247 



Proponents ot the Logging Rider also "wave the 

 bloody shirt " when they argue that salvage logging is 

 necessary to reduce fuel loading and fire risk. Again, 

 the scientists who wrote the SNEP report find evi- 

 dence to the contrary. "Timber harvest, through its 

 effects on forest structure, local microclimate, and 

 fuel accumulation, has increased fire severity more 

 than any other recent human activity," the SNEP 

 report says. 



In fact, public land managers in California already 

 have the tools they need to address legitimate "forest 

 health" needs, and conduct salvage sales. Fully 40% 

 of the timber sales program in California before the 

 rider passed was salvage — and all of this was cut 

 with the laws in place. In fact, so much salvage has 

 been cut in California that some forests have little 

 • left to sell. Sequoia National Forest Supervisor Art 

 Gaffrey recently said that "at present, neither the 

 Sequoia nor Sierra National Forests have a signifi- 

 cant amount of dead trees." But that hasn't stopped 

 the Forest Service. 



The National Forests of California are threatened, 

 but not by natural processes such as fire and insects. 

 Decades of logging, road building and grazing have 

 taken a huge toll on the ecological integrity of the 

 forests. Excessive logging has brought wildlife species 

 to the brink of extinction, severely degraded rivers 

 and screams, and produced extensive erosion and 

 sedimentation. 



place. V'irtualK' every one of the 28 sales described in 

 this report have a significant green component; 

 almost half of them are straightforward green sales. In 

 fact, some of these sales (Ruffa and West Dusrv on 

 the Lassen, Hatchett on the Sequoia, and Treasure 

 and Davies on the Tahoe) were a part of the agency's 

 green sale program before they became PL. 104-19 

 sales. Clearly, the Forest Service has seized on the 

 opportunity to avoid public review and requirements 

 of laws which force the agency to balance timber pro- 

 duction with other values by using PL. 104-19. 



Abuse of taxpayer dollars will also result from log- 

 ging under PL. 104- 19. During the three year peri- 

 od 1992 - 1994 before the rider. National Forests in 

 California lost a total of $143.2 million from timber 

 sales, an average of $47.7 million a year, according to 

 the Government Accounting Office (GAO). Of the 

 1 1 National Forests covered in this report (several of 

 California's National Forests do not have a signifi- 

 cant timber program), only two, the Modoc and the 

 Lassen, showed timber receipts greater than oudays 

 for the three year period. 



It is anticipated that most of the PL. 104-19 sales will 

 lose money in California and across the country; in 

 faa, the law includes a specific mandate to ignore eco- 

 nomics of sales. This type of corporate welfare, subsi- 

 dizing the timber industry at the expense of both the 

 taxpayer and the environment, ought to be eliminat- 

 ed from all federal resource management programs. 



Invitation to Abuse 



Regrettably, the suspension of laws safeguarding the 

 forests and the democratic rights of citizens to appeal 

 illegal agency decisions has opened the flood gates for 

 abuse. Although the Logging Rider was sold to the 

 Congress as necessary to conduct "salvage" sales, 

 green (live) tree sales under the rider are common- 



Tim* _/&rtf Change 



The irresponsible action of the Congress and 

 President Clinton in passing and signing the 

 Logging Rider, and the irresponsible way the Forest 

 Service has implemented it, must be reversed. 



On a vote of 209-21 1, the House of Representatives 



