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Good morning Mr. Chairman and Subcommittee Members. 



My name is Tom Haislip. I am a senior scientist and project manager for CH2M HILL, 

 an international envirormiental engineering firm. I hold a B.S. degree in Zoology and a 

 M.S. degree in Ecology. I lead a team of scientists and planners who participate in the 

 open public process of the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project 

 (ICBEMP). Our goal is to assure that relevant information and the best science are 

 brought to the project, and that appropriate plaiming processes are used. We have been 

 involved in the project since its inception over two years ago. 



The project was initiated to develop an ecosystem management program for federal lands 

 east of the Cascade Mountains in the Pacific Northwest. One of the major drivers was 

 and continues to be rapidly deteriorating forest health conditions on national forest and 

 BLM lands. I believe this to be a very real problem and a threat that needs immediate 

 and significant federal action. This project offers the potential to resolve these issues, but 

 the products need additional work to bring more focus to them. 



General Comments 



Two of the primary products of the ICBEMP will be the Eastside EIS and the Upper 

 Columbia Basin EIS. We have had a chance to review early drafts of these two 

 documents and I would like to share our analysis results with you. 



1 . The writing quality is much improved over initial drafts. Much of the value-laden 

 language that would perpetuate controversies has been removed, but work in this area 

 remains. 



2. The descriptions of project needs are appropriate. These include resolving forest 

 health problems, and supporting social and economic needs. However, the project 

 purposes do not always relate directly to the stated needs. 



3. There is little discussion in the impact analysis of two pieces of key information: 

 (1) the effects on forest health, and (2) the risks and tradeoffs that relate to achieving 



