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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:   Western Ancient Forest Campaign
June 11, 1996            202/789-2844 ext. 291
 
Contact:  Jim Jontz or Steve Holmer
 
 
Forest Health Deal Lacks Scientific Basis
 
     Negotiations are continuing between Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID)
and Senate Democrats on forest health legislation that would reject
the latest scientific findings on the issue of fire and forest health.  
 
     A scientific assessment released by the Sierra Nevada
Ecosystem Project Friday, June 7, states that, "More than any other
human activity, logging has increased the risk and severity of fires
by removing the cooling shade of trees and leaving flammable
debris."  This peer-reviewed assessment by an independent group of
107 scientists was commissioned by Congress to provide essential
information for an ecosystem-wide approach to land management. 
 
     "The Sierra study makes clear that logging does not reduce
fire risk -- it actually increases it," said Connie Stewart, President of
Western Ancient Forest Campaign.  The Sierra assessment offers the
first credible scientific analysis on this important issue of fire
management and runs contrary to the "conventional wisdom" which
says that logging to reduce fuel loads will prevent and lessen the
severity of forest fires.
 
     "Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) claims his "Forest Health" bill S. 391
will reduce fire risk by salvage logging," said Stewart, "While in
reality, it will do nothing to reduce fires and will just lead to
uncontrolled clearcutting in some our nation's last wild places." 
The Sierra assessment recommends that the best policy to restore
the Sierra forests would include the creation of old growth forest
reserves, increased use of prescribed fires to reduce fuels loads, and
an ecosystem based management approach.
 
     The Clearwater National Forest in Craig's homestate of Idaho
has added more fuel to the debate by responding to a Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) request from Friends of the Clearwater, a
conservation organization based in  Moscow, Idaho, for
documentation of a "forest health" epidemic on the Clearwater or a
backlog of salvage timber in need of removal.  In the FOIA
response dated May 6, 1996, James Caswell, U.S. Forest Service
Forest Supervisor on the Clearwater admitted that the agency
possessed no documents whatsoever that support the contentions
that the amount of dead, damaged, diseased, insect-infested and fire
damaged trees is outside the natural range of variation, or that there
is a backlog of salvage to be logged.
 
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