Copyright 1999 Federal News Service, Inc.
Federal News Service
MARCH 11, 1999, THURSDAY
SECTION: IN THE NEWS
LENGTH:
2259 words
HEADLINE: PREPARED STATEMENT OF
MICHAEL
A. FRANCIS
DIRECTOR, NATIONAL FORESTS PROGRAM
THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY
BEFORE THE HOUSE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE
DEPARTMENT
OPERATIONS, OVERSIGHT, NUTRITION AND FORESTRY SUBCOMMITTEE
SUBJECT - THE
FISCAL YEAR 2000 BUDGET REQUEST
FOR THE USDA FOREST SERVICE
BODY:
Mr. Chairman, Thank you for the
opportunity to testify on behalf of the 200,000 members of The Wilderness
Society on the USDA Forest Service's budget to manage our National Forest System
in Fiscal Year 2000.
A month ago today, February 11th, The Wilderness
Society unveiled the results of two years of work by The Society's staff and an
advisory panel of distinguished scientists and forest policy experts. The
Society's goal was to capture the thinking of some of the most innovative minds
in forestry today and from that develop a positive vision designed to insure the
future of America's National Forest System into the 21st century. Under The
Wilderness Society's vision, the primary objective of National Forest management
is to maintain and restore the ecological integrity of the forest ecosystem. The
production of commodity resources will no longer be the prime objective. Rather,
such uses are limited to those that respect the limits of the land, adhere to
principles of stewardship, are supported by sound science and economics, and
lead to the recovery of damaged lands, fish and wildlife populations, and
watersheds. In short, The Society seeks to ensure that management of the
National Forest System honors the philosophy underlying the American land ethic,
an ethic that recognizes we cannot meet the needs of the people without first
securing the health, diversity, and productivity of our lands and waters.
Since 1950, the nation's 192 million-acre National Forest System has been
subjected to intense resource extraction. Unfortunately, the emphasis placed on
commodity production has placed in doubt the capacity of the National Forests to
be sustainable. The Administration's proposed FY 2000 budget is a welcome change
in direction toward conservation of our forest resources. The Wilderness Society
urges this subcommittee to support more changes in the Forest Service FY 2000
budget to make it better reflect the ecological needs of our forests and the
vision The Society is articulating for the 21st century.In keeping with our
vision, The Wilderness Society offers the following recommendations to the
Congress for consideration in the FY 2000 appropriations process:
1. Reduce
the timber sale levels on the National Forest In Fiscal Year 2000 the Forest
Service timber sales program plans to offer 3.25 billion board feet (bbf) of
National Forest trees. The Fiscal Year 2000 proposed timber program is a 10
percent reduction from Fiscal Year 1999. While this continues a downward trend,
the proposed sales level exceeds what is sustainable. The Wilderness Society
recommends a 51 percent reduction in timber sale preparations funding level for
FY 2000. Sale preparation should not exceed 1.1 billion board feet in "green
tree" sales and .5 billion board feet in salvage sales ("dead trees only").
Mr. Chairman, the notion of managing a forest only for its outputs is an
anachronistic principle that is contrary to principles of ecosystem management.
This is true even if we consider those outputs to include clean water and
recreational visitor days, catchable fish and huntable elk. For a forest
ecosystem to function, all the natural resources of the forest must also be
maintained. This includes biological diversity, oldgrowth forests, gene pools,
and carbon storage. It extends to the existence of places, which have inherent
worth and beauty from which people derive spiritual or aesthetic value.
The
Wilderness Society's recommendation of a 51 percent decrease in the FY 2000
timber sales management and salvage sale appropriations request would reduce the
appropriation to $150 million. The $159 million savings should be used to
increase funding for wildlife and fisheries habitat, watershed restoration,
hazard fuels reduction nationwide, recreation and wilderness management, and to
increase the agency's research programs. The Wilderness Society strongly
recommends that the Congress prohibit logging in all Ancient Forest Groves,
prohibit logging in all roadless areas on the National Forest
System, and prohibit all new logging road construction in FY 2000. Despite the
recently announced interim road building moratorium for roadless
areas, the moratorium does not prohibit helicopter and cable logging of
roadless areas and it exempts 15 to 25 million forest roadless
acres from the moratorium altogether. As the Forest Service shifts to ecosystem
management, the last roadless areas need protection from
development, because that is the only way to retain nature's baseline and
thereby judge the Forest Service's success or failure. Further, we recommend
that the Congress restrict the use of Salvage Trust Fund monies so that they are
used to prepare the sales of dead trees only.
2. Phase out below-cost
commodity timber sales and de-couple twenty- five percent payments to counties:
The Wilderness Society recommends that Congress demonstrate to the American
people its commitment to fiscal responsibility and accountability by eliminating
the current subsidy to the timber industry in the form of below-cost timber
sales. We request the Congress require that beginning in FY 2000 agency spending
for any "commodity" timber sale should be contingent upon the implementation of
a three-year plan to systematically phase out these money-losing sales
nationwide. The most environmentally damaging and most costly sales should be
eliminated first. At the end of three years, all "commodity" timber sales from
National Forest System lands should recover the government's total cost and
should not carry any subsidy from the U.S. Treasury.
The House Agriculture
Committee should enact legislation that would protect counties from the
continued downward trend of the so-called twenty-five percent county payments.
Instead of the current system of county payments, The Society recommends
Congress enact the Administration's proposal to permanently sever county
payments from logging levels and provide county governments with a predictable
level of funding towards schools and roads.
