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Cloer-Testimony: H.R. 2153 Page 3 



Who would argue that we should protect Giant Sequoias and their ecosystem? Nearly 

 everyone who will be testifying here today on all sides of the issue will support the 

 concept of protecting Giant Sequoias. Indeed, most groups represented here signed 

 a statement that "The Giant Sequoia Groves in Sequoia National Forest ("Groves") are 

 a unique national treasure that shall be preserved. The goal for the administration of 

 the groves shall be to protect, preserve, and restore the Groves for the benefit and 

 enjoyment of the present and future generations." 



H.R. 2153 will accomplish exactly those goals. It will permanently remove the 

 pressure for commodity production so that decisions concerning management of 

 Sequoia Groves can be based on science and knowledge. Why would anyone 

 interested in preserving groves be opposed to this Bill? 



The only answer is, of course, that certain interests rely upon commodity extraction for 

 their businesses' profit; even if they do not currently mine or log or otherwise use the 

 resources of the forest, they want to keep future options open. They will try to tell you 

 that the Forest can be all things to all people; they will try to convince you that we can 

 convert the Forest into a commercial industrial tree farm, keep the wildlife, and protect 

 Sequoias all at the same time. They are wrong. Meeting timber targets and keeping 

 open a hungry timber mill has brought the forest ecosystem of Sequoia National 

 Forest to a crises point. The logging excesses of the past cannot continue; it is not a 

 viable option for the future. 



Looking at a map helps one to understand the forested lands of Sequoia National 

 Forest. The Sierra Nevada Mountain Range is a narrow peninsula of life extending 

 into a very arid region. Beginning just south of Lassen Gap and ending near 

 Tehachapi, it has a total length of about 400 miles. Varying between 40 and 70 miles 

 in width, it is totally within California except for a small portion in Nevada near Lake 

 Tahoe. From 14,000 ft. granite peaks to the east it plunges abruptly into the arid Great 

 Basin desert; and to the west it tapers more gradually into the San Joaquin Valley. 



At the extreme southern end of this range we find Sequoia National Forest; this is the 

 southern-most National Forest in the Sierra Nevada; it borders on the Mohave Desert. 

 The conifer belt is a narrow green ribbon winding between 5000 and 8000 feet 

 elevation sandwiched between the jagged peaks of the high country and the arid 

 chaparral of the lower elevatrans. Rainfall over the conifer zone is as low as 15 inches 

 and is seldom higher than 40 inches. There would be insufficient rainfall to support 

 conifers without the unK^ue placement and height of the Sierras. On the western 

 slopes, these 14,000 ft. peaks trap moisture laden air arising from the Pacific Ocean 

 and wring the rain from it before the air travels on to the desert-like eastern stapes. 

 Compare our Southern Sierras with the Pacific Northwest where much of the forest is 

 at sea level, more northern latitudes bring tonger winters, and rainfall is 80-100 inches 

 per year. 



