105 



Reality: There is plenty of timber in the Pacific Northwest and the rest of the U.S., but much of 

 it is being exported out of the counu7. Last year, nearly four billion board feet of high 

 quality American logs and unprocessed lumber were exported to Japan and other 

 countries from public and private lands in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska alone. This is far 

 more than what is required to keep all Northwest lumber mills operating at capacity. In other 

 words, we are helping to provide full employment for mill workers in Japan while closing down 

 mills in the U.S. 



Myth #2: Log imports will improve the economy of timber-dependent 

 communities in the United States by providing wood for mills and jobs for mill 

 workers. 



Reality: The introduction of exotic insect pests and disease organisms could devastate forests 

 throughout the country and eliminate in^ortant tree species from commercial use. Losses of these 

 trees and forests would eliminate jobs for loggers and workers in the wood-products industry, 

 destroy tourism in these regions, and reduce commercial and recreational fishing. There are 175 

 known pests associated with Siberian Larch trees alone. Siberian Larch is closely related to 

 Douglas fir, which is very vulnerable to these pests. Just as Chestnut blight once killed one- 

 quarter of all trees in the eastern United States (1994, Draft EIS), any one of these 175 pests 

 could eliminate Douglas fir as a timber species. This would result in massive dislocation of 

 workers and disruption of towns and communities of forested regions. In addition, introduction 

 of exotic pests would have a severely damaging effect on the American nursery industry. Mr. 

 Craig Rcgelbrugge, Director of Regulatory Affairs and Grower Services, of the American 

 Association of Nurserymen asked me to convey to you his organization's deep concerns about the 

 Proposed Rules and the effects that new pest introductions would have on their industry. 



Myth #3: By importing logs from abroad, our own forests can be spared. 



Reality: By introducing new pests and pathogens, we could devastate our own forests. Forest- 

 dependent sf>ecies such as the northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet, salmon, fisher, numerous 

 salamanders, and hundreds of mollusk, insect, and plant species are already threatened with 

 extinction by severe fragmentation of our nation's forests due to past over-logging. With new 

 infesutions by exotic diseases, large numbers of trees would die and many old-growth dependent 

 species would go extinct. Furthermore, any introductions of new pests and diseases would be 

 countered with massive applications of pesticides, which would not only endanger humans and 

 poison water supplies, but harm hundreds of non-target forest species. 



