Salvage logging in the US is suspending the First Amendment, undermining local economies, and destroying healthy forests for the purpose of simple profit, and this film urges its repeal. Since the US Congress passed the "Salvage Rider Bill" in July 1995, as a rider to an unrelated appropriations bill, Public Law 104-19, the logging of many western forests is being planned and executed.
Salvage logging is described accurately as a scheme by the US forest industry and its public representatives to conduct business as usual by eliminating those pesky appeals and legal actions guaranteed by the Constitution. The First Amendment of the US Constitution prohibits Congress from making any laws that abridge or restrict freedom of religion, of speech, and of the press, or the right to assemble peaceably and to petition the government for redress of grievances. The purpose of this amendment is to limit and qualify power, to guard against legislative and executive abuses, and to protect the minority against the majority. Salvage logging is exactly the kind of abuse from which the Constitution and Bill of Rights tries to protect us.
This film makes a good case that the public must review federal decisions and bring grievances when federal action contradicts public interest, as in fact the salvage logging rider does. Public review is sometimes necessary for rational forest management, when the government is "asleep at the switch."
The South Fork Roadless Area in California, 17,000 acres in the Trinity River watershed that had never been logged, is offered as an example. The area sustained a fire in 1987; although more intense than the fires that shaped it for thousands of years, this fire did not destroy the forest. The Department of Agriculture Forest Service immediately started planning a harvest. When CBF tried to make requests about certain areas, notably the steep river canyons, the USDA FS ignored them; when they tried to negotiate, the USDA FS refused. So, the harvest was halted by a court order, and then eventually stopped. The USDA FS later admitted it had lied about removing only dead trees--half the planned harvest consisted of live, healthy trees.
In other actions, timber industry advocates, Congresspersons Frank Riggs and Wally Herger have introduced a bill to transfer vast tracts of the Trinity and Six Rivers national forests to private industry, to directly benefit Sierra Pacific Industries and the Pacific Lumber Company; the latter is controlled by Charles Hurwitz, who cost US taxpayers $1.6 billion in a S&L failure and bailout. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this give-away could cost $1 billion if it becomes law--reviews of the provisions would also be prohibited. George Nethercutt introduced a rider to the Interior Appropriations bill to halt a scientific assessment of the status of ecosystems in the Columbia Basin.
This film develops several important arguments against salvage logging. The fine woody material left after logging is far more dangerous for fires than snags and large woody debris. Furthermore, the site is stressed further by the disturbance of harvesting, which may make the forest more susceptible to disease vectors than the fire. Erosion from the logging regularly destroys the productivity of streams; steelhead and salmon represent a lost benefit to the forest, as well as to human economics. Finally, salvage logging rarely returns the cost of planning, road-building, and operations, so it is essentially a public subsidy for the corporations that get wood.
The boom and bust cycle of forest communities is addressed briefly. In the Hayfork Valley, where many in the community are supported by fighting fires, 63 arsons occurred in a brief period. The community motto seems to be "light it, fight it, log it." But the film does not suggest ways that communities can break out of the boom and bust cycle.
Salvage logging of healthy forests is recognized to cause immense losses: in the health and productivity of the forests, in aesthetics and recreation, and in the spirit. The film urges that we be aware of the forest and be respectful as well.
The content and editing of the film is thoughtful. In general, the photography is of high quality. The music is effective in the beginning, but intrusive in wildlife and landscape scenes--we need to learn to be more attentive to subtle forest sounds or silence. The editing is good, but spotty in places (by the way, "ecosystem" is pronounced with a long "e," not with a short vowel as in "echo"). The content is comprehensive, but could have been woven more tightly; there are many shots of children playing and elderly people rambling-- although important, they could have been integrated better into the narrative.
I recommend this film ($10 from CBF, P. O. Box 1297, Hayfork, CA 96041), along with other videos and articles on salvage logging. "Logs, Lies, and Videotape" documents illegal logging in the Western US since the lawless logging rider passed in July 1995. The Pacific Rivers Council published a report in March 1995 entitled,"Wildfire and Salvage Logging" by eight forest experts, including Robert Beschta and David Perry ($10 from PRC, PO Box 10798, Eugene, OR 97440). Chris MaserŐs article entitled "Salvage Logging: The loss of ecological reason and moral restraint" is in this issue.
Perhaps ecosystem management is a solution, as the film suggests, although there are many industrial and nonindustrial versions of it. Adaptive forest management, wholistic forest management, or ecoforestry offer more comprehensive approaches. What ecoforestry can provide, that industrial management ignores, is an understanding of forests. Fire, insects, and pathogens, for instance, are vectors that shape forests; they contribute to forest mortality, but that mortality rarely exceeds an average of 1% per year, even with fires and windstorms. Burned areas in a forest are not wastelands, despite industry television propaganda; they are gaps necessary for creation and regeneration. Salvage logging interrupts this regenerative process and interferes with the interdependent connections in the forest by removing dead and living trees.
The Salvage logging rider is dangerous. It prohibits appeals for Option 9 forests; it jeopardizes the health of forests and the health of the US Constitution--all for easy profit. Even the limited science and art of forestry is ignored in the grab for money. Write to the President of the US and to the congressional sponsors and tell them to support a complete repeal of the logging rider.
President Bill Clinton
White House
1600 PA Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500
Tel: 202-456-1111
president@whitehouse.gov
Senator Slade Gorton U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20510 Tel: 202-224-3441, Fax: 202-224-9393 senator_gorton@gorton.senate.govSenator Patty Murray Tel: 202-224-2621, Fax: 202-224-0238
Senator Dirk Kempthorne Tel: 202-224-6142, Fax: 202-224-5893 dirk_kempthorne@senate.gov
Rep. George Nethercutt U.S. House of Reps. Washington, DC 20515 Tel: 202-225-2006, Fax: 202-225-3392
Vice President Al Gore Old Executive Office Bldg. Washington, DC 20500 Tel: 202-456-2326
Jack Ward Thomas, Chief USFS US Department of Agriculture 201 14th St. & Independence SW Washington, DC 20250 Tel: 202-202-1055, Fax: 202-205-1765