multiple use). The production of commodities should no longer be a purpose of the national forest system. Recreational use should be permitted in ways that are not destructive. Professionals with a wide variety of training should be hired. Clear standards for performance should be established to measure the well-being of forest ecosystems at various levels: national, regional, and for each national forest. Plans should show how these standards will be met and be based both on public input and professional expertise (and be brief and clear). Financing should come from funds appropriated by Congress. Citizens should have rights to appeal decisions made by Forest Service officials that they believe are inconsistent with the new mission, that fail to meet performance standards, or that are otherwise contrary to law, with those appeals being heard by administrative courts separate from the Forest Service. Citizens should also be able to petition courts to find administrators in default of their obligations and to put deficient forests into receivership. [Res. 7, 2001]
The Northwest Ancient Forest Campaign should be given support so that it may succeed in its efforts to end commercial logging of old growth forests from the national forests of the Spotted Owl region. The natural resources on federal lands should be conserved for responsible recreation and tourism and habitat. The remaining old growth forests should be preserved for their genetic heritage. The fragmentation of forest habitat must end, as well as logging that denudes habitat for all living things. [Res. 22, 2001]
[Superseded--see above] Plans for national forest use should recognize the public's concern over protection of old growth or ancient forests, the maintenance of wildlife habitat and biological diversity in both old growth and younger forests. However, sustainable forestry is a legitimate use of the national forests. The ecological principles of "New Forestry" should be given more extensive testing and applied where appropriate. Plans and practices should be open to modification and subject to strict monitoring. The public should continue to participate in the planning process. [Res. 17, 1991]
New forest legislation should maintain rights of public participation and appeal, go into effect immediately, rely on an active program of forest research, and monitor results, with public involvement. Species should not be de-listed until well on the way to recovery. [Res. 19, 1992]
There ought to be a permanent moratorium on the construction of roads in roadless areas of the national forests, including in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. [Res. 12, 1998]
Federal funding for the construction of new logging roads on national forests should be reduced since such funding constitutes a hidden subsidy for the timber industry that encourages irresponsible amounts of cutting, endangers roadless areas, and compromises water quality and habitat for fish and wildlife. [Res. 13, 1997]
Environmental laws should not be suspended, even temporarily, to expedite timber sales, as with the Timber Salvage Rider of 1995. This rider suspended three key environmental laws and directed that logging go forward in previously protected old-growth forests, as well as in stands of associated trees (which could be quite healthy). Also unacceptable are pieces of proposed legislation purporting to address "forest health emergencies," which are really blatant "give-aways" to the timber industry, with no environmental controls. [Res. 2, 1996]
When planning timber sales, the Forest Service should prepare either Environmental Assessments or Environmental Impact Statements under NEPA and should stop its practice of avoiding NEPA compliance by resorting to "categorical exclusions," as it is doing frequently on the Mt. Hood National Forest. [Res. 13, 2007]
To be viable, the timber industry must operate on a lower, realistic and sustainable level of cutting and use more ecologically-benign forest practices (such as light weight, low-impact technology), as well as abide by the limits set by federal law to protect biodiversity and the health of forest ecosystems. [Res. 19, 1992; also Res. 24, 1995]
The federal government should actively assist the process by which jobs are shifted from logging and milling the remaining old growth to other enterprises, including tourism, small-scale manufacturing, and thinning and reforestation in timber-dependent communities. Federal funding and technical assistance should be provided to maintain and improve the infrastructure in these communities, help mills re-tool, and re-train workers for other trades. Where applicable, low-interest loans should be provided, as well as extended unemployment benefits and relief from mortgage payments for workers. Programs should aim at creating new jobs at established union wages. Conservationists should cooperate with unions representing woodworkers to design programs that are economically and environmentally compatible and see each other as potential allies. [Res. 22, 1990; also Res. 2, 1992 and Res. 24, 1995].
