NORTH COAST
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015
3A
Bill offers hope for forest fuel reduction
Measure would
change funding
for ¿re¿ghWing
ease rules on
logging and
Whinning
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
$s ranchers WhroughouW Whe
:esW deal wiWh Whe afWerPaWh of
caWasWroShic suPPer wild¿res
SroSonenWs of legislaWion Wo re-
duce fuel loads in federal foresWs
sa\ Where¶s a good chance iW will
Sass &ongress Eefore Whe end of
Whe \ear as SarW of funding Whe
federal EudgeW
7he 5esilienW )ederal )oresW
$cW of was inWroduced E\
86 5eS %ruce :esWerPan
5-$rN a Srofessional foresWer
and engineer in -une ,W was
Sassed E\ 5eSuElicans and
'ePocraWs in -ul\ and awaiWs
a hearing Eefore Whe 6enaWe
&oPPiWWee on $griculWure 1u-
WriWion and )oresWr\
,n shorW Whe Eill aW Whe urging
of Whe 2EaPa adPinisWraWion al-
lows Whe 86 )oresW 6erYice Wo
access funds Whrough Whe )ederal
(Pergenc\ ManagePenW $gen-
c\ for ¿ghWing ¿res insWead of
deSleWing non-¿re¿ghWing funds
wiWhin Whe )oresW 6erYice Eud-
geW 7he Eill also allows Whe )or-
esW 6erYice and %ureau of /and
ManagePenW e[SediWed enYi-
ronPenWal reYiew of foresW Pan-
agePenW SroMecWs ² including
logging Whinning and SrescriEed
Eurns ² in SuElic foresWs aW iP-
PinenW risN of PaMor wild¿re
insecWs and disease
³, SroEaEl\ giYe Whe Eill in
iWs currenW forP a low chance
of Sassing ouW of Whe 6enaWe EuW
WhaW doesn¶W Pean coPSonenWs
of Whe Eill won¶W Sass as SarW of
a larger SacNage´ said 7raYis
-oseSh SresidenW of Whe $Peri-
can )oresW 5esources &ouncil in
3orWland a SriPe driYer aPong
organi]aWions EacNing Whe
Eill 7he EudgeW deal Sassed E\
Whe +ouse in 2cWoEer PaNes
SossiEle a conWinuing resolu-
Wion or oPniEus aSSroSriaWions
SacNage in 'ecePEer WhaW could
include Whe hearW of Whe Eill he
said
Chances for CEs
7he adPinisWraWion wanWs Whe
¿re¿ghWing funding issue ¿[ed
and larger caWegorical e[clu-
sions Nnown as ³&(s´ of Whe
1aWional (nYironPenWal 3olic\
$cW for foresW PanagePenW haYe
Whe EesW chance of Sassing wiWh
iW -oseSh said
7he e[clusions e[ePSW cer-
Wain SracWices froP Whe lengWh\
enYironPenWal reYiews norPal-
l\ reTuired
7he adPinisWraWion aSSroYed
caWegorical e[clusions on uS Wo
acres in Whe farP Eill
and Whe )oresW 6erYice has used
WheP said 1icN 6PiWh e[ecu-
WiYe direcWor of +ealWh\ )oresWs
+ealWh\ &oPPuniWies in 3orW-
land
([Wending caWegorical e[clu-
sions Wo acres and eYen uS
Wo acres where SroMecWs
are collaEoraWiYel\ deYeloSed
E\ all grouSs concerned ³are
Whe hearW of Whe Eill´ said 6PiWh
a WoS 5eSuElican aide in Whe 2r-
egon /egislaWure Eefore forPing
+ealWh\ )oresWs +ealWh\ &oP-
PuniWies in
&aWegorical e[clusions of
Wo acres seeP
sPall when coPSared wiWh
Pillion Wo Pillion acres of
federal foresWs naWionwide WhaW
6PiWh sa\s are aW risN of wild¿re
insecWs or disease 7he )oresW
6erYice is onl\ aEle he said Wo
WreaW SercenW of WhaW annuall\
%uW -oseSh said Wo
acres acWuall\ are ³SreWW\
suEsWanWial´ coPSared wiWh Whe
)oresW 6erYice¶s currenW SracWice
of WreaWing onl\ acres in a
SroMecW
³'eSending on funding iW
can WaNe a couSle of \ears Wo
coPSleWe SroMecWs and Whe\ can
USFS photo
Firefighter on Carpenter Road fire in northeastern Washington in August.
cord high WoSSing Eillion
7hirWeen wildland ¿re¿ghW-
ers died 7he )oresW 6erYice
dealW wiWh wild¿res WhaW
Eurned Pillion acres PosWl\
in Whe :esW according Wo Whe 1a-
Wional ,nWeragenc\ )ire &enWer in
%oise
,W was onl\ Whe fourWh \ear
since WhaW Pore Whan Pil-
lion acres Eurned 7he record
was Pillion in -usW
Pillion acres Eurned in
Rancher sentiment
Courtesy of Roy Maglesson/USFS
First Creek Fire field work above Lake Chelan, Wash., in September. Wildfires burned mil-
lions of acres in the West this year. A bill in Congress seeks to reduce forest fuel loads
on federal lands.
WaNe uS Wo Sages of enYiron-
PenWal reYiew 7his isn¶W aEouW
WaNing awa\ enYironPenWal Sro-
WecWions EuW PaNing WheP fasWer
and Pore ef¿cienW´ said -oseSh
forPerl\ a senior Solic\ adYis-
er Wo 86 5eS 3eWer 'e)a]io
'-2re
scaSes Wo PaNe foresWs Pore
healWh\ again and agencies need
Whe Wools and dollars Wo do WhaW´
-oseSh said
7he Eill would Eene¿W rural
coPPuniWies noW onl\ in reduc-
ing ¿re fuels EuW in resWoring
Pills and MoEs he said
Harvest levels dropped
Encouraging Forest
Service to act
7he )oresW 6erYice harYesWs
aEouW Eillion Eoard feeW of
WiPEer annuall\ coPSared wiWh
Eillion Wo Eillion annuall\ in
Whe s and µs ,W¶s Ser-
cenW less Whan iW was \ears ago
in Whe 3aci¿c 1orWhwesW -oseSh
said
+arYesWs droSSed dra-
PaWicall\ Eecause of ³well
inWenWioned EuW conÀicWing
regulaWions´ EuW also ³federal
foresW anal\sis Saral\sis E\ real
or SerceiYed WhreaWs of liWiga-
Wion´ 6PiWh said
7here¶s also Whe sheer cosW
of aEouW Pillion annuall\
for Whe )oresW 6erYice Wo PeeW
1aWional (nYironPenWal 3olic\
$cW reTuirePenWs for SroMecWs
he said
³7he 86)6 is chronicall\
cash sWarYed going oYer Eud-
geW