3 Firms Got a Third of Logging Road Credits

Nearly a third of the $40 million in logging road credits at the center of a Senate debate over timber subsidies went to just three large companies last year, the Forest Service said. The biggest share of the credits went to Ketchikan Pulp Co. of Alaska--$7.67 million. Sierra Pacific Industries of Redding received $2.48 million, and Boise Cascade Corp. of Boise, Idaho received $2.16 million, the agency said. “This is food stamps for the timber industry,” said Sen. Richard Bryan (D-Nev.), who wants to cut federal subsidies to timber companies that build logging roads in national forests. Industry leaders say the system allows for the roads to be constructed in the most cost-effective manner and that without them, the timber could not be harvested. Bryan said he would introduce an amendment to the Interior Department and Forest Service spending bill--up for a vote as early as today--to eliminate the subsidies.