132 



The Sierra Club accepts Che bill's decision to keep che Preserve under 

 Foresc Service jurisdiction rather than transferring It to the National Park 

 Service. Though the Club and other environmental groups have often disagreed 

 strongly with the Forest Service over the management of Sequoia National 

 Forest lands, we are heartened by che new direction the Service seems to be 

 taking. Jack Uard Thomas, the new Chief of the Forest Service, has recently 

 indicated that the agency is changing and that its goal Is to promote 

 ecosystem management. Ve see that as in keeping with the intent of 

 Representative Brown's bill. The primary need for this Preserve Is for the 

 protection of the ancient forest ecosystem within its boundaries. Ue believe 

 the Foresc Service has Che sclencif Ic capabllicy Co manage Che Preserve Co ' 

 that end. With the restrictions on management clearly spelled out in the 

 leglslacloti, we believe che Foresc Service will have the needed guidance to 

 ensure that the sequoia ecosystem is permanently protected. 



The bill encompasses an area larger than the sequoia groves themselves. 

 It Includes the entire watersheds containing the groves, from old growth 

 forests to chaparral. By preserving the lowlands, which provide che winter 

 foraging and breeding ranges for deer and other species that move up and down 

 the mountain slopes, the groves will be protected. In many parts of che 

 Sierra Nevada, Chese lower elevation habitats have been eliminated through 

 subdivision and development. 



Ic Is hard for us Co conceive of Che length of time it takes for the 

 ancient giant sequoias to grow. Through research using carbon dating, it has 

 been determined that two thousand years ago. In the middle of the Giant Forest 

 at Crescent Meadow in Sequoia National Park, sequoias were a very minor part 

 of the local flora. Evidence of seeds and other sequoia matter there was 

 minimal; yet now, Crescent Meadow is the center of one of the largest sequoia 

 groves. There is evidence that groves have migrated in response to climatic 

 change. They might also expand under favorable, protected conditions. Ue do 

 not know enough about Che dynamics of che sequoia groves themselves Co simply 

 draw lines around Chem and declare Chac Chey are saved. We cannoc destroy the 

 forests around chese sequoia groves; Chey need Co be able to expand and move 

 into more favorable parts of the forest over the next two thousand years and 

 beyond. 



Provisions 



The bill («ec. 3(*)) defines a National Forest Preserve as forested public 

 lands dedicated for scientific study, recreational activity, and/or 

 environmencal protection and requires the Secretary of Agriculture to 

 recomaend to Congress and che President che establishment of other National 

 Forest Preserves. 



While there are public forests %#hlch are appropriate for cinber harvest, 

 there are also others, like those within the boundaries of the Clant Sequoia 

 Preserve, %rhlch would be better off with no more logging. While somewhat 

 similar Co the forest reserve system set up by the ancient forest protection 

 provisions of President Clinton's Plan for the Pacific Northwest and northern 

 California, the Sequoia Preserve Is far better because the protection of these 



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