Student
Journalist
Private
Profits, Public Lands: Old-Growth Logging on National Forests
By
Sera Bilezikyan
Only
four percent of old-growth forests remain standing in the Northwestern
United States. Old-growth trees are defined as being at least
32 inches in diameter, and ranging in age from 200 to 1000 years
old. Despite the fact that many ancient forests are on public
lands, these majestic trees are in immediate danger of being logged.
Under federal timber plans, the majority of public forests are
not protected. The United States Forest Service sells the timber
on public lands at a cheap, publicly subsidized rate to multibillion-dollar
timber corporations such as Wayerhaeuser and Boise Cascade. The
corporations then clearcut the land, and sell the timber off at
immense profits, whether it is to be made into paper or exported
as raw logs overseas. The Global Free Trade Logging Agreement,
under the World Trade Organization, made the international trade
of timber easier than ever by reducing tariffs and increasing
demand worldwide. The Salvage Rider, passed in 1995 and cleverly
tacked on to a bill which provided relief for victims of the Oklahoma
City bombing, has further jeopardized national forests by allowing
any healthy or fire-damaged trees to be logged immediately as
salvage timber.
Clearcutting is a very expensive process, especially when compared
with selective cutting of non-old growth trees. Old-growth logging
on public lands costs taxpayers millions of dollars a year in
public subsidies, adding up to $407 million in 1998 alone. During
that same year, the only forest in Oregon that turned a profit
was the Siuslaw Forest, by cutting only second-growth and thinning,
rather than clearcutting. The Siuslaw has added more money to
the Federal Treasury than any other national forest. This proves
the possibility of a successful transition from a boom-and-bust
economy such as the one logging creates in communities, to a sustainable
practice focused on forest restoration and the creation of high-skill,
high-wage jobs in the woods.
Thousands of species of animals, plants, lichens, and fungi are
dependent upon the old-growth forest ecosystem to thrive, from
the fertile soil to the upper canopy. Spotted owls, lynx, and
red tree voles are just a few. The old-growth trees themselves,
stretching from the northern coast of California to the Rocky
Mountains are being clearcut at an alarming rate, leaving behind
unsightly and barren scars on the land. In addition, nearby communities
are left in danger of landslides or blowdowns. Soil erosion is
often a consequence of clearcutting, and water and groundwater
systems are also disrupted. No less crucial is the gaping hole
the absence of our forests is leaving in the legacy of natural
beauty that has come to define the wild lands of the American
west.
There is a myth of protection when it comes to these forests on
our public lands, and it is important that communities be aware
that the threat to their forests is being funded by their taxes.
There is no need to use old-growth lumber to make paper when there
are various alternatives, from non old-growth trees to industrial
hemp, which could all be used cheaply and effectively with less
impact on the environment. Despite what timber interest group’s
claim, the logging of ancient forests is not necessary in order
to prevent wildfires or disease. Powerful timber interest groups
are busy lobbying in order to lessen environmental regulations
concerning logging, as well as to discredit environmental groups.
According to a recent survey by Davis & Hibbitts, Inc., a
Portland-based opinion and market research group, the majority
of both urban and rural people in the Northwest support an end
to old-growth logging on public lands; 75 percent overall and
67 percent in the areas where logging and other resource-extraction
based activities are prevalent. In other words, most people are
convinced that it is time for the Federal Government to stop selling
our ancient forests to timber corporations. In every endeavor
from tree-sitting to appealing timber sales, environmental activists
are sending a clear message to the timber corporations as well
as the government. Ancient forests should exist for future generations,
and for those in search of the very roots of this land.#
Sources:
Oregon Natural Resources Council, National Forest Protection Campaign.
Sera Bilezikyan graduated from Evergreen State College, WA in
June 2001. This article is an example of the kinds of things which
she believed in. It is published in her memory.
Education Update, Inc., P.O. Box 20005, New York, NY 10001. Tel:
(212) 481-5519. Fax: (212) 481-3919. Email: ednews1@aol.com.
All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express consent of
the publisher. © 2001.
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