113 



Wir55T' 



CRASS ROOTS 



Network News 



Environmental Protection for National Forests 



Summer 1993 



Timber Sale Intervention Made Simple 



Gommeriting on a timber sale can be hard and 

 confusing work. Finding out about the sale, 

 •attending ID team meetings and field trips, and" sifting 

 through masses' of Forest Service documents is often 

 overwhelming. You know you want to protect the 

 forest, but maybe vou're. not sure exactly how. What 

 good IS all of this information unless you know how to 

 use it? 



^nd then, before you you know it, the EA and 

 ecision Notice jre out and your only alternative to' 

 protect the forest is to appeal the sale. 



Meanwhile, the Forest Service is making the appeals 

 process increasingly difficult, heightening the need foe 

 greater pre-decisional involvement. But how can you 

 use early involvement to your advantage? 



To help activists gain greater influence early in the 

 public participation process, the Forest Trust has 

 developed a new workshop entitled Timber Sale 

 Intervention. The workshop uses a step-by-step 

 mapping approach to identify key factors affecting a 

 . timber sale and highlights strategic points where 

 activists can have the greatest impact on the' decision- 

 making process. 



'. Activists learn how to:- 



•Dettrmine ecological units where the impacts 

 of timber sales are felt. 



•Identify and map adnunistrative and resource 

 harvesting constraints such as special use artas, 

 serni-primitive non-motorized recreation 

 areas, old growth forest, Jnd unsuitable soils. " 



•Develop environmental alternatives for sales. , 



This approach qan be used to discourage the Forest 

 Service from offering a sale or to propose that a sale be 



reduced or redesigned based on the environmental 

 alternative. Whatever tack is taken, the workshop's 

 preemptive strategy will mean fewer appeals. . If a 

 timber sale does go to court, the workshop will have 

 armed grassroots acrivists with a soLd groundwork for 

 making their case. But perhaps most inspiring to 

 grassroots organizations is the fun,damental help the 

 workshop provides with setting their goals and . 

 priorities. . • 



The Forest Trust presented, this workshop' to an 

 extremely enthusiastic audience at the recent 7th 

 Annual National Forest Reform Pow Wow, One 

 participant, invigorated by the empowering mood of 

 the workshop exclaimed, "Kick butt !". 



One participant, invigorated 



by the empowering mood of 



the workshop, exclaimed, . 



"Kick butt!" 



TIte maps used in this worlishop were created for an actual 

 timl)er sale in the Santa Fe National Forest, in which bctk 

 the Forest Tn^st and the Forest Resource Courtcil intervened. 

 Tlie Forest Trust is grateful for the use of. Forest Resource, 

 Council's data maps, which wete used in developing tlie 

 overlays for this workshop. 



If your group is interested in having tlie Forest Trust present . 

 this workshop in your region, please contact Shirl Crosman, 

 Nalioiial Forest Program, at (505) 983-8992. , • 



■ ' . ' -SHIRL CROSMAN 



