AWR Ecosystem Defense Program

From Mike Wood, AWR's Ecosystem Defense Program Director:

The Ecosystem Defense program diligently tracks Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management activities across the Northern Rockies. Our objective is to ensure that the Agencies are in compliance with environmental laws and regulations governing public land management. In doing so, we consistently advocate for greater protection of forest ecosystems as living organisms. We see these lands and the flora and fauna dependent upon them as possessing value in-and-of-themselves. Our philosophy and efforts are therefore directed toward maximizing the wild influences of nature throughout our public lands.

Ecosystem Defense in Action:

While there are many indications that the Forest Service as a whole is moving away from facilitating resource extraction as its primary function, there are certainly pockets where extractive interests still reign supreme. The Colville, Idaho Panhandle, and Kootenai National Forests, for instance, have largely continued their unsustainable logging programs under the guise of "forest health". These forests stretch from north-eastern Washington, the Idhao panhandle, into northwest Montana, and generally receive much more rainfall then do other areas of the U.S. northern Rockies bioregion.

In the past few months alone, our office has received several multi-million board feet timber sales in already heavily degraded areas of these forest. These timber sales are almost exclusively justified by the presence of the beetles or diseases native to the forest. Specifically, the Forest Service is claiming that there is an epidemic of beetles and diseases for which the only cure is more logging to remove trees affected by the natural elements. Putting aside the obvious philosophical differences between AWR and the Forest Service regarding disease and insects in the forest, even the Forest Services' latest monitoring of supposedly beetle infested areas is producing results which may make some managers nervous.

On the Idaho Panhandle National Forest (IPNF), for instance, the latest monitoring data has shown that of the trees affected by beetles, 39% survived or at least were not killed outright by the beetles. An Agency biologist on the IPNF has stated that while some of the trees may ultimately die in a few years, the significant point is that this latest information is showing a much higher percentage of unsuccessful beetle attacks this year than last. The biologist herself claims this information is evidence that, over all, the beetle population is actually on the decline.

After having consulted with independent forest ecologists, AWR has long held that beetles and diseases are cyclic in nature. As such, the news that these native insects and disease are now on the decline at least on the IPNF comes as no surprise to us. We will most certainly be monitoring this situation and will look to challenge the Forest Service more frequently when and where they seek to log thier way to what they conceive of as "forest health".

In other areas, of the U.S. northern Rockies, several National Forests have initiated forest-wide travel managment plans in an attempt to address the dramaitc increase in unrestricted motorized recreation. Under current regulations, the Forest Service has allowed Off Road Vehicle (ORV) throughout our public lands. This unrestricted motorized use of our National Forest has led to many "user created" roads, whether by casual use in open areas or by illegal cutting to open forested areas for motorized vehicles.

The Ecosystem Defense Program is actively working to restrict motrorzed recreation the designated roads on National Forests. We beleive this postion adequately addresses the recreational demands of motor vehicle users, while balancing the needs of wildlife and the forest ecosystem to be free of motorized human disturbances. Moreover, we are opposed to any motorized use in our remaining unprotected roadless areas as these areas are far too imporant to wildlife to allow to be degraded by recreational interests.

The Ecosystem Defense Program is involved in numerous other efforts and we welcome any questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns you may have. Please feel free to call me at 406-542-0050, or contact me via e-mail.

Check out our fact sheet on salvage logging.

Alliance for the Wild Rockies
PO Box 8731 • Missoula, Montana • 59807
Phone: 406-721-5420 • Fax: 406-721-9917
E-mail: awr@wildrockies.org

Content Copyright 1999 Alliance for the Wild Rockies, unless otherwise noted.

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