Copyright 2000 Federal News Service, Inc.
Federal News Service
May 11, 2000, Thursday
SECTION: PREPARED TESTIMONY
LENGTH: 2549 words
HEADLINE:
PREPARED TESTIMONY OF TODD SCHULKE RESTORATION COORDINATOR FOR THE SOUTHWEST
FOREST ALLIANCE
BEFORE THE HOUSE RESOURCES
COMMITTEE SUBCOMMITTEE ON FORESTS AND FOREST HEALTH
BODY:
The Southwest Forest Alliance (SWFA)
represents over 60 environmental groups in NM and AZ, including all Sierra Club
and Audubon chapters in New Mexico and Arizona, Forest Trust and the Center for
Biological Diversity, with a total of over 60 thousand members. The Alliance has
been working on restoration issues for several years. We appreciate the
opportunity to share out views with the members of this committee.
Senate Bill 1288 is an attempt to address some of the ills worked upon
ponderosa pine forests in the Southwest. We respect Senator Bingaman's
commitment to addressing these issues. Unfortunately, S. 1288, the Community
Forest Restoration Bill, falls short of the mark necessary to bring about
broad-based agreement needed to carry out this important mission. To get the
heart of the problem, S. 1288 needs to include clear ecological criteria to
avoid abuse of true ecological restoration and to guide restoration efforts on
an ecological basis. Important issues that S. 1288 fails to address include
protection for our last remaining roadless areas, protection of
large trees, protection of imperiled species, both short-term and long-term. We
are also concerned that the current version of S. 1288 also increases the scale
of the effort to a level beyond capabilities of current knowledge and the
experience levels of people involved in forest restoration efforts. The Problem
Research into historical conditions of ponderosa pine forests has
established that pine forests in the Southwest were much different before
EuroAmerican settlement. Until the late 1800's, frequent grass fires, along with
competition from native grasses, maintained a more open type of old-growth
forest. These forests were interspersed with lush glades filled with grasses,
forbs, shrubs, and scattered groups of smaller trees. Heavy livestock grazing,
widespread logging, fire suppression, and climactic events favored unusual
levels of tree regeneration and survival. Large increases in tree density and
fuel loading have set the stage for current problems, including decreased forest
resiliency, decreased growth and diversity of both herbaceous and woody plants,
increased mortality in remaining large trees, increased fragmentation of
ecosystems, increased fire severity and size, and growing numbers of endangered
species. Forest restoration needs to address this large range of issues in a
comprehensive and integrated manner guided by clear ecological criteria.
The Issues
Roadless Protection
Roadless protection is
one of the most important issues facing us today. As you know there is a
national effort afoot to address these concerns in a comprehensive manner. This
is true in the context of forest restoration as well. The reasons for protection
are many, but the main reason is that these pristine areas are the healthiest
lands remaining in the national forest base. While it is important to look at
ways to enhance natural function in roadless areas, this is
best accomplished with less intrusive methods such as prescribed fire.
In recent testimony in front of this subcommittee, Undersecretary Jim
Lyons illustrated that both USFS data and information, from a wide range of
credible scientific sources, show that roadless areas are in
much better condition than roaded areas and are in need of little, if any, more
intrusive treatments. This has certainly been our experience in NM.
Roadless areas and wilderness areas such as Gila Wilderness and
the San Pedro Parks are close to, or still within, the natural range of
variability and in most cases can be successfully restored without mechanical
treatment. It is clear the places that are in need of active restoration are
those most impacted by past management such as logging, over-grazing, and fire
suppression. S. 1288 does not make this distinction nor does it offer protection
for New Mexico's remaining roadless areas.
Large Trees
and Wildlife
It is well known that there have been high levels of
old-growth logging in all of our national forests. This is as true in the
forests of New Mexico as anywhere. High-grade logging has reduced the number of
large trees in New Mexico to an alarming extent. Surveys have shown that there
is less than five percent of our old-growth forest remaining in the Southwest.
This in turn has reduced the quality of habitat for canopy-dependent species,
such as the Mexican Spotted Owl, to the point that it was necessary to place the
owl on the Endangered Species list. Other forest-dependent species like the
Northern Goshawk are experiencing precipitous drops in population and will
warrant protection under the ESA in the future.