[Superseded in part] Programs to better protect ancient forests should be combined with programs to provide a sustainable future for the timber industry and its dependent communities. Such programs would include controls on log exports, sustainable management, a stable supply of two billion board feet of wood, tax incentives (especially for small wood lot owners), worker assistance, reforestation and community development programs. [Res. 23, 1991]
Efforts to assist timber dependent communities should not jeopardize environmental programs, such as by overriding the Endangered Species Act, subordinate the values of national forests to timber and grazing, interfere with rights of citizens to go to court to challenge national forest actions, nor create new reserves of a bogus nature (which would lack permanence). [Res. 24, 1991; see also Res. 2, 1992]
Congress should prohibit the export of raw logs from the forests of the Pacific Northwest to save milling jobs in that region and reduce pressure for timber sales from national forests. To guard against the introduction of pests that might adversely affect those native forests, Congress should also prohibit the import of logs from abroad. [Res. 14, 1994]
The United States should offset the effect of subsidies being provided for Canadian timber production (through minimal environmental regulation and enforcement) by imposing duties (or taxes, quotas or other measures) that keep imports of Canadian lumber at levels that do not exceed historic averages. [Res. 37, 2001]
Because fire has often played vital part in the regenerative cycle of our forests and wildlands (especially in dry-climate forest ecosystems), prescribed burning can be acceptable in certain circumstances, where necessary, as a valid management policy in urban/wildland interfaces, as long as appropriate precautions are taken to control the prescribed burns. [Res. 2, 1999] Prescribed burning (outside of designated wilderness areas and areas preserved for their biological significance) ought to become an integral part of fire management policies, but it needs to be prudently administered. Through eliminating fuel buildup, such burning will set the stage for the return of natural, low-intensity fires that recycle nutrients, remove underbrush and dead trees, and release seeds. [Res. 14, 2000]
Salvage logging should not be automatically done following large, catastrophic wildfires on public forest lands. Often recovery will better be facilitated by allowing the areas to recover naturally; salvage logging often leaves more flammable materials on site in the form of slash and reduces the survival of seedlings. Always the goal ought to be restoration of ecological integrity and the resilience and health of the forest. Careful study must be undertaken to decide on the best course following such fires. [Res. 17, 2007]
Legislation (H.R. 1904) should not be enacted that would increase the amount of logging, particularly the cutting of big trees in the backcountry, under the guise of preventing catastrophic forest fires. Citizen appellate rights should not be curtailed. The emphasis should be reducing fire danger along the urban-forest interface. [Res. 10, 2003]
Legislation should not be enacted which makes it easier to log after fires and other natural events, such as blow downs, ice storms, and insect outbreaks. Those pushing this legislation want to reduce environmental reviews, judicial review, and opportunities for public comment. New loopholes should not be created to justify widespread removal of trees. [Res. 26, 2005]
Specific Forests
This nation's remaining ancient forests (composed of ecosystems, plants, animals and soils) should be protected from damaging intrusion. Protection of ancient forests on federal lands in Oregon, Washington, and northern California is particularly important. [Superseded in part] In these states, the authorized levels of cutting should be reduced to less than 2.5 bbf by 1991. [Res. 23, 1990] Also special protection should be extended to Pacific yew trees. [Res. 2, 1992][Superseded in part] Legislation to better protect forests (particularly old growth) in the Pacific Northwest should also include eastside forests in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. [Res. 22, 1991] There ought to be a significant reduction in levels of logging in these forests, protection of all watersheds and fisheries, assistance to timber dependent communities, and permanent protection of all remaining roadless areas, and permanent protection for all remaining old growth, or ancient forests. [Res. 3, 1993] Management plans for the Interior Columbia River Basin's forests and ranges should specify less logging and grazing rather than more and should restore all public lands damaged by previous management practices, adopt practices that improve water quality, and result in protection of all critical wildlife habitat there and all roadless areas and ancient forests. [Res. 3, 1997]
[Superseded in part] Federal forests in the Pacific Northwest should be managed with an emphasis on ecosystem management, watershed protection, long rotation schedules for managed forests, and the willingness to adopt principles of modern conservation biology in all aspects of forest planning. The centerpiece of planning should be designation of ancient forests in permanent reserves that are protected for all logging, thinning and salvage. Plans must be ecologically credible, scientifically sound and legally responsible. [Res. 2, 1993] Detailed ecological surveys to identify and protect sensitive ecosystems and species, as required by law, must be undertaken by the Forest Service prior to making timber sales (especially in old growth). [Res. 17, 1999]
