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Dear M/U Interests, Dr. McKillop presents some interesting views on Clinton's Roadless Directive as it relates to forest health, forestry, roads, and recreation. Please share this information with others or you may want to submit it to your local papers as a guest opinion piece. Happy trails, Don Amador
Dr. William McKillop Letter to news media on faulty logic of Clinton's 40,000,000 acres reserve Dear Editor, October 26, 1999 Please publish this, without editing, either as a letter or an opinion piece. Thank you
President Clinton’s proposal to put an additional 40 million acres of our National Forests into roadless status overlooks some important facts. We already have almost 250 million acres of forest in the U.S. which are in parks or wilderness areas or not suitable for growing timber. Our National Forests have 85 million acres of forest that are capable of producing timber, but timber harvesting is prohibited on much of that. For example, National Forests in the California Sierra Nevada have a total forest area of 7.6 million acres, including 5 million acres that are capable of producing timber. Timber harvesting is allowed on a maximum of 3.6 million acres and may be conducted only if it meets all environmental restrictions. (Clearcutting is a thing of the past on those forests). Prior to President Clinton taking office, the U.S. National Forests produced about 30 percent of the nation’s softwood lumber. The loss of output during his administration has been made up mostly by increased imports from Canada at a significant loss to our economy. Contrary to claims based on a defective draft report that has been withdrawn, the contribution of the U.S. Forest Service timber program to the national economy is much greater than all its other programs combined. (At the national level, net economic contributions are made only by activities that increase exports or reduce imports). Over 99 percent of National Forest recreational activity is motor vehicle based. Roads that are paid for and maintained by selling timber are very important to recreationists. It is untrue to say that road construction represents a subsidy to timber buyers or that a restoration of the timber program to prior levels would lose money. Furthermore a well-maintained road network is essential for protecting forests from insects, disease and fire. Our Western National Forests are highly vulnerable to destruction by fire due to a heavy accumulation of fuels. The only feasible way of reducing this fuels build-up is to pay for it by selling a moderate amount of timber (say, two-thirds of the amount that was sold in 1990). That cannot be accomplished without an adequate road network. Professor William McKillop |