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I. Introduction 



California 's Forests At Risk 



Unless President Clinton and Congress act soon, the 

 loss of some of the last and best of California's Great 

 Forests will be the environmental legacy of the 104th 

 Congress and the Clinton Presidency. 



This report describes just 28 of the worst timber sales 

 among more than 250 planned for California under 

 the Rescissions Act Logging Rider (EL. 104-19). 

 Jessica Mathews, the Washington Post columnist, 

 writes that the rider is "arguably the worst public 

 lands legislation ever." Certainly, it is the worst envi- 

 ronmental law passed by the 104th Congress. 



President Clinton signed the Logging Rider into 

 effect July 27, 1995. Since that date, the most impor- 

 tant environmental laws of our nation have been sus- 

 pended for timber sales on National Forests across 

 the country, including those in California. The result 

 has been a flood of green (live) tree sales masquerad- 

 ing as "salvage," the logging of rare old growth 

 forests, and numerous timber sales which violate 

 basic environmental laws and threaten the ecological 

 health of the state's watersheds and fisheries. 



"Lawless Logging" in California 



The Clean Water Act, the NadonaJ Environmental 

 Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and other 

 safeguards apply to every other private and public 

 action in California — but not to sales of timber 

 from National Forests affecting some of our state's 

 most precious forest ecosystems and the rivers, fishi 

 and wildlife that depend on them. 



Most of the direct assaults by corporations and cam- 

 paign contributors on the nation's environmental 



laws in the 104th Congress have fallen short. But the 

 passage of the Rescissions Act Logging Rider by the 

 Congress in 1995, and its signature by President 

 Clinton, was a major victory for timber industry 

 lobbyists and political action committees that con- 

 tributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to elect 

 the current Congress. 



The good news is that the bulk of the damage which 

 could result in California from the Logging Rider 

 has not yet occurred. Even though the law has been 

 in eff^ect for a year, a relatively small number of sales 

 under the Logging Rider have been cut so hs. 



But time is short. The Forest Service is planning over 

 203 "salvage" timber sales, and 50 Option 9 

 (Northwest Forest Plan) sales in California under the 

 rider. More notices of plarmed sales are received every 

 day. Only immediate acdon by the President and the 

 Congress can stop this threat to California's forests. 



A Time Bomb for California's Forests 



The Rescissions Act Logging Rider is an environ- 

 mental time bomb waiting to go off in California. 

 This repon describes 28 of the most egregious tim- 

 ber sales planned under the Logging Rider in the 

 state. Eight of the sales will enter roadless areas. 

 Roadless areas are not just areas without roads. 

 Roadless areas together with Wilderness represent 

 the last remaining undisturbed portions of the land- 

 scape, areas that serve as refuges for numerous 

 imperiled species. Nine of these sales are planned for 

 critical watersheds that protect the quality of our 

 state's waters, and harbor valuable fisheries. Twenty 

 one of them impact endangered or sensitive wildlife 



