House Approves Plan to Speed Up Logging

May 20, 2003
-- The House voted Tuesday to accelerate tree cutting on 20 million acres of overgrown woodlands that are prone to the wildfires that scorched millions of acres across 15 states last year.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House voted Tuesday to accelerate tree cutting on 20 million acres of overgrown woodlands that are prone to the wildfires that scorched millions of acres across 15 states last year.

President Bush supported the bill, which was approved 256-170, and urged the Senate to act on it quickly.

``For too many years, bureaucratic tangles and bad forest policy have prevented foresters from keeping our woodlands healthy and safe,'' Bush said. ``This year's fire outlook seems less severe, and that's good news, yet the danger persists, and many of our forests are facing a higher-than-normal risk of costly and catastrophic fires.''

Democrats and environmental groups said the legislation would let logging companies cut old-growth trees over large stretches of forest while not doing anything to reduce the threat of fire for people living near the forests.

``It is yet another example of the Bush administration rolling back environmental protections,'' said Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis. ``Now is the time for those who understand how important the environment is for future generations to stand up to the administration.''

Last year, 7 million acres of forest land burned in the second-worst fire season in 50 years. Suppression cost the federal government $1.6 billion. Huge fires in Arizona and Colorado scorched forests where portions of projects meant to reduce the fire threat were tied up in appeals.

Twenty-three firefighters died battling major blazes, which burned in 15 states and destroyed 815 structures, Bush said. In addition, he said five Western states _ Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and California _ have lost 47,000 timber jobs since 1989; 400 mills have closed in those states.

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Scott McInnis, R-Colo., allows the Forest Service to accelerate fuel reduction projects on 20 million acres of forests with the most severe fire risks, either because they are overgrown or because they have been infested by insects or disease.

The areas would be exempt from some of the normal environmental studies and appeals would be limited. It also directs judges to expedite any appeals.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said the bill would allow the Forest Service to treat just a fraction of the at-risk acreage using the expedited process.

``This is not a massive logging bill. This is perhaps an under-reaction to the massive problem on federal land,'' he said. ``If we do not pass this legislation the abuse of those environmental laws by extremists will cause us to burn the heart out of our nation's forests.''

The bill would achieve many of the goals Bush outlined last summer during a visit to a charred forest in Oregon. The administration is also expected to issue new rules within the next week revising its forest appeals process.

Standing on Tuesday in the shadow of a giant Magnolia tree thought to have been planted by President Andrew Jackson, Bush estimated that there are some 190 million acres of federal land facing a heightened fire risk this summer.

Democrats said the Forest Service would have to sell big, old-growth trees to fund treatment of other areas because the administration has not devoted enough money to fuels reduction programs.

``You're so fixated on red tape that you forgot green money,'' said Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., who compared it to selling a good kidney to treat a bad one.

The House defeated a proposal by Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., which would have focused fire treatment efforts on the area within a half-mile of homes or communities on the edge of the forests and given $500 million in aid to local communities over five years.

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