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May 8, 2001 For Immediate Release U.S. Forest Service Plans the Largest Timber Sale in the Eastern U.S. Citizen Groups Speak Out in Opposition to the East Side Timber Sale Three years ago, a Federal Court in Pittsburgh threw out the Forest Service’s 5,000-acre "Mortality II" logging plan calling it "arbitrary and capricious." The Forest Service recently re-released their plan, which now calls for 8,666 acres of logging in the Allegheny National Forest. The East Side Timber Sale (formerly known as "Mortality II") calls for 66 million board feet of logging and includes over 3,000 acres of clearcuts, 3,493 acres of herbicide use, and close to 125 miles of road construction work on Pennsylvania’s only national forest – the Allegheny. As with the Mortality II Timber Sale, citizen groups have rallied in opposition to the giant timber cutting plan. Among the group’s concerns is proposed logging that could affect an area of old growth forest that makes up the Tionesta Research Natural Area, a National Natural Landmark described by the Forest Service as "one of the most valuable old-growth remnants in the eastern U.S." "The Allegheny National Forest is a unique example of why National Forests are treasures that need to be protected for generations to come." explains Alison Cochran, Executive Director of Heartwood, an 18-state forest protection organization based in Bloomington, Indiana. "National Forests are at a critical juncture, as are all natural forests, worldwide. The East Side Timber Sale threatens to harm forests, wilderness trout streams, endangered species habitat, and key recreation spots. What more needs to be said? The Forest Service should abandon the East Side Timber Sale." The groups also claim that logging will fragment the habitat of endangered species while hampering forest-based recreation opportunities. They point to the fact that the East Side Timber Sale would result in clearcut areas as large as 152 acres. In fact, the East Side Timber Sale calls for 23 clearcut areas larger than the 40 acre limit normally allowed by the National Forest Management Act of 1976. The groups say that the Forest Service lacks an adequate Management Plan for protecting the habitat of threatened and endangered species. They claim that a Draft Plan recently released by the Forest Service for public review fails to incorporate important provisions mandated under the Endangered Species Act. "The Forest Service wants to use our national forest as a commercial tree farm solely for the benefit of the timber industry," explains Jim Kleissler, an original founder of the Clarion, PA based citizen group Allegheny Defense Project. The Allegheny Defense Project, along with Heartwood, led the initial fight against the East Side logging plan. "The East Side Timber Sale disregards threatened and endangered wildlife by logging directly up to old growth forest and cutting areas previously planned for protection as old growth. The East Side logging plan fails to incorporate important provisions for protecting the habitat of the endangered Indiana bat and Clubshell and Northern riffleshell mussels." Opponents of the large-scale timbering on the Allegheny National Forest argue that the Forest Service is intentionally manipulating the forest to promote commercially valuable trees such as the black cherry tree. Black cherry is used for high-quality veneer wood and furniture –selling for high amounts and often exported to Europe or Japan. Other uses of the forest, the groups say, are largely ignored in favor of timber. They note that more than 300 acres of proposed logging would occur at Crane Run, a wilderness trout stream specifically designated for remote fishing opportunities. Logging is also proposed along sections of the North Country Trail – a national scenic hiking trail. "When they aren’t exporting our wood to Europe the timber industry is chipping it up to make particleboard and paper," says Bill Belitskus, a member of the citizen-based Communities for Sustainable Forestry in Kane, PA. "Large outside corporations such as Willamette and Temple-Inland are demanding that unsustainable quantities of our forest be cut down to feed their mills." The groups point to legislation currently before the U.S House of Representatives as their solution. The National Forest Protection and Restoration Act, they say, would end logging on the national forests while providing jobs in forest restoration work and saving taxpayer money. "The East Side Timber Sale is the largest timber sale in the east. The Forest Service plans to cut enough trees to fill more than 20,000 log truck loads of publicly owned trees," says Susan Curry, the Eastern Field Organizer for the National Forest Protection Alliance. The Alliance has been working to end logging in all 155 of America’s national forests. "We can protect the Allegheny National Forest by supporting the National Forest Protection and Restoration Act – a bill in the United State House. If we act today, we can enjoy the Alleghenies tomorrow." Public comments on the East Side Timber sale are being accepted by the Forest Service. Citizens can send their comments to: John Palmer, Forest Supervisor, Allegheny National Forest, P.O. Box 847, Warren, PA 16365. (814) 723-5150. mailto:John.Palmer/r9_allegheny@fs.fed.usjpalmer@fs.fed.us . The Allegheny Defense Project has information on the East Side Timber Sale posted on their website at www.alleghenydefense.org. The organizations joining in the statement are:
Fact Sheets and additional quotes are available from the Allegheny Defense Project. ## |
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