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May 20, 2004 For Immediate Release
Conservation Groups Take Challenge of Black Cherry "Tree Farming" in Allegheny National Forest to 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals Lawsuit Challenges Use of Clearcutting, Herbicides as part of the Largest Timber Sale in Eastern United States Philadelphia, PA – Several conservation groups and individuals filed an appeal today of a District Judge’s decision to allow an 8,100-acre logging project in the Allegheny National Forest to go forward. The Allegheny Defense Project (ADP) joined with Heartwood, the National Forest Protection Alliance, the Sierra Club, Pennsylvania Environmental Network, Communities for Sustainable Forestry and several individuals in filing the appeal before the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. The conservation groups are challenging the US Forest Service’s decision to approve widespread clearcutting and herbicide use as part of the East Side Project. Conservationists claim that the largest timber sale in the eastern United States violates a provision in the National Forest Management Act prohibiting the management of timber on national forests primarily for financial incentives. The lawsuit alleges that in pushing conversion of native northern hardwood forests, the US Forest Service ignored forest health risks created by black cherry monocultures. “Not only does this clearcutting approved by the Forest Service violate federal law but the preferential management for black cherry creates an unprecedented forest health problem”, said Ryan Talbott, Forest Watch Coordinator with the Allegheny Defense Project. “Forest Service scientists have documented that stands dominated by black cherry are more susceptible to defoliating insects, windthrow, and plant biodiversity problems and less valuable as wildlife habitat.” This lawsuit appeal comes within three weeks of visits by two top Bush Administration officials who promoted the 8,100-acre East Side Timber Sale as well as a new 6,000-acre logging project. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, a member of the Bush Cabinet, used Earth Day to promote greater access to the timber industry in Pennsylvania’s only national forest. The lawsuit comes one week before the “Defending Forests, Defending Freedoms National Summer Kickoff” scheduled for May 27th. “The East Side timber sale and the newest slate of logging projects planned for the Allegheny are indicative of the growing abuse of our national forests for clearcutting,” said Andrew George with the National Forest Protection Alliance. “This summer, citizens from across America will be speaking out against a series of rules changes adopted by the US Forest Service intended to cut out public participation while pushing for more logging in our national forests.” “The Bush Administration is turning its back on ‘Healthy Forests’ by promoting the conversion of native northern hardwood forests to a mono-crop of black cherry trees,” said Phil Coleman, Chair for the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Sierra Club. “The East Side Timber Sale serves the timber industry and their export mills but it does not serve wildlife or the public. The use of clearcuts and herbicides to promote a mono-crop of black cherry trees violates the concept of multiple-use.” “The largest timber sale in the eastern United States will mean more habitat fragmentation created by logging and road development which harms adjacent forest areas”, said Bill Belitskus, President of the Pennsylvania Environmental Network. “The long-term economic health of northwestern Pennsylvania is not served by converting one of its greatest environmental and tourist assets into a monoculture of black cherry.” The concern about growing densities of black cherry has been documented in numerous scientific reports:
"Large-scale monocultures of black cherry trees are unnatural, and cannot be maintained without heavy doses of pesticides and chemical fertilizers”, said Jim Bensman of Heartwood. "Why should U.S. taxpayers subidize the timber industry through the destruction of a public resource initially intended to protect water quality?” The Appeal to the 3rd Circuit challenges a court decision issued by District Court Judge William Standish III on March 23, 2004, in Pittsburgh, PA. The District Court decision followed three years of briefings and arguments which at various points resulted in victories for both sides. In an original recommendation issued by Magistrate Judge Ila Sensenich in September, 2002, she found that, “Plaintiffs have produced an abundance of evidence that Defendants chose the even-aged management system over other harvest alternatives because it best fostered the growth of black cherry, the most lucrative tree…”. That decision was later withdrawn without explanation and a new Recommendation was issued by Magistrate Judge Sensenich on December 23, 2003, which found for the Defendant Forest Service despite finding the adoption of management for black cherry “troubling”. To commemorate the “Defending Forests, Defending Freedoms National Summer Kickoff” members of the Allegheny Defense Project will lead a media tour of forest areas at risk on Wednesday, May26th. On the Web:
Fact Sheet: Forest Service Management Creates Forest Health Problems ## |
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