Policy No Longer Out on a Limb

Fourteen years after Congress told the U.S. Forest Service to stop putting so much zest into cutting down trees, the service is beginning to see the standing, living forest as something to value.

The most heartening sign was the announcement by Southwest Regional Forester Paul Barker that managers of California’s 20 million acres of forests would begin emphasizing preservation, protection of biological systems and recreational uses of the forests. There would be less logging by the ghastly method of clear-cutting of forests. Total timber cuts would be reduced. Wilderness would get more protection.

Barker’s plan is refreshing. Skeptics want to see results. But Barker should be praised because at least he is on the right track. President Bush, facing an incipient revolt from within the Forest Service, has helped by proposing a 28% increase in spending for recreation. Not enough, but it’s a good start. Just a year ago, the Forest Service’s timber-cutting budget was boosted by $27 million while recreation was chopped by $19 million.

The results are obvious. Trails and campgrounds are poorly maintained and even closed in some areas. Thousands of miles of trail in the Southwest need maintenance or reconstruction.

There has been an incentive for forest managers to cut trees. Logging has a strong tradition in the Forest Service. Managers with high timber sales got promoted. Logging got the big bucks in the budget. But there has been a growing rebellion within the agency over the fact that logging hogged so much of the money and recreation and resource protection got so little.

The California forests are particularly valuable for wilderness and recreation, and they provide a tourist and economic base for many communities. The forests contain some of the finest mountain country in the nation. But they also face some of the greatest population pressures and demands. Sensible recreation development and vigorous resource protection are critical to the future of the forests. With wise planning, California can see, and enjoy, both the forest and the trees.