54 



I am going to conclude this discussion with a short Hst of rec- 

 ommendations for rehabihtating Northwest ecosystems from my 

 point of view. 



Number one, save the blueprints. The highest priority of Federal 

 land management agencies in the Pacific Northwest should be to 

 identify and protect the functioning ecosystems that will provide 

 the information essential to intelligent management. In forests, 

 these are likely to be roadless areas and watersheds containing 

 functioning old growth communities. These areas will be essential 

 in the future both for the information they provide and as stand- 

 ards against which to compare management elsewhere. 



Research natural area designation, which has been so sparingly 

 used in the recent past, should be widely applied to maintain these 

 areas. 



[Prepared statement of Mr. Aplet follows:] 



Statement of Gregory H. Aplet, Forest Ecologist, the Wilderness Society, 

 Before the House of Representatives Committee on Natup.al Resources, 

 Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Pubuc Lands, Concerning 

 Rehabilitation, Reforestation, and Reinvestment on Public Lands of the 

 Pacific Northwest, March 30, 1993 



Mr. Chairman, and members of the committee, I am Gregory H. Aplet, forest 

 ecologist for The Wilderness Society. I am pleased to be invited to express my views 

 on this important and timely issue. 



It is now widely recognized that our nation's forests and other public lands have 

 suffered greatly at our nands, and nowhere are the results of this mismanagement 

 more apparent than in the Pacific Northwest. The recently acknowledged dire condi- 

 tion of tne northern spotted owl, the marbled murrelet, and anadromous fish stocks 

 confirms what many have feared for years: that the ecosystems of the Pacific North- 

 west have been stressed beyond their means to support their full complement of life. 

 The situation is at least as serious on the east side of the Cascades where, according 

 to the charter of the Blue Mountains Natural Resource Institute: "Forests and 

 rangelands in northeast Oregon and southeast Washington fall far short of their 

 productive capacity to provide various products, services, and benefits. These forests 

 are among the most insect- and disease-infested forests of North America. Intro- 

 duced, non-native grasses are dominating rangelands, jvmiper is spreading, and nox- 

 ious weeds are threatening both forests and rangelands. Biological diversity is re- 

 duced. The buildup of unprecedented levels of dead and dying vegetation places the 

 forests under continual threat of catastrophic fire." 



Testimonials such as this make a compelling case for the alteration of manage- 

 ment practices in order to rehabilitate ecosystems. But before diving headlong into 

 rehabilitation, it is prudent to consider what it is we are tying to restore. 



For the last century or so in the Pacific Northwest, the objective of management 

 has been the conversion of unproductive natural forests into highly productive, man- 

 aged tree farms. The result has been the impoverishment of native biodiversity. As 

 nature has become scarce, society has reacted to its loss and now demands that pub- 

 lic lands be managed to protect natural ecosystems. Through the Endangered Spe- 

 cies Act, the National Forest Management Act, and other legislation, society has for- 

 malized its desire to restore to the nation's public lands the conditions that support 

 the full range of native biodiversity. 



This broad charge, restring biological diversity, must now become the objective of 

 natural resource management. That this signal is now being received at the highest 

 levels of the federal land management structure is reflected in the recent announce- 

 ments of the USDA Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to manage 

 from the perspective of ecosystems rather than products and outputs. Restoring 

 biodiversity though ecosystem management will require restoring to the landscape 

 the vegetation patterns and ecological processes that define the habitat of native 

 species. In many cases, this require only that the land be left alone to heal itself; 

 in others it will require considerably more effort. This is especially true where com- 

 modities are to be produced. 



Vegetation can be described as a function of three factors: the physical environ- 

 ment, species availability, and distvu-bance. Physical factors, such as climate and 

 soil parent material, determine what can potentially exist on a site. Species avail- 



