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Excuse to log { June 19 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20030619/localnews/505890.htmlhttp://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20030619/localnews/505890.html
Thursday, June 19, 2003
Governors argue money is key to saving resource
By MIKE DENNISON
Tribune Capitol Bureau
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GREENOUGH -- A regional plan could improve forest health while pumping millions of dollars into timber communities but not without big bucks from the federal government, Western governors said Wednesday.
"Without resources -- i.e., money -- the initiative is just a piece of paper," said Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano.
"The question is whether this is going to be a priority," she continued. "If we're going to save this federal resource, we're going to have to invest now."
The money would be spent on a variety of timber-related projects, from logging to forest thinning to "chipping and mulching" thick undergrowth that managers say makes fires burn more intensely.
Napolitano joined Montana Gov. Judy Martz and governors from Idaho and Wyoming at Lubrecht Experimental Forest, the first stop on a daylong tour at the Western Governors Association's Forest Health Summit.
More than 400 people from across the West are attending the three-day conference in Missoula. It will wrap up today and make recommendations on policies to reduce fire risks in forests and protect nearby communities.
Earlier this spring, Western governors urged Congress to increase National Fire Plan funding by $900 million, to help federal and local forest managers pay for "preventative activities."
The governors' association last year drew up a 10-year strategic plan to reduce the threat of wildfire in the West.
On Wednesday, the governors, Interior Secretary Gale Norton and other conferees visited sites where forest professionals are looking at projects that could reduce the risk of damaging fires.
At the University of Montana's Lubrecht Experimental Forest near Greenough, research associate forestry professor Carl Fiedler said years of fire suppression and cutting old-growth trees have helped create overgrown forests that won't foster regrowth of large trees.
Ponderosa pine forests are being replaced with forests populated by thicker, smaller Douglas firs, choking off the ability of fire-resistant pine trees to grow quickly and create a stronger, more resilient forest, he said.
"Treatment" of these forests could mean thinning out the smaller trees and undergrowth, he said.
Charles Keegan, a UM business professor specializing in the timber industry, also said that "treatment" of these forests could mean a huge economic boost for Western communities that rely on the industry.
Treating just 1 percent of the lands in Montana each year -- about 70,000 acres -- would generate 3,000 jobs and $90 million of earnings. Private landowners also would benefit from payments for timber from their property.
The projects could mean big spending by the federal government, but some would not generate any timber-sale income, he added. But he also said they could save money in the long run by reducing firefighting costs.
When asked whether the projects would amount to a massive taxpayer-subsidy of the timber industry, the governors said they didn't see it that way.
"I would not consider it a subsidy," said Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne. "I consider it an investment. ... Those lands and vistas we see are priceless."
Martz said she spent some time on the board of her local hospital in Butte, and the kidney-dialysis program never made any money.
"It never paid for itself, but was it the right thing to do?" she asked. "Absolutely. ... I think that's the way we have to look at this issue. We need to find a way to manage these issues with some balance."
Some conferees questioned whether the goal of creating healthier forests is just an excuse to boost logging and other timber projects.
Matthew Koehler of the Native Forest Network in Missoula said Congress isn't dedicating any money toward thinning projects or other assistance near property actually threatened by potential forest fires.
"They're paying lip service to community projects but they're not spending any money to protect communities," he said. "They are spending money on logging in the national forests."
Koehler also said the Western governors' 10-year plan does not call for any drastic changes in federal law or forest rules, but that the Bush administration is pushing changes that would limit public involvement in decisions on forest projects, like logging.
Norton, whose agency oversees the Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service but not the Forest Service, said the administration wants a bipartisan effort to improve forest health, involving the public and private sectors.
The governors also authored a letter Wednesday to key U.S. senators, emphasizing the need for increased funding and asking whether changes in the law or procedures are really needed.
"We don't really have time for studies," Napolitano said. "We have to move on the ground, and we have to move now."
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