Large trees are one of
the most important elements of high-quality habitat for these species. During an
analysis of the only two comprehensive inventories available for southwestern
national forests, it became apparent that there has been a large reduction of
large trees in the forests. Estimates show a decline begins in trees
approximately 17" in diameter. The SWFA proposes a 16" diameter cap on cutting
during restoration efforts. This is a conservative number allowing for the
decades of logging before and after the regional analyses mention above. It is
ironic to note that Congressman Udall's predecessor Bill Redmond proposed a
similar bill a few years ago that proposed a nine-inch diameter cap for forest
restoration projects. The 16" cap has additional validity indicated by many
wildlife studies showing selection by imperiled birds like the Northern Goshawk
habitat containing large numbers of trees 16" and over. After looking at many
restoration projects on the ground in the Southwest it is apparent that this
diameter cap will not have any negative ecological implications.
It is
also paramount to design projects purposely to provide protection for sensitive
and imperiled species. Biologists from the US Forest Service, the US Fish and
Wildlife Service and the Rocky Mt. Research Station have cautioned about
potential detrimental effects on the Mexican Spotted Owl and the Northern
Goshawk by implementation of overly aggressive logging or restoration
treatments. This is primarily due to reduction of numbers of large trees.
Currently the primary purpose often identified for forest restoration is a
reduction of the risk of stand-replacing fires. While this is an important goal
that we share, forests and the species that live in them have complex
relationships. We need to recognize this complexity and assure that the efforts
undertaken include strategies that provide protection for species that have been
negatively impacted by past management. This protection must be provided for
both the short and the long term to insure survival of these imperiled species
into the future.
Unfortunately, while S. 1288 recognizes many of the
problems facing New Mexico's forest ecosystems, it falls short of providing any
substantial guidance on how to proceed. There is a need for clear ecological
guidance such as a 16" diameter cap, and protection for roadless
areas in a bill like S. 1288. This lack will create more controversy
surrounding forest management and ultimately will solidify the impasse we are at
rather than relieve it.
Building Levels of Trust and Agreement
Currently there are many projects being proposed by the forest and
community groups that epitomize the fears of the conservation community.
Thinly veiled timber sales that differ little from the old-growth
logging of old have caught the attention of environmentalists and in most cases
engendered appeals and litigation that have effectively slowed or stopped
progress on the ground. On the Carson National Forest, the Agna Cabaltos project
is proposing logging over 10 million board feet including trees up to 24." and
building 13 miles of new road. The Rio Penas Watershed project on the Lincoln
National Forest proposed to cut up to 120 million bd. ft, with many trees up to
24". On the Apache National Forest the Baca timber sale has stated up to 30
million bd. ft. for cutting with up to 60% of the volume in large trees. These
are just a few examples of a growing list of projects that purport to improve
"forest health" while at the same time perpetuating management strategies that
differ little from the past. There are also growing numbers of large "landscape"
scale projects proposed in the Southwest -- the 90,000 acre Negrito Project on
the Gila National Forest, a 183,000 acre project on the Apache-Sitgreaves
National Forest, a 100,000 acre project on the Coconino National Forest near
Flagstaff, Arizona.
One of the most damaging aspects off these projects
is the increasing level of mistrust caused by such rapidly growing efforts. If
there is ever going to be real progress gained in the efforts to restore
America's degraded national forests, it will be one based in a clear and
conservative set of ecological principles designed not only to make a difference
on the ground but also to prove that motivations of the projects are truly about
restoring the forest.
Without clear ecological criteria there will
continue to be high levels of mistrust that will impede our ability to proceed
with forest restoration. Once conservative ecological criteria are in place, the
stage will be set for removal of the current impasse, allowing progress to begin
on implementation of restoration efforts on the ground.
Scale
A
final concern about S. 1288 is the increased scale that has been proposed by an
amendment added in the final hour of the bill's movement in the Senate Energy
and Natural Resources Committee last November. Proposed levels of funding were
increased from $5 million dollars for 5 years (the life of the
project) to $25 million dollars for 5 years. The issue here is
one both of one of levels of trust surrounding the scale of projects on the
ground and questions about the lack of knowledge available to proceed with
restoration in a prudent manner.
