Logging Compromise: Lawmakers on Capitol Hill unveiled...

Logging Compromise: Lawmakers on Capitol Hill unveiled draft legislation to impose a ceasefire in the battle over logging in the ancient forests of the Pacific Northwest, but objections from a Vermont senator sidetracked plans for immediate subcommittee action. Sens. Mark Hatfield (R-Ore.) and Brock Adams (D-Wash.) planned to ask the full Senate Appropriations Committee to approve the legislation today despite concerns from Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). Both at the beginning of the interior appropriations subcommittee meeting and in a letter to full Committee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.V.), Leahy said he was “deeply disturbed” that provisions in the bill might preempt the right of environmentalists to appeal timber sales to the courts. Leahy’s skepticism dampened the excitement of the bill’s sponsors who hope to ensure an adequate supply of logs to keep the region’s mills operating over the next 14 months, as well as protect some of the old-growth forests that are prime habitat for the northern spotted owl.