For Immediate Release: Thursday, July 24, 1997 Contact: Brian Vincent, Conservation Director, Northwest Ecosystem Alliance, 360/671-9950 x 11 David Jennings, Black Hills Audubon Society, 360/866-7551 Mack and Merrily Knutsen, Gifford Pinchot Task Force, 360/978-4132
Woodland, WA -- In a sweeping victory for forests on public lands, a nationally mandated public advisory committee voted last night to support strong conservation measures for remaining native forest species in southwest Washington's Gifford Pinchot National Forest (GPNF). The Provincial Advisory Committee (PAC) of the GPNF, a committee comprised of staff from the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service; elected officials, industry representatives and citizens, adopted a long-range conservation-oriented plan for the 143,000 acres of the Cispus Adaptive Management Area (AMA). The Cispus AMA is located in the Randle and Packwood Ranger Districts of the GPNF. AMAs were created by President Clinton's Northwest Forest Plan "to learn how to manage on an ecosystem basis" and are supposed to protect native forests while developing innovative new approaches to logging practices.
Mary Wood, a member of the PAC said she selected the conservation alternative in part because it was the "only option that seems to address the current conditions" and "with federal lands being expected to protect our wildlife, we need to learn howto log sustainably." The long range plan focuses management on protection for fish and wildlife habitat while still providing a stable timber supply from the area.
"The conservation alternative developed by biologists and forest advocates was a bridge built on the foundation of good science and by the labor of dedicated citizens who care deeply about their public forests. The Advisory Committee's overwhelming support of that plan is not only a triumph for common sense but a tribute to the efforts of local people," said Brian Vincent, Conservation Director, of the Northwest Ecosystem Alliance.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Forest Service solicited comments from the public regarding the management of the Cispus AMA. Management of the AMA will be guided by a "Landscape Analysis and Design" -- a landscape plan that will dictate how and where logging will occur in the area. The Forest Service had developed six "Options" that were all driven by high logging demands.
Pressure by local citizens forced the GPNF to reexamine its options. Citizen volunteers developed a Conservation Option to increase protection for fish and wildlife habitat. The Option called for protection of all existing old-growth forests and roadless areas, as well as maintenance and restoration of reserves on unstable slopes, streams, wetlands, seeps, and springs. At last night's meeting, PAC members, including all of the federal agencies represented, overwhelmingly adopted the Conservation Option as their preferred alternative.
"What we had here was true citizen partnerships with government. A variety of perspectives came to the table and we all generally walked away agreeing with a common vision for the future," said David Jennings of the Black Hills Audubon Society. "The path we have set with this decision focuses on protecting the remnants of our native forests while at the same time learning how to sustain logging on public lands."
As part of the selection choice, federal officials acknowledged that logging will be reduced in the study area to approximately 7 million board feet, rather than the 12-18 million board feet which all of the other options called for. From here, the path leads to the Regional Ecosystem Office at the U.S. Forest Service headquarters in Portland, Oregon. The plan is expected to receive rapid approval by the regional office and will provide guidance to the Cispus AMA planning staff.
"Adoption of the conservation alternative as the blueprint for managing the Cispus AMA constitutes a landmark step forward in forest management. Protection of our community's water quality, wildlife, fish, and forests will be given equal consideration with logging and other development. If carried through diligently, this may indeed be the beginning of the road back from previous excesses," said Mack and Merrily Knutsen, members of the Gifford Pinchot Task Force, a local group that monitors GPNF activities. The Knutsens, residents of Onalaska, Washington, have been active with the Task Force for over 13 years.
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Brian Vincent, Conservation Director Northwest Ecosystem Alliance
bvincent@pacificrim.net
Northwest Ecosystem Alliance
1421 Cornwall Avenue, Suite 201 Bellingham WA 98225
(360)671-9950 x 11
fax:671-8429
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