51 



I am accompanied by Dr. Jack Ward Thomas, who is Chief of the 

 USDA Forest Service, and Mr. Tom Tuchmann, who is Special As- 

 sistsint to the Secretary of Agriculture. 



Your request letter for this hearing included a number of ques- 

 tions regarding the purposes, promises, and accomplishments 

 under the President's forest plan. While my full statement re- 

 sponds to those questions in greater detail, I would like to offer a 

 few brief summary comments in response to those questions up 

 front. 



To understand the goals and accomplishments of the President's 

 Northwest Forest Plan, one must consider the circumstances that 

 led to the need to develop the plan and the crisis that the Clinton 

 administration was presented with when we took office and that 

 we have sought to resolve. 



When the Clinton administration took office, the Pacific North- 

 west found itself deep in turmoil and controversy over the future 

 of timber sales, the viability of spotted owls, of saJmon, and the fu- 

 ture of old growth forests in the region. Litigation was driving for- 

 est policy, and injunctions against the sale and harvest of timber 

 from the national forests and BLM lands in Western Washington, 

 Oregon, and Northern California had brought the agency's timber 

 sale program and the timber industry to their knees. 



Neither the Reagan nor Bush administrations were able to re- 

 solve the controversy over timber production and forest protection 

 in the region. Congress spent much time and energy reviewing this 

 situation and receiving testimony regarding efforts by prior admin- 

 istration officials to resolve the issue. However, a legislative solu- 

 tion to the dilemma could not be fashioned. 



While controversy and confrontations continued, the communities 

 of the region suffered. Forest products firms continued to obtain 

 fiber from limited Federal timber sales and from private wood- 

 lands, but for all intents and purposes. Federal timber sales were 

 shut down. With no new national forest timber sales to fill mill 

 yards, companies were left to operate the backlog of sales that they 

 had purchased in years prior. But log supplies were clearly limited. 



At the same time, concern for the future viability of the Northern 

 spotted owl and the integrity of old growth forest resources was 

 growing. Murrelets and salmon stocks were also under study to de- 

 termine if their numbers were declining and their future was at 

 risk. 



A solution to the gridlock that gripped the region was des- 

 perately needed. On April 2, 1993, President Clinton convened the 

 Forest Conference in Portland, Oregon, to address the human and 

 ecological issues affecting the region. This was the first major con- 

 ference convened by the President and reflected a substantial com- 

 mitment of time and resources by the administration. The Presi- 

 dent, the Vice President, and a number of cabinet members were 

 in attendance. 



Participants heard and discussed a wide range of issues associ- 

 ated with the controversies affecting the region. It was clear that 

 an aggressive and concerted effort by the Clinton administration 

 was necessary in order to resolve these issues, to get past the in- 

 junctions and the gridlock and to get on with the management of 

 the national forests in a balanced and sustainable way. At the end 



