A major factor in the decline of timber sales on
the Flathead and other National Forests has been constant appeals
and litigation. There should reports to the public and
to Congress on what appeals and litigation direct costs are, what
projects and their preparation costs are, and what output values
lost due to legal delays and obstruction. The Equal Access
to Justice Act compensates most non-profit litigants for filing a
lawsuit, and results in nearly "no-risk" for a
non-profit corporation to file a lawsuit. Reform of
EAJA is necessary to remove the veto power the Act provides
for special interests to stop management of federal lands.
The latest forest inventory data (USDA Forest
Research Station, Forest Inventory and Analysis, Ogden,
Utah) shows that the lands suitable for timber harvest (about
600,000 acres) on the Flathead Forest grows an average of 113
million bd. ft. (77 log truck loads of wood per day, 365 days a
year). The trees that die each year on the
suitable lands are equivalent to 50% of the annual growth, and in
2002 only about 3% of the growth was
harvested. The average annual biomass growth
has an energy equivalent of 300 gallons of gasoline per acre/yr.
The lack of harvest results in rapid accumulation of biomass adding
to the already extreme fuel buildup and resulting fire hazard.
This situation is not sustainable for the economy nor for healthy
watersheds and all the natural resources these watersheds provide.
<<<
PREVIOUS
NEXT >>>
