Read a Pacific Northwest, liberal perspective on world, national, and local politics. From majestic Redmond, Washington - the Northwest Progressive Institute Advocate.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Oregon's objections ignored in logging plans

Just in time for the new year...
The Interior Department announced a controversial decision late Wednesday to double the rate of logging on 2.6 million acres of federally owned forests in southwestern Oregon. In doing so, it brushed aside the objections of the governor and two federal agencies charged with guarding the quality of the area’s water and the health of the fish that depend on it.
Oregon's timber industry would certainly benefit from the move, but at what cost? Earthjustice has the sobering and dirty details:
On the last day of 2008 the Bush administration finalized a huge giveaway of public forest land to the timber industry. The administration announced six "Records of Decision" that could change the course of how 2.6 million acres of public forests in Oregon are managed. The last-minute Bush timber giveaway promises over 500 million board feet of lumber per year to the timber industry at the expense of salmon spawning streams, healthy old-growth forests, and habitat for rare birds such as the northern spotted owl and marbled murrelet...

[...]

The Bush administration consistently ignored highly critical scientific reviews that found the WOPR was based on insufficient study, incomplete modeling, and would likely not comply with laws safeguarding fish and wildlife habitat.
Rules designed to conserve our natural resources should not be tampered with or changed without a serious analysis of the likely environmental impact.

Unfortunately, the Bush error isn't quite over yet, and we still have people in charge of our national forests who think trees aren't worth anything until they're chopped down. To Bush's henchmen at the Interior Department, those splotches of green on a map of the western United States are where the dollar signs go.

Thankfully, Bush's people, who couldn't care less about enforcing or respecting laws like the Endangered Species Act, are on their way out. The Department of the Interior will soon be under new management.

Incoming Secretary Ken Salazar and his team would do well to remember that we don't inherit the earth from our grandparents; we borrow it from our children. Those simple words from an old and wise Native American proverb are all we need to start drawing up a new plan to sustainably manage our forests.

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