Copyright 1999 The Seattle Times Company
The
Seattle Times
November 21, 1999, Sunday
Correction
Appended Final Edition
SECTION: EDITORIAL; Pg. B7;
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
LENGTH: 393 words
HEADLINE: MANAGING NATIONAL FORESTS -- FORESTS ARE FOR
THE GREATEST GOOD OF THE GREATEST NUMBER'
BODY:
On
Nov. 4, guest columnist Jay Letto of the Central Cascades Alliance wrote that
"Gifford Pinchot must be rolling in his grave," and listed a number of alleged
abuses to the legacy of the first Forest Service chief ("Auctioning off the
people's playground' ").
As one who has long admired Pinchot and what he
stood for, I must correct Letto's many inaccuracies and half truths.
Letto says that "old growth stands in unprotected roadless
areas . . . are still being sold to timber companies." Not true. We
have not sold timber in a Forest Roadless Area in at least two
years. Letto says the Gifford Pinchot receives nothing from the Interstate 90
(Plum Creek) land exchange. The exchange, legislated by Congress and recently
resolved with a compromise that excludes most Gifford Pinchot land, was a
regionwide exchange involving three national forests. These lands belong to all
the people. Parochializing the issue is an interesting twist by those who
normally nationalize any Wilderness debate.
Letto says the Southwest
Washington Province Advisory Committee "unanimously opposed" an environmental
assessment designed to address overuse of certain overnight camping areas.
Committee minutes say that there was no response from members to Letto's call
for opposition.
Letto accuses the Forest Service of turning the Gifford
Pinchot's Dark Divide Roadless Area into "an off-road vehicle playground." A bit
of overblown hyperbole. The Cispus Trails project proposes to repair and improve
about 17 miles of trail - of more than 1,000 trail miles. These 17 miles are
open to use by both motorcyclists and hikers. Currently, only 16 percent of
Gifford Pinchot National Forest trails are available to motorcyclists. For many
hikers, that is 16 percent too much.
But we remain guided by Pinchot's
example of multiple use, recognizing that there are many public interests to be
served. Pinchot said the national forests should be managed "for the greatest
good of the greatest number in the long run."
That principle still
guides us as we adapt to change and struggle to balance the many competing and
valid uses of the public land it is our privilege to manage. That debate is
important, it is public, and to be successful, I believe, it must be accurate.
Claire Lavendel Supervisor, Gifford Pinchot National Forest
Vancouver, Wash.
CORRECTION-DATE: November 28, 1999,
Sunday
CORRECTION:
Due to information-handling
errors that occured in my office, an incorrect Letter to the Editor was
published in the Nov. 21 edition of The Seattle Times. Readers can find my
intended remarks regarding Mr. Letto's Nov. 4 column on the Gifford Pinchot
National Forest Web site: www.fs.fed.us/gpnf.
Claire Lavendel
Supervisor, Gifford Pinchot National Forest Vancouver, Wash.
LOAD-DATE: November 22, 1999 
