31 



the United States. Although we would like U.S. timber mills to be 

 fully operational, the risk is certainly too great. 



One thing that has not been mentioned: we have been talking 

 about logs coming in from Chile, New Zealand, and Siberia, but the 

 new rules are for logs from all other countries of the world also. 

 So these will be rules for timber species from around the world 

 that have not been tested for pathogens and insect pests. 



Also, the possible importation of pests could be affecting our 

 hardwood floors from Maine to Michigan, and our southern conif- 

 erous forests from North Carolina to Texas. 



I will simply mention a few of the myths associated with this 

 topic and some of what I consider the absurdities of the new pro- 

 posed rules. The first myth is that there are not enough — there is 

 not enough timber in the United States to keep our mills going. 

 That is not true. Government documents show that in the last year 

 alone over 4 billion board feet of logs and unprocessed lumber were 

 sent from private and public lands from Alaska and the Northwest. 

 What we are doing is helping to provide full employment for the 

 mills of Japan while closing down our own mills. 



The second myth is that the log imports will improve the econ- 

 omy of timber-dependent communities. If we introduce new pests 

 and pathogens, we will destroy the economies of these same com- 

 munities. Not only killing the trees but also hurting the tourism in- 

 dustry and commercial and recreational fishing. 



Also, the American nursery industry will be greatly harmed. Mr. 

 Craig Regelbrugge, one of the directors of the American Association 

 of Nurserymen, called and asked me to convey to you his organiza- 

 tion's deep concern about the importation of new pests that could 

 come in on unprocessed wood articles under the proposed rules. 

 Every time a new pest is introduced into the United States, the 

 nursery industry undergoes construction. There are countries that 

 would not accept the American nursery material. 



And the third myth is that by importing logs from abroad, our 

 forests can be spared. That is absolutely not correct because our 

 forests might be destroyed. Not only will we lose species, but the 

 main response will be massive pesticide application on our forests 

 and other lands, and these pesticides will not only damage human 

 health and poison our waters, but also they will kill many 

 nontarget species. 



Now to go through some of the absurdities, some of which have 

 already been mentioned. The greatest one is that the temperatures 

 that have been found through scientific research to be required to 

 kill all the important pathogens and pests to the center of the wood 

 have been reduced by 27 degrees Fahrenheit and by 45 minutes of 

 heat treatment in the Proposed Rules. 



The second absurdity is that except for the wood articles from Si- 

 beria, the wood does not have to be heat treated for one to two 

 months after it has arrived in the United States. During all of that 

 time spores of pathogenic fungi and devestating insects can be re- 

 leased into the environment. 



Mr. Rose. Can I ask you to just hold right there? Rather than 

 hurry up your statement, I think you should let us go vote. 



Ms. Belsky. Okay. 



