52 



adaptive management. When the ecosystem can change faster than the bureaucracy 

 of the management agency, you have a serious problem. 



The challenges to unproving reforestation, ecosystem restoration, and ecosystem 

 management, therefore, do not all reside out in the forest, with tne agency man- 

 agers charged with the stewardship of our public lands. Some of those chmlenges 

 face the Congress, as it struggles to balance national interests and political forces 

 with emerging ecosystem science and changing environmental conditions. 



One of tne major challenges, Mr. Chairman, is for Congress to regain a greater 

 measure of trust in the professionals that are on the groimd, and give them the free- 

 dom to actually carry out ecosystem mana^ment. If you do that, they will make 

 mistakes, and you will need to be both sensitive to the critics and supportive of the 

 professionals in their efforts. 



There will continue to be reforestation failures, made inevitable by imforeseen 

 events and the need to address high-risk situations. If the response fi:t)m Congress 

 is to support continued attempts until success is achieved, vou will replace fsulure 

 with success. If the response from Congress is to constantly criticize those whose 

 attempts fail, you will continue to see agencies stop trying anything risky or innova- 

 tive, and people covering up their inevitable failures. 



If vou 00 not give these professionals some trust and latitude, the very future of 

 the federal forests are in increasingly serious jeopardy, and the more criticism you 

 heap on them, and the more tightly you constrain their actions with detailed legisla- 

 tive prescriptions and regulation, the worse it will get. 



That may not be the reforestation message you hoped to hear from us today, but 

 it is where our view of the current situation brings us. We'd be happy to try to an- 

 swer any questions you may have. 



Mr. Vento. I appreciate your response. It was worthwhile. 



We have a series of four of five votes now, the first of which, 

 after this Journal vote, will be fifteen minutes, then each will be 

 five after that. So I think the practical thing to do is to suggest 

 that we recess and come back at about 1:00 p.m., and I hope all 

 of you can be here. 



We hope to wind up the hearing in about an hour, and hopefully 

 we won't be disturbed by more interruptions in terms of votes, but 

 there are no guarantees on that. That is what I intend to do, to 

 come back at 1:00 p.m., and give you a time specific about trying 

 to be here if the schedule permits me on the Floor, so you can get 

 your lunch. 



We will stand in recess at this time. 



[Whereupon, at 12:10 p.m., the subcommittee was recessed, to re- 

 convene at 1:00 p.m.] 



Mr. Vento. The subcommittee will resume its sitting. 



Let me invite Dr. Aplet, who is now present, to make his state- 

 ment. 



Please proceed. Dr. Aplet. 



STATEMENT OF GREGORY H. APLET 



Mr. Aplet. I appreciate the invitation to appear here. 

 Due to the notice that we received, I prepared a written state- 

 ment that I am finding difficult to whittle down into any short- 



Mr. Vento. We have a problem here because the votes I thought 

 were going to take place did not, and so we may be interrupted for 

 votes. I am going to have to ask you just to take about five min- 

 utes. Your entire statement will be made a part of the record, and 

 you can either summarize it or just reference it as you go through 

 it. 



Mr. Aplet. Okay. I will try to just keep this brief and hit the 

 highlights. 



I think the earlier guests today made a strong, compelling case 

 for the need for rehabilitation in the Pacific Northwest, but I do 