3. Timber roads: In FY 2000, The
Wilderness Society supports the Administration's budget request that does not
fund construction of new appropriated timber roads. At the sales level that The
Society recommends, the Forest Service can easily conduct the timber program
with the existing 383,000 miles of forest roads. Road building is the single
most environmentally damaging management activity undertaken by the Agency. As
pan of The Society's recommendation of a 51 percent decrease in timber sales
expenditures, funding for engineering support for timber roads can be reduced by
the same percentage. This would leave $18 million for engineering support for
the reconstruction of existing timber roads to support the reduced timber
program. The $19 million saved by reducing the engineering support for timber
roads should be combined with $27 million in timber sales management savings.
The $46 million should be added to the road maintenance account to increase the
funding for FY 2000 to $168 million. While this is still far short of estimated
annual need of $431 million, it will more than double the percentage of road
miles maintained in FY 2000.
4. State and Private Forestry: The Wilderness
Society recommends a funding level of $50 million for the Forest Legacy Program.
The Forest Legacy Program conserves environmentally important forests threatened
by conversion to non-forest uses. While the funds can be used for acquisition of
private forestland, the primary tool for the Program is conservation easements.
Forest Legacy provides an avenue for the Forest Service to work with
States and willing private landowners to conserve important forest economic and
environmental values that represent national priorities. Landowner participation
in the program is entirely voluntary, and the States guide the selection
process. Growing public concern with conservation of unique natural places and
open spaces, both at the national and the local level, has led to growing
interest from the States in the Forest Legacy Program. The increased funding for
FY 2000 will allow progress in preserving important national lands in all active
States, including areas in New England's Northern Forest, Southern New England,
New Jersey Highlands, Illinois River valleys and bluffs, and Washington State's
Mountains - Sound Greenway, as well as many other areas.
5. Forest Research:
The Wilderness Society recommends a total Forest Research appropriation of $250
million for FY 2000. This is an increase of $15 million above the
Administration's requested level. In particular, we recommend an increase in
funding for Wildlife, Fish, Watershed and Atmospheric Sciences Research of $11.6
million. This would bring the funding level to $64.7 million. This type of
research will help us better understand the sustainability of our National
Forests and Rangelands. In addition, we recommend $5.0 million in wilderness
research funding, an increase of $3.8 million. The impacts of increasing human
use of designated wilderness for recreation need to be understood to develop
better management practices that will protect the nation's wilderness resource.
6. Wildlife and Fisheries Habitat Management: The Wilderness Society
recommends an appropriation of $214 million for the wildlife and fisheries
management program. This is a $90 million increase over the Administration's
recommendation for FY 2000. We recommend that the increased funding be divided
evenly between the four program areas.
7. Recreation Use Programs: The
Wilderness Society recommends a $50 million increase to the Recreation Use
Program to a level of $244.6 million. Of this, increase of $13.4 to wilderness
management funding in FY 2000 is recommended above the Administration's request.
This level of $50 million is needed to meet the management demands of the
increasing recreation use of designated wilderness.
8. Land and Water
Conservation Fund; The Wilderness Society supports the Administration's request
for $190 million in Land Acquisition for the USDA Forest Service. The Wilderness
Society recommends that the Congress earmark $1 million within the Forest
Service's FY 2000 Land Acquisition Program for Wilderness "Inholdings" to
provide money to fund the emergency acquisition of inholdings in the National
Wilderness Preservation System.
9. National Forest Trails System: The
Wilderness Society recommends an increase to $30.6 million for forest trail
maintenance and restoration for FY 2000.
Finally, Mr. Chairman I would like
to comment on three proposals related to the timber sales program in the Forest
Service's FY 2000 Budget Justification for the Committee on Appropriations. None
of these serve to advance the Chief's goal of improving accountability and
incentives. These proposals are troubling from a taxpayer stand- point and raise
questions about the Forest Service's real intent.The first one entitled "Sealed
versus Opened Bids" seeks to avoid responsibility for doing what the Forest
Service already can do. Until the early 1950's sealed bidding was used
exclusively. It was only at the insistence of the timber industry that oral
bidding was introduced.
The authority to use sealed or oral bids has not
only existed since the 1897 Act but also was clearly spelled out in 1978 in 16
USC 472a. The Forest Service already has discretion to use sealed bids,
therefore legislation is unnecessary. Congress should soundly reject this
specious request.
The second one, entitled "Timber User Fees Pilot," would
authorize the Forest Service to collect timber sale preparation and harvest
administration fees from commodity timber sales. The agency would be allowed to
retain the fees to enhance logging opportunities on the National Forest System.
This is nothing more than an attempt by the Forest Service and the
Administration to hide the true cost of logging on the National Forests from the
American taxpayer. This pilot program will create a perverse incentive in two
ways. First, the timber industry will have more influence over the preparation
and monitoring of timber sales on the National Forests. Secondly, the retention
of the fees will add to the perverse incentives that already exist with the
Forest Service's ability to freely use the trust fund monies without
Congressional oversight or appropriations. For an agency that cannot account for
vast expenditures of taxpayer dollars, this proposal is not good public policy.
The third one is the Administration's proposal to use deposits from timber
sales to the Knutson-Vandenberg (K-V), Brash Disposal, and Cooperative
Work-Other funds, without regard to the State from which deposits were derived,
to reduce hazardous fuels build-ups, including in the urban-wildland interface.
While this goal is laudable and supported by many in the conservation community,
the conversion of these trust fund monies to so-called forest health work is far
beyond the legislative mandate of the funds. Such activities are already
specifically funded in Wildland Fire Management; if additional monies are needed
then appropriations for that line item should be increased. This proposal will
divert already limited funds available for resource restoration in logged-over
areas. The House of Representatives rejected a similar salvage logging approach
to forest health when it defeated H.R. 2515 in March of 1998.
Thank you, Mr.
Chairman, for this opportunity to offer The Wilderness Society's views on the FY
2000 USDA Forest Service Budget request.
END
LOAD-DATE: March 13, 1999
