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supply of timber, protecting wildlife habitat and collaborative 

 Adaptive Management Area planning. 



Let me now turn to the specifics of the BLM's implementation of 

 the Forest Plan. We measure our accomplishments, past, present, 

 and future, against the Plan's five fundamental goals. 



The first goal is to support the region's people and communities 

 during a period of economic transition. From the start, the Presi- 

 dent made clear his goal was to relieve the paralysis that had 

 gripped timber-dependent communities in the Pacific Northwest 

 during the gridlock. To help these communities diversify their 

 economies, the President developed a five-year, $1.2 billion eco- 

 nomic assistance package. It has awarded millions of dollars in 

 grants and loans to stimulate business growth and economic devel- 

 opment in rural communities in Washington, Oregon, and Califor- 

 nia, and to develop and improve community infrastructure, includ- 

 ing waste systems and water treatment facilities. 



The second goal is to provide a sustainable timber economy. Let 

 me assure the Subcommittee that the BLM is meeting its commit- 

 ment to offer timber sales under the Northwest Forest Plan. In 

 1994, the BLM in western Oregon made a commitment to ramp up 

 to offering the full allowable sale quantity under the Western Or- 

 egon Resource Management Plans. In fiscal year 1995, we commit- 

 ted to offering 120.5 million board feet that met the standards and 

 guidelines of the Northwest Forest Plan and we offered 129.5 mil- 

 lion. In fiscal year 1996, we committed to offer 182.5 million board 

 feet. To date, we have offered 128 million board feet and we will 

 meet our target. We are committed to offering the full sustainable 

 amount of 213.5 million board feet in fiscal year 1997. 



The third goal is to protect and enhance the environment. At its 

 core, the goal of the Forest Plan was to restore some level of timber 

 harvesting by methods that also protect and enhance the environ- 

 ment. Our first priorities were watershed analysis and expedited 

 consultations in timber sale preparation. 



To protect and restore watersheds, the BLM began to do water- 

 shed ansdysis for the entire area, systematically characterizing the 

 aquatic, riparian, and land features within a watershed. Watershed 

 analysis is critical because it paves the way for timber sales, and 

 other projects, in the future. 



The BLM developed expedited procedures for consultation with 

 the Fish and Wildlife Service on Forest Plan projects in the six 

 western Oregon BLM districts to ensure protection for threatened 

 or endangered species or critical habitat. Under these expedited 

 procedures, the districts rapidly completed consultation on all fiscal 

 year 1995 projects. We have already finished 80 to 90 percent of 

 our fiscal year 1996 projects and we are already working on many 

 of our fiscal year 1997 projects. These expedited procedures cut our 

 consultation time by more than half Informal consultations are 

 completed in 17 days or less and formal consultations result in bio- 

 logical opinions in just 43 days. 



The fourth goal is to ensure that Federal agencies work together 

 as one government. The President directed the Federal regiilatory 

 and land management agencies to work together in carrying out 

 the Forest Plan. This order to the agencies — to work better to- 

 gether — was unprecedented in a region as large as that covered by 



