Putting People First / August 8, 1994 ===================================== Washington Report FROM THE TRENCHES by Kathleen Marquardt Chairman, Putting People First ...A weekly opinion column about the struggle against "animal rights" and eco-extremists. Copyright@1994 Putting People First Permission to reproduce this column is freely granted on the condition that credit is given to Putting People First. Putting People First is a nonprofit organization of citizens who believe in western civilization; that we need to return to common sense in man's relationship with his fellow man; and that public policy should be based on science and rationality, not emotionalism. Putting People First PO Box 1707 Helena, Montana 59624 (406) 442-5700 Fax (406) 449-0942 ===================================================================== NEW POLICY PUTS FOREST AT RISK A close friend of my mother was killed in Montana when he was dropping fire-retardant on a forest fire and his plane crashed, starting another fire. In Colorado fourteen firefighters were killed when a fire there erupted unexpectedly. The West is burning up. Why? Many of the fires were started by lightening strikes, some by careless campers. But this year's fires burn hotter and are spreading farther and faster than in the past. Why? Because these fires have tremendous amounts of fuel. Where did this fuel come from? It turns out that we have been stockpiling the fuel for years now -- not in safe places but throughout entire forests. The fuel, of course, is the dead and dying trees that the timber companies have been forbidden to harvest. As these fires are burning, we need to be aware of the factors that have produced the tinder box we call the West. A few days ago, a Montanan received a letter from President Clinton touting that his administration's plan that "reverses the economically and environmentally destructive policies of the past." Clinton bragged, "My Forest Plan will help preserve the Northwest's biologically rich system of ancient forests -- a gift we hold in trust for future generations. The plan's watershed-based, scientifically grounded prescriptions emphasize the protection of old-growth forests, restoration of streams and fisheries, and the preservation of countless species of wildlife." In responding to President Clinton's claims about his forest plan, the recipient responded that the "plan does not restore economic and environmental stability to the Pacific Northwest. It has caused economic instability and it will cause environmental devastation. The policies of the past were not economically and environmentally destructive. Those portions of the national forests where logging has occurred are currently the most productive forests in the pacific Northwest and here in northwest Montana." "On the other hand," he continued, "those small scattered tracts of old-growth forests are decadent and are losing production every year. The forests that have been harvested throughout the last fifty years are where the real diversity is." Most people do not understand the needs of a healthy forest, they are fed a lot of sound-good claptrap from Greens who are attempting to shut people and industries out of the forests. Today's forests need to be managed if they are to be kept healthy. Sound forest management includes harvesting of trees as well as wildlife. Listen to the words of my friend, Bruce Vincent, a Montana logger and Chairman of Communities for a Greater Northwest: We have suppressed fires for over 70 years in most areas. For over a decade now we have recognized the down side to fire suppression -- the terrific fuel loading of our forests -- a fuel load over 500% of normal in many areas. This means the fires of 1994 burn much hotter than anything from the "natural" past. Mitigation for this fuel buildup can and should be done but has been thwarted by supposed "protectors" of the forest. Mitigation encompasses logging and controlled burning -- both products of the hand of man and therefore deemed by eco-extremists to be negative. Millions of acres of forest land in the West has been riddled with insect infestations, disease, and weakened by drought. Again, mitigation of these compounding influences is possible -- but has been thwarted. The loggers who have been disallowed the productive steps of mitigation are now called upon to mount their machinery and dive off flaming mountains to "protect" the forest. Those who have been painted as the rape, pillage and plundering Neanderthals now stand between the forest they love and the threat they have seen coming and have been helpless to avoid. They are the only people to drive toward the smoke because they have it in their blood to fight for the forest. Everyone else drives away. Because of the intensity of the fires this time around many areas will have soils sterilized rather than invigorated. Many areas will have streams boiling with cooked trout and salmon. Deer, elk, and grizzly bears are as safe as their speed compared to the fire's (speed). My children's ecosystem will take centuries instead of decades to recover from the insanity of thwarted management. Lives have already been lost -- and it is only July. Private property losses will be astronomical. Instead of being practical and managing the forests properly -- allowing the loggers to take out the fallen and diseased trees, allowing small, contained fires to burn -- those in charge have basically shut up the forests. There is a place for old-growth, but there also is an urgent need for new-growth. In the September 1993 issue of Petersen's Hunting, Samuel R. Pursglove, Jr., Executive Director of the Ruffed Grouse Society, noted, "As young forest become less abundant, so do American woodcocks as do other species of forest wildlife that require young forest habitats." Purseglove goes on to point out that nationwide, young stands are decreasing dramatically as more and more land is being locked up for preservation purposes. Thus, over "20 species of migrant birds are experiencing dramatic population declines." Of these, "40% require young forest habitats for breeding and will undoubtedly be in far worse shape than they are now if active forest management is halted." New growth also provides the air filtration system we enjoy in healthy ecosystems. Old growth does not. We need balance, and balance cannot be achieved through shutting up our forests. Balance comes about through the wise and conservative use of natural resources. With balance we retain a beautiful, healthy environment which includes old-, middle-, and new-growth forests. Without balance our forests burn down. And as they burn they take human, animal, and plant lives with them, along with the beauty we all enjoy.