urgent

Mon May 1 16:03:35 CDT 1995

FOR YOUR INFORMATION:

The bill is H.R. 1158. Look at "Second Supplemental Appropriations and
Rescissions Act, 1995 (Engrossed Senate Amendment)" via the Thomas web
service (http://thomas.loc.gov/ )

You may also want to forward the following.

Alan McGowen

------------------------cut here-------------------------------------

Date: Fri, 28 Apr 1995 22:06:38 -0700 (PDT)
From: Conservation Biology Discussion Group <conssub at u.washington.edu>
To: consbio at u.washington.edu
Subject: Scientists urge Clinton to veto salvage rider

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 1995 13:29:51 -0700
From: Chattooga River Watershed Coalition <crwc at igc.apc.org>
To: conssub at u.washington.edu
Subject: scientists urge Clinton to veto salvage rider

* SCIENTISTS URGE CLINTON TO VETO
'EMERGENCY SALVAGE RIDER' RESCISSION BILL *

Distinguished ecologist Dr. Eugene Odum of the University of
Georgia's Institute of Ecology has joined a group of scientists
from around the Southern Appalachians and other areas in
opposition to a bill they see as detrimental to the ecology of the
mountain forests.  They have urged President Clinton, in a letter
sent today, to veto the timber salvage rider associated with the
Rescissions Bill.

The Asheville-based Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition (SAFC),
composed of nine member organizations from around the six-state
Appalachian region from Alabama to Virginia, released the
scientists' letter today.  The Chattooga River Watershed Coalition
(CRWC - a Clayton Georgia-based conservation organization which
focuses on the natural resources of the watershed encompassing the
National Wild and Scenic Chattooga River and parts of NC, SC and
GA) spearheaded the effort to seek the scientists' input on the
Bill

For further information contact Tom Hatley or Taylor Barnhill at
the SAFC (704) 252-9223, or Buzz Williams at the CRWC (706)
782-6097.

The text of the letter follows.

____________________________________________________________________________

April 28, 1995

The Honorable William J. Clinton President of the United States
The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

We, the undersigned, whose fields of occupations are directly
related to stewardship of public lands in the Southern Appalachian
region, urge you to veto the 1995 Rescission Bill and the attached
"Emergency Salvage rider".  The potential damage to our country's
natural resources, the U.S. economy, and the American political
process far outweigh what benefits some interests may win from the
passage of this bill and attached "Emergency Salvage rider."

The Emergency Salvage rider was written as an attempt to address
declining forest health in western states.  We are concerned that
this emergency salvage rider will dramatically and adversely
affect forest management policy in eastern, as well as western,
forests.  Moreover; even though ecological conditions differ
greatly in the two bioregions, we believe the salvage rider is
inappropriate for all national forests.  We agree with our
colleagues in the west, who released a report entitled "Wildfire
and Salvage Logging" (Beschta, et al. March 1995) that states
"creating a crisis atmosphere is likely to stimulate inappropriate
actions that will yield new problems ..."

The language in this rider defines salvage operations to include
any forest which is "susceptible" to disease, fire or insect
infestation.  This language would leave every tree, alive or dead,
vulnerable to an overreaching interpretation of susceptibility.
The potential for abuse is exacerbated by the excessive harvest
levels called for in the rider.  Our knowledge indicates that
these mandated harvest levels are not based on any credible
scientific analyses.

In the Southern Appalachians, public land managers under pressure
to meet unreasonably high salvage levels could justify salvage
activities on the perceived threat of gypsy moth, pine beetle,
woolly adelgid, and fire.  Activities associated with excessive
salvage operations, like road building and clear cutting, would
further degrade and fragment sensitive areas in the Southern
Appalachians already suffering from the cumulative effects of
private land development and past management activities on public
lands.  Forest fragmentation and loss of biological diversity
would weaken the ability of the Southern Appalachian ecosystem to
fight off threats to forest health.  More natural processes
designed to restore native diversity would yield far greater
protection against these threats.

We believe also that the salvage rider would be very costly to the
American tax payer.  By the most conservative estimates, any final
bill which comes out of a conference committee (using language
from the Gorton amendment in the Senate for a best case scenario)
would cost the Treasury at least 200 million dollars.  During
deficit reductions and budget cut backs, we cannot afford an
expensive and unnecessary federal project.

Finally, we believe that a rigid mandate for such massive salvage
operations on our public land overrides professional expertise
with congressional fiat, and precludes a more adaptable and
economical idea of forest stewardship and silviculture, one based
on the model of natural processes.  Concerning process, Chief of
the U.S. Forest Service Jack Ward Thomas has testified in Congress
that changes in the law in order to expedite "salvage" sales are
not needed.  We feel that the exemption of salvage operations from
public involvement and environmental review excludes the
opportunity for sound professional input into the decision making
process.

In summary, we believe that this salvage rider is not based on
good science or sound economic evidence, and that it violates the
integrity of a decision making process which includes adequate
public and scientific involvement, and judicial review.  For these
reasons, we again urge you to veto this bill.

Thank you for your careful consideration of this issue.  We look
forward to your reply.

                                                Respectfully
                                                yours,

Dr. Robert H. Giles Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University Professor of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences

Dr. Mary Sauls Kelly, Ph.D.  Ecologist, Western North Carolina
Alliance Asheville, NC

Dr. Judith L. Meyer Professor, Institute of Ecology University of
Georgia Athens, GA

Dr. Pete Morton Economist, Environmental Policy and Management
Program University of Denver Denver, CO

Dr. Reed F. Noss, Ph.D.  Editor, Conservation Biology Professor,
Department of Fisheries & Wildlife Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR

Dr. Eugene Odum, Ph.D.  Institute of Ecology University of Georgia
Athens, GA

Dr. Michael R. Pelton, Professor of Wildlife Sciences Department
of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN

Dr. James W. Petranka Associate Professor of Biology University of
North Carolina Asheville, NC

Dr. J. Dan Pittillo Professor, Biology Department Western Carolina
University Cullowee, NC

Dr. David W. Stahle Director, Tree-Ring Laboratory Associate
Professor Department of Geology University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR

Dr. Charles Wharton Professor Emeritus Department of Biology
Georgia State University Atlanta, GA

Dr. Robert Zahner Professor Emeritus, Natural Resources Clemson
University Clemson, SC

Dr. Michael A. Vincent, Curator    TEL: 513-529-2755
W.S. Turrell Herbarium (MU)        FAX: 513-529-4243
Department of Botany
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio 45056 USA
Email: Vincenma at .MUOhio.edu