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valuable than Its timber. Since lumber prices may rise and fall, Jusc 

 stopping the below-cost sale program In this region Is not enough to ensure 

 permanent protection of the giant sequoias and other surrounding species. In 

 addition, the Sequoia and Sierra National Forests are very dry, with quite 

 poor soils. Hauling logs to the mills Is also a long and costly proposition. 

 The terrain Is steep and rugged. Clearcuttlng on hills causes thousands of 

 tons of precious topsoll to wash off, which destroys streams and fisheries and 

 fills reservoirs with silt. 



Despite their efforts, the Forest Service has a very poor record when It 

 comes to reforesting these lands. Most seedlings planted after a timber 

 harvest simply do not grow back well, and often die very early on. In fact, 

 less than '20% of the acreage replanted In the Sequoia National Forest between 

 1976 and 1986 was certified as successfully restocked. Many question whether 

 the existing giant sequoia ecosystem, and indeed ancient forests in general, 

 are replaceable. The lands are eroding and becoming drier at an alarming 

 rate. This is too precious and rare a resource to experiment with. The 

 forests of the southern Sierra Nevada survive under dry, almost desert-like 

 conditions compared with most forests where commercial timber harvest is 

 successful. California has also been hard hit recently by year after year of 

 drought. This bill does not lock away the forest from multiple use. While It 

 does eliminate commercial timber harvest, it encourages significant dispersed 

 recreational opportunities. Hunting and fishing would continue. 



As for the provisions to allow logging for scientific study and fire 

 control (sec. 7(k)), the Sierra Club Is concerned with possible negative 

 ramifications that may well be associated with this Idea. Allowing salvage 

 sales could easily stimulate demands for Increasing sales volume to expand 

 timber production. Increasingly, "salvage" Is the excuse by which otherwise 

 inappropriate timber sales are being approved on national forests in the 

 Sierra Nevada. The Forest Service's current Sierra Nevada salvage volume 

 estimates conclude that "80 percent of all timber harvested on the forests Is 

 from dying trees as a result of drought and Insect attacks." Recently, 

 acceleration of salvage logging occurred following Forest Service NFMA 

 regulations that exempted such sales from administrative appeal and lowered 

 regulatory requirements for environmental review on any salvage sale under one 

 million board feet (dead) or 250,000 board feet (green). The Sierra Club Is 

 apprehensive any tine Forest Service regulations succeed in reducing or 

 eliminating public participation in the planning process, especially when the 

 new ecosystem management policy calls public Involvement essential to 

 expanding the agency's conservation partnerships. 



Harvesting dead or dying trees under "fire control" emergency provisions 

 Is not the answer to Improving forest health. Doing this allows managers 

 Increased flexibility in expediting salvage sales as compensation for reduced 

 timber volumes offered under green sales. In a July 1992 press release. 

 Sequoia Forest Industries called for quick salvage sales as a protection 

 against "disastrous forest wildfire" conditions. The Forest Service responded 

 with a release saying that the "regional fuels community recognized early In 

 the salvage effort that the removal of dead trees Co provide saw logs was not 

 the answer to reducing fire hazards. Substantial material and slash left 

 after logging has the biggest Impact on fire behavior." Removing dead trees. 



