Copyright 2000 eMediaMillWorks, Inc.
(f/k/a Federal
Document Clearing House, Inc.)
Federal Document Clearing House
Congressional Testimony
June 29, 2000, Thursday
SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY
LENGTH: 2374 words
HEADLINE:
TESTIMONY June 29, 2000 DALE BOSWORTH REGIONAL FORESTER FOREST SERVICE, UNITED
STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SENATE ENERGY & NATURAL
RESOURCES FORESTS AND PUBLIC LANDS MANAGEMENT SIERRA NEVADA FOREST AND INTERIOR
COLUMBIA BASIN ECOSYSTEM
BODY:
Statement of Dale
Bosworth, Regional Forester Northern Region Forest Service, United States
Department of Agriculture before the Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land
Management Committee on Energy and Natural Resources United States Senate June
29, 2000 Concerning: Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project Mr.
Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: Thank you for the opportunity to
provide you with an update on the progress of the Interior Columbia Basin
Ecosystem Management Project. I am Dale Bosworth, Regional Forester for the
Northern Region of the Forest Service. Accompanying me today is Susan
Giannettino, Project Manager of the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management
Project. The Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project (ICBEMP) has
recently released a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement or SDEIS.
The SDEIS was significantly shaped by the 83,000 public comments received on two
Draft ElSs released in June 1997. The SDEIS responds to the public, agency,
scientific and Congressional input received and focuses only on critical
broad-scale issues related to landscape health, aquatic and terrestrial
habitats, human needs, and products and services. Improving the health of the
Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management administrated lands in the basin is
not going to be easy. Human uses and past management practices have
significantly altered the dynamic processes of fire, drought, and vegetation
that once worked together to promote healthy forests, grasslands and fish and
wildlife in the basin. Habitat is fragmented and many of the plants and animals
that have historically called the basin home are in decline. Just leaving things
alone will not work. Science has underscored the need for restoration of roads
that are bleeding sediment, of streambanks that are eroding, of forests at risk
of uncharacteristic wildfire and disease, and rangelands infested with noxious
weeds. Current policies and interim direction for such things as anadromous fish
and old forests are only stop-gap measures. The Forest Service believes a
long-term, integrated strategy is needed to consistently and adequately address
aquatic and terrestrial species; landscape health issues such as noxious weeds,
forest health, and catastrophic fire; and the social and economic needs of
communities. Providing consistent direction at regional and subregional levels
will assist federal managers in making decisions at a local level that are
informed by broader ecological considerations. This improved decision-making
will enhance the agencies' ability to effectively and efficiently address
basin-wide ecological and socio-economic concerns. The SDEIS, which outlines
three alternatives for 63 million acres of public land in eastern Oregon and
Washington, Idaho and western Montana, is currently available for public review
and comment. The public comment period on the SDEIS ends July 6, 2000. Of the
three alternatives presented, Alternative S2 was identified as the preferred
alternative because it provides the best strategy for protecting and restoring
fish and wildlife habitats, improving the health of forests and rangelands, and
providing a more predictable level of goods and services from public lands. The
preferred alternative provides a vision of public land health and a blueprint
for achieving it. Alternative S2 is a long-term, restoration strategy that
recognizes the diversity of the basin, the complexity of the forest and
rangeland health problems facing federal lands, the needs of tribes and local
communities, and the fact that budget levels for dealing with these weighty
issues are not likely to increase. Restoration is needed to promote the health
of forests, rangelands and aquatic systems and the species that depend on them.
Science and results of management efforts have shown that reintroducing fire to
the ecosystem through prescribed fire, removing noxious weeds, eliminating
roads, and thinning unhealthy and diseased forests are steps that must be taken
to promote such things as salmon recovery and the conservation of forests and
rangelands so that human uses can be sustained into the future. Under
Alternative S2, areas that are healthy - clear streams, healthy grasslands, and
resilient old forests - would be maintained and protected. The preferred
alternative provides a basin-wide blueprint for both restoration and protection
of these areas. Areas that are not healthy and functioning and would be of
significant benefit if they were, would receive priority for treatment. The
preferred alternative is sensitive to budget realities and sets priorities for
investing in restoration where there is the greatest potential for achieving
desired outcomes. Where restoration is conducted under the direction called for
in the preferred alternative, there are decreases in the threats of noxious
weeds, catastrophic fire and disease and insect infestation, as well as benefits
to tribes and communities. Partners in the development of this strategy include
the National Marine Fisheries Service, Environmental Protection Agency, and the
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Public comments received on the Supplemental
Draft EIS will be considered in the development of a Final EIS and Record of
Decision, which will amend land use plans for the 32 National Forests and BLM
administrative units within the project area. We strongly support the preferred
alternative proposed in the Supplemental Draft EIS and look forward to
implementing a proactive, long-term strategy for this region. Relationship to
Roadless Rule-making The ICBEMP SDEIS identifies and protects unroaded lands
(including inventoried roadless) that provide important habitat for fish and
wildlife. The intent of the preferred alternative of the SDEIS is that road
construction in roadless areas and unroaded watersheds would
rarely occur. This direction does not preclude the use of vegetation management
within inventoried roadless areas where there is a need to
address large-scale environmental damage or public safety. Relationship to the
Pending Roads Policy The proposed management direction for ICBEMP was built to
be consistent with the concept of watershed or roads analysis which is reflected
in the pending roads policy. These types of analyses are the tools used to
assist land managers in balancing road system objectives. ICBEMP has not
incorporated specific direction from the pending Forest Service road policy
beyond the use of the concept of roads analysis. Relationship with the Pending-
Planning Regulations The Forest Service's pending planning regulations would not
affect ICBEMP decisions given the current timelines for completion of ICBEMP
Final EIS and Record of Decision and the adoption of the proposed planning
regulations. Relationship to the Draft Cohesive Strategy The draft report, A
Cohesive Strategy for Protecting People and Sustaining Resources in Fire-Adated
Ecosystems, is a framework for setting overall priorities and programmatic
emphasis. It is based on risk mapping that provides a broad scale estimate of
acres by fire regime and condition class. That data will continue to be refined
as it is stepped down to the forest and district scale. One critical source in
the step down process will be regional assessments, forest and watershed level
analysis, as well as project level planning. The Interior Columbia Basin
Ecosystem assessment is a key element of this process. While the actual number
of acres requiring treatment may change over time with refinements in analysis,
the draft Cohesive Strategy is clearly in step with the needs and purposes in
the ICBEMP assessment. Summary The Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Project is
an important effort, as it is addressing significant issues in the Interior
Columbia Basin. We will continue to integrate the best science into natural
resource management and work collaboratively with others, to ensure sustainable
environmental, economic and social conditions to meet the needs of people both
now and in the future. This concludes my testimony. I would be happy to answer
any questions you may have.
LOAD-DATE: July 4, 2000,
Tuesday 