Option 9 of the Clinton Administration, which was designed to address the needs of old growth forest habitat in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California, was flawed in that it allowed salvage logging (e.g., for burnt timber or blow downs), thinning for trees up to 80 years old, and it provided no permanent protection for ancient forests, nor protection for east side Ponderosa Pine forests. Moreover, thirty percent of the ancient forests were left out of the areas to be protected. [Res. 2, 1994] Salvage logging should not be accelerated so that old growth stands are endangered, or in cases where environmental laws are suspended. [Res. 25, 1995]
However, even the practices designed to implement Option 9 should not be weakened. Efforts were made under the Bush Administration to suspend the "survey and manage" requirement (species on tracts under management had to be inventoried and protected) and the Aquatic Conservation Strategy, which required a showing that fish would not be harmed. Collusive arrangements should not be made to settle challenging suits brought by industry. [Res. 11, 2003]
The "survey and manage" rule should be reinstated, and the court order requiring this should not be appealed. The "look before you log" rule was basically sound, and management plans should have to have provisions protecting species identified in surveys. [Res. 24, 2005]
The Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington state should revise its timber sale program so that it does not offer sales of old growth or late successional forest in or immediately adjacent to areas highly prized for their recreational, wilderness or scenic values, or adjacent to protected areas or trails. Nor should sales be offered where they would severely impact habitat for spotted owls and other endangered species, nor in any area identified by wildlife professionals as critical habitat. [Res. 5, 1996]
The ancient forests of British Columbia also stand in urgent need of protection from the ravishing effects of massive clear cutting. [Res. 13, 1991] The recommendations for reformed forest practices, contained in the Clayoquot Sound Scientific Report, should be extended to cover logging practices throughout British Columbia. These include: planning that focuses on trees that should be retained, applying biodiversity considerations on a site-by-site basis, stronger protection for streams, restrictions on road construction, and a requirement that scientific assessments must be done before logging can occur in pristine watersheds. Moreover, the role of native tribes in managing forests would be expanded in areas which they occupy. [Res. 16, 1995] It is especially important that this approach be applied to the entire coastal temperate rainforest belt of British Columbia. As this is done (through the Central Coast Planning Process), logging should be deferred in all intact valleys and ecosystems, including the Klakish and East Creek watersheds on Vancouver Island and Ahta and Johnson watersheds on the mainland coast. Comprehensive inventories of the resources are needed, as well as full watershed plans. [Res. 18, 1996] For all of the forests of British Columbia, the level of logging must be immediately reduced to sustainable levels (ecologically determined), and clear cutting must be phased out, and forest management that is ecosystem based must be phased in instead.
The government of British Columbia should eliminate subsidies for high levels of timber production on its lands that take place through minimal environmental regulation and enforcement. This level of production is damaging salmon habitat and is leading to the decline of threatened and endangered species and their habitat. [Res. 36, 2001]
Immediate action should be taken by federal, state, and local agencies to protect and restore fragile old-growth forest and riparian and aquatic ecosystems in pursuit of the findings of the Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project (SNEP, 1997) which found that riparian and aquatic systems are the most impaired habitats in that range, that wildlife decline has been caused by the loss of this habitat, as well as of foothill and late successional forests, that water quality problems exist because of excessive sedimentation, and that fire suppression has caused a build up of fuels. To deal with the latter problem, the Forest Service should use prescribed fire in its management. [Res. 11, 1997] The Forest Service should adopt the suggestions embodied in the "conservation alternative" for the management of Sierra Nevada forests, which would place emphasis on protecting old growth, maintaining roadless areas intact, preserving riparian areas, and protecting the habitat for such species as the California spotted owl, goshawk, and fur bearers such as the marten and fisher, as well as amphibians. [Res. 7, 1999]
The Sierra Nevada framework, which was adopted in 2001 by the Forest Service, should not be weakened. It provides strict limits on cutting large trees and road building. Efforts to weaken it through increasing diameter limits and reducing canopy-cover requirements and protection for endangered species (e.g., California spotted owl and fisher) should be resisted. The amount of logging allowed should not be doubled. The framework adopted in 2001 should be kept intact. [Res. 15, 2003]
Legislation should not be enacted to implement the recommendations of the so-called "Quincy Library Group" in California because they would double current levels of logging in central Sierra Nevada national forests (under the guise of building fuel breaks), with inadequate scientific oversight and other needed controls and imposing detrimental effects on wildlife, soils, and water. While touted as a local solution, it is opposed by nearly all small environmental groups in the area. [Res. 14, 1997]
