67 



Mr. POMBO. Gary, if you don't mind, could we just run out right 

 now and vote, and come right back? It will only take us about 10 

 minutes to go and come back. 



Mr. CONDIT. Well, the problem is, we've got Mr. Dooley, who is 

 coming back at 1:40 p.m. to chair this, and he will be coming back, 

 so that will get us close to 1:40 p.m. I mean, is there any problem 

 with Dr. Kondolf doing his opening statements? 



Mr. PoMBO. Will we make the vote? 



Mr. CONDIT. Yes, we'll make the vote. We've got time to do that, 

 if he doesn't take more than 5 minutes, and you and I don't talk 

 that much. 



Go ahead. 



STATEME^rT OF G. MATHIAS KONDOLF, ASSISTANT PROFES- 

 SOR, ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING, UNIVERSITY OF CALI- 

 FORNIA-BERKELEY, ACCOMPANIED BY DANIEL P. CHRIS- 

 TENSON, BIOLOGIST; AND ROY KEENE, FORESTER AND EX- 

 ECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PUBLIC FORESTRY FOUNDATION 



Mr. Kondolf. I'll talk fast. Thanks for the opportunity to testify. 



I'm talking about erosion and sedimentation caused by logging, 

 logging roads, and grazing. This is a little different than the topic 

 of the trees themselves, but I have studied this in the Sequoia Na- 

 tional Forest. 



Mr. Jack Ward Thomas indicated earlier that he felt the area is 

 well managed today. I will testify that the scientific evidence dem- 

 onstrates that there are serious erosion and sedimentation prob- 

 lems in the Sequoia National Forest. 



The evidence of these problems has been ignored by the Forest 

 Service, and some of the evidence, in fact, suggests that some of 

 the problems are actually covered up by a misleading, confusing, 

 and easily manipulated method of analysis. 



The term used for erosion and sedimentation caused by logging, 

 logging roads, and grazing is cumulative watershed effects. The 

 word "cumulative" is used to refer to the fact that these effects 

 move off-site, affecting areas downstream. They can accumulate 

 over time, becoming significant. Many small impacts over a large 

 area can add up over time to have a significant effect. 



As an example, there is Redwood National Park, where the tall 

 trees grow, or the tallest trees in the world reside. These, of course, 

 are coast redwoods. This area is threatened by erosion caused by 

 logging that has taken place many miles upstream, and most of it 

 over two decades ago. But it has moved down through and caused 

 excessive deposits in that area of the stream. 



In the Sequoia National Forest, the cumulative effects have al- 

 ready occurred. I have observed numerous sites where erosion has 

 occurred and sediment is getting into the stream. And the Forest 

 Service acknowledges these impacts in their field reports. 



One example, from the Forest Service Fisheries Working Paper 

 for the Casa-Guard Timber Sale Stakes, "Management activities, 

 including past timber sales, timber-associated rating, ORV use, 

 livestock grazing, and others have combined to increase the sedi- 

 ment load. The main impact of the increased sediment load ap- 

 pears to be the filling of pools and the corresponding reduction of 



