Legislation Promoting Large-Scale Thinning Projects
Over the last couple of years, PRC has been dedicated to engaging fellow conservationists and Congressional staff in discussions about how proposed thinning legislation could harm aquatic species and water quality, and what language must be included in this kind of legislation to minimize the harm caused by implementing the legislation. Such legislation could alter regional forest planning efforts such as the Northwest Forest Plan and the Strategies for Managing Watersheds in Eastern Oregon and Washington, Idaho, Western Idaho, and Portions of California and Nevada.
Thinning has become the dominant silvicultural activity on federal forests, and in turn federal legislators have been seeking legislative opportunities to increase thinning to achieve its purported restorative or fire-risk-reduction benefits. Unfortunately, aquatic ecosystems and species are put at risk because from the watershed perspective, thinning is simply a form of logging, generating many of the same adverse impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Including ground disturbance, and the need for an extensive road system and its attendant hydrologic and biological impacts.
Over the last couple of years, PRC has been dedicated to engaging fellow conservationists and Congressional staff in discussions about how proposed thinning legislation could harm aquatic species and water quality, and what language must be included in this kind of legislation to minimize the harm caused by implementing the legislation. Specifically, we responded to a proposed bill from Peter DeFazio, which would replace the Northwest Forest Plan altogether, and a concept for a bill proposed by Senator Wyden for forest management in Oregon, which would retain key elements the Northwest Forest Plan, but reduce requirements for environmental analysis to speed up thinning projects. Our work effectively established our leadership on watershed protection and roads issues.
PRC remains committed to bringing the best technical advice it can to these and related legislative forums to ensure that large-scale "restoration thinning" projects (about which we are justifiably very skeptical) do not constitute a setback for aquatic species and water quality. In particular, we are providing advice regarding threats from thinning in riparian areas and advice about how to reduce the impacts of the existing forest road system. We want to put thinning into its true ecosystem context – it’s not just about trees, it’s about the entire ecosystem.
In December of 2009, PRC joined Oregon Senator Ron Wyden at a press conference to express support for new legislation proposed by Oregon Senator Rob Wyden that builds on common ground between conservationists and the timber industry.
The Oregon Eastside Forest Restoration, Old Growth Protection and Jobs Act would protect old growth forests and refocus national forest management in eastern Oregon on science-based ecological restoration. Future logging must be consistent with the watershed and forest restoration goals, and would focus on removal of smaller trees. The legislation follows months of intense negotiations between conservationists, timber industry leaders, and Senator Wyden's staff.
The proposed Oregon Eastside Forest Restoration, Old Growth Protection and Jobs Act applies to National Forest System lands within Oregon not covered by the Northwest Forest Plan. In all, the legislation will set new management priorities on six National Forests covering nearly 10 million acres of federal public land. The terms of the bill call for watershed protection, protection of old-growth forests, and a restoration standard and intent for all future management activities.
Implementation of the bill is expected to result in forest thinning projects that will increase the volume of small-diameter wood available to the few remaining timber mills in Eastern Oregon, and to provide increased certainty of timber supply in both the short and long terms.
PRC supports the bill because it places strong sideboards on forest management and helps address the forest service's growing forest roads problem.
Read a press release about a Senate hearing on the bill.
Read a press release about a press conference on the bill and PRC support.
Read about a study that PRC commissioned to evaluate the impacts of fuels reduction projects on aquatic ecosystems.
Read a recent publication co-authored by PRC's Chris Frissell regarding current proposals to replace the Northwest Forest Plan with a plan focused on intensive thinning.
To read an abstract for the Bend Forest Stewardship conference prepared by Chris Frissell in September 2008, click here.
Access all of PRC's publications related to thinning.