When Senator Bingaman first proposed
legislation to address forest restoration issues, the effort began with
roundtable discussions to look at issues in rural communities of Northern New
Mexico. There has been a long-standing dialogue in this part of the state about
these issues that has resulted in some positive small-scale efforts coming out
of land-based Hispanic villages like Trunchas, NM. However, by the time S. 1288
was introduced, the proposal had grown into a statewide bill that included a
five million-dollar appropriation. In the final moments of last year's Senate,
the proposal grew to the 25 million- dollar level. This quick expansion is cause
for great alarm in the conservation community that is already imbued with
concerns about misuse of forest restoration principle as a ruse to "get the cut
out." This damages the credibility of genuine restoration efforts designed to
effectively deal with problems in the forest while avoiding the pitfalls
encountered by projects with less genuine restoration goals.
The science
of restoration in pine forests is still young. There are several schools of
thought on how to proceed. As mentioned earlier, often timber sales are labeled
as restoration projects and again many of these kinds of projects are being
offered at a much larger scale that ever before. But it is important to proceed
at a pace and scale that encourages support for forest restoration rather than
stimulating more mistrust. Unfortunately the increasing scale of S. 1288 is
corroborating predictions that we are proceeding at a rapidly increasing pace
without truly understanding the risks or negative effects of our actions.
Solutions
The SWFA has developed restoration guidelines in
conjunction with leading forest and fire ecologists from the Southwest and the
interior West. We have cooperated on writing a paper that outlines a broad set
of restoration principles called "Natural Processes Restoration" which in turn
can address many of the issues facing us in ponderosa pine forests. This paper,
"Ecological Restoration of Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Ecosystems: A 'Broad'
Framework," provides the groundwork necessary to reach agreement that we need to
move forward. A final draft of this paper is being prepared for publication in
the scientific journal Restoration Ecology. Copies of the paper can be provided
when it is finalized.
Objectives Included In "Natural Processes
Restoration"
1. Restore ecosystem functions, structures and species
composition so as to reduce threat of stand replacing fires and the negative
effects of excessive competition between trees.
2. Re-establish fire
regimes prior to fire suppression, livestock grazing, and logging.
3.
Preserve all trees 16" and larger or were established prior to 1900.
4.
Protect restored forests to allow thereto mature into old growth forests.
5. Prescribe no harvest treatments within roadless
areas and build no new roads in previously roaded areas.
6.
Inventory and close unnecessary roads.
7. Replant trees in deforested
areas.
These are a few of the most important ecological criteria needed
for long, term forest restoration. There will be a more in-depth list of
restoration criteria included in an attachment to this testimony titled "Natural
Processes Restoration Principles."
The SWFA has initiated several
restoration projects on the ground following the guidelines developed in the
fore-mentioned paper. These include a partnership effort on the Gila National
Forest that recently was awarded a large grant by the Ford Foundation to support
implementation of our restoration principles as well as the unique cooperative
spirit engendered by the project. We also are involved in projects on the Santa
National Forest in NM and 2 additional projects in Arizona on the Kaibab and
Coconino National Forests. Our goal in all these efforts is to develop
broad-based agreement that will allow us to make a difference on the ground by
addressing ecological issues as well as the concerns and needs of both the
conservation community and rural communities. These projects all include
intensive monitoring programs to allow us to learn as we go so we can recognize
our successes and adapt when we make mistakes.
It is possible to
accomplish restoration by embracing the range of concerns at the early stages of
this important endeavor. However, ignoring these concerns will keep us in the
current impasse we face. Most importantly, we need to develop broad-based
agreement before we proceed if we ever hope to overcome current levels of
mistrust between the parties involved. Unfortunately S. 1288 does not succeed in
reaching the necessary levels of agreement.
We urge you to be patient
during the process we are undertaking to restore the forests of the Southwest. I
assure you the day will soon come when we from the conservation community will
be side-by-side with Senator Bingaman, folks from rural communities, and
hopefully members of this committee asking for increased funding levels for
restoration projects. However until this time comes we urge you to set aside
consideration of S. 1288, recognizing its honorable intent while also realizing
the need for additional development of broad-based agreement necessary for the
success of forest restoration in New Mexico as well as the rest of the
Southwest.
END
LOAD-DATE: June 2, 2000