Industrial clear-cutting of private, as well as state-owned, forests in California, should stop. This destructive practice is: converting the state's diverse forests into fire-prone tree plantations; is endangering wildlife and its habitat; is threatening water quality; it is promoting widespread use of chemical herbicides; it is contributing to global change of the climate; is destroying the state's natural beauty; and is damaging the value of private property and businesses. The state's officials and agencies should bring this practice to an end. [Res. 15, 2006]
The Mt. Hood National Forest should drop its proposals to let a series of timber sales near the Cooper Spur area, covering a 1350 acre area of ancient forest. These sales will risk an area reserved as spotted owl habitat and degrade water quality, including spawning grounds. [Res. 23, 2003]
The Umpqua National Forest should not proceed with their plans for the largest timber sale in its history--the Baked Apple Timber Sale, which would involve taking out over 41 million board feet on 917 acres which was not catastrophically burned. Instead, it should emphasize ecosystem recovery and follow the recommendations of the Beschta Report (OSU), which calls for leaving half of the trees under 20" in diameter, all those over that size, and all dead trees older than 150 years, as well as not building any new roads and avoiding erosive, steep and fragile slopes. [Res. 10, 2004]
The BLM should not proceed with its proposed WOPR plan for its O & C forest lands in western Oregon under which it would treble logging levels. This proposal would negate the Northwest Forest Plan and do great damage. Congress should not provide any funds for this work. [Res. 12, 2007]
A tract of BLM land in the Anderson West area in the Illinois Valley of 1regon of some 2600 acres should not be logged. Since the Biscuit Fire, this area has become a refuge for wildlife. Timber sales would degrade the area, especially Deer Creek. [Res. 13, 2003]
An independent board should review the Forest Service's action in allowing salvage logging, in response to the Biscuit Fire, within the Babyfoot Lake Botanical Area adjacednt to the Kalmiopsis Wilderness in southwestern Oregon, in violation of its own rules, while denying the public access to the area. Proper disciplinary action should be taken against those responsible for this flagrant breach of the public trust. [Res. 2, 2005]
The temperate rainforest ecosystems of the Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests in Oregon are beginning to recover from past burns and careless management and now provide valuable habitat for numerous threatened or endangered species. Future planning for these areas should focus on protecting their habitat and use of the areas for public recreation. [Res. 1, 1999]
Forest practices on private lands should be tightly regulated under state law. In California, conservationists have sought regulations to limit clear cuts to no more than 20 acres, with larger intervening forests between cut areas, with the amount clear cut in any ten year period not exceeding 15% of the watershed. and clear cutting disallowed in old growth. 15% of the forests under every ownership would have to be in trees that are mature or over-mature for wildlife. Streamside protection zones need to be ample and sustained yield required. [Res. 11, 1991]
The state forest lands of Washington state should be managed sustainably, with their second-growth forests to be logged on long rotations of 120-140 years. The guidelines of the Forest Stewardship Council should be followed. The remaining old growth (approximately 80,000 acres) should not be logged but protected. Additional sources of funding should be developed for state schools. The trust in which these forests are held should emphasize long-term sustainability and protection of old-growth forests, wetlands, water, recreation and habitat for wildlife. [Res. 16, 2002]
As member clubs of the Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs and the Federation itself use paper and paper products, they should try to use paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as recycled and bearing its logo. FSC paper is certified by an independent, detailed audit process. Clubs should consider replacing non-FSC virgin paper with FSC recycled paper products. [Res. 25, 2007]
Increased state and federal funding should be allocated for research into ways to combat the "Sudden Oak Death" disease, which has killed thousands of trees and shrubs in California. Teams of scientists with broader expertise must be employed, including fire ecologists who can determine whether prescribed burning might help; and they should broaden their investigation to search for common factors in the affected sites. [Res. 24, 2001]
The roadless areas of the Tongass National Forest in Alaska should be protected. The three million acres of such lands, not yet protected, should receive such protection. Logging and road building should not occur within them. This objective would be achieved under alternatives #6 and #8 of the EIS prepared for the forest. The "no action" alternative, which would reserve no more wilderness there, should be rejected. [Res. 20, 2002]
Firms attempting to exploit the forests of Siberia should avoid using destructive forest practices and the export of raw logs and should instead add value through local processing and engage only in forestry practices that do not jeopardize the integrity of the forest ecosystems there, with no logging in areas of important biological diversity. [Res. 19, 1993]
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