50 



4. Increased probability for catastrophic damages; 

 increased roading associated with buffers will 

 increase the potential for both landslides and debris 

 torrents, and a 30-meter buffer may not be sufficient 

 to prevent landslides. 



If the 30-meter buffer proposal was modified to include the 

 identification and application of additional measures to 

 minimize catastrophic damages, the fixed width approach becomes 

 no different from the site-specific management conducted by the 

 Forest Service. The modified buffer proposal, however, would 

 not provide the timber harvest and habitat enhancement 

 opportunities afforded by the Forest Service program. The only 

 benefit gained from the 30-meter proposal would be a reduction 

 in the frequency of minor habitat damages that may occur from 

 felling and yarding timber adjacent to streams; a benefit that 

 may be nullified by a catastrophic event. 



Neither the Forest Service program nor the 30-meter buffer 

 proposal provides a guarantee of no habitat damage. Although 

 landslides, debris torrents, and bank erosion are natural 

 events in Southeast Alaska, improper logging and poor forest 

 management can increase the frequency of these events. 

 Recognition of this fact caused resource managers to form IDT's 

 and to apply the best available scientific data for management 

 of a multiple-uit forest. 



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