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STATEMENT OF GORDON ROBINSON (41 5) 435-0582 



Supporting The Giant Sequoia Preservation Act of 1993 (H.R. 2153) 



on behalf of Sequoia Alliance- January 19, 1994 



returning nutrients to the soil and stimulating growth of young 

 pine. It also provides mast for deer and various other 

 creatures. While oak stumps generally sprout, young trees do 

 not shed a significant quantity of leaves for many years, and do 

 not produce acorns until they are at least fifteen years old. 



3. I believe that the timbered portions of Sequoia 

 National Forest have been managed as tree farms for the 

 timber industry with scarcely any regard for other multiple use 

 values. I also believe that they must be having difficulty finding 

 sufficient timber to meet their sales quota, and this causes me 

 to be suspicious of their forest inventory and sustained yield 

 calculations. The historical pattern of clearcutting impairs the 

 productivity of the land in many ways. See attached Forestry 

 Note# 10 of June 1977. 



4. Based upon what I have seen and reviewed, I conclude 

 that the Sequoia National Forest has not been managed 

 according to best management practices. Best management 

 practices require 



* practicing sustained yield by limiting the removal of 

 timber from each administrative unit to that quantity which can 

 be removed annually in perpetuity and in which the quantity may 

 increase and quality improve, but neither will ever decline. 



*long rotations, to permit dominant trees to achieve 

 physiological maturity before being cut. 



♦limit the clearings created by logging to no larger than 

 necessary to meet the biological requirements of the trees 

 species involved, 



*use natural regeneration. 



♦maintain the habitat for all the native species of plants 

 and animals that naturally occur in the area. 



*take extreme precaution to protect the soil. 



