Bush administration defends forest thinning plan
Date: 09-Sep-02
Country: USA
Author: Christopher Doering
President George W. Bush said last week as he toured fire-ravaged forests in Oregon that "red tape and litigation" have left millions of acres of trees vulnerable to devastating wildfires.
The administration last week said its forest thinning plan would include suspending the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 10 million acres (4 million hectares) of fire-prone forests to speed the removal of dangerous underbrush and dead trees that serve as fuel in spreading wildfires.
The White House plan, which needs congressional approval, also would allow the Forest Service to amend the cumbersome appeals process with a new one the agency says "addresses legitimate appeals" in a more timely manner.
It would streamline the existing process by removing several legally imposed requirements that have delayed or postponed thinning projects in the past.
The proposal has infuriated environmental groups who say it will only speed the removal of timber that is coveted by logging companies.
"I am outraged, and you will see the environmental community fighting this tooth and nail," said Michael Anderson, a spokesman with the Wilderness Society.
"We were expecting maybe to shorten some timelines here and there to make some of these more minor thinning projects move along faster, but this is a very serious attack on environmental laws and public participation," he said.
Environmental groups say the plan is the latest in a series of Bush administration attacks on rules to safeguard the nation's air, land and water.
U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton told reporters after testifying before the House Resources committee that lengthy appeals in recent years have "interfered with good forest management."
The Bush plan, Norton said, would simply expedite the planning process while continuing to enforce the Endangered Species Act and other clean air and water regulations.
The move would no longer give green groups "the opportunity to prevent a treatment process by delaying it," said Norton. "We are still protecting the environmental standards while shortening the process."
The Forest Service, a division of the U.S. Agriculture Department, has estimated that nearly 50 percent of all thinning projects are challenged in court.
WORST FIRE SEASON IN MEMORY
The United States is in the midst of one of its worst fire seasons in recent memory. Wildfires in much of the western United States have been particularly severe due to intense drought conditions.
Roughly 190 million acres (77 million hectares) of federal forests and range lands in the lower 48 states face "high risks of catastrophic fire."
Blazes have ripped through 6.3 million acres (2.5 million hectares) of forest land this year, more than double the 10-year average, according to the Forest Service.
Costs to fight forest blazes this year are expected to be more than $1.25 billion, government officials said.
The Bush plan mirrors language added by Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to an emergency supplemental appropriations bill earlier this year. In that instance, the South Dakota Democrat agreed to bypass the federal environmental policy law to expedite thinning in his home state's Black Hills Forest.
Still, Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups said the Bush plan and similar proposals in the House and Senate are taking advantage of the severe fire season to push an industry-friendly forest agenda.
"We need to quit trying to use the sales (of timber) to eviscerate environmental laws of this nation," said Rep. George Miller, a California Democrat.
Green groups have countered that future forest blazes should be prevented by thinning only forests near homes to protect residents of nearby communities.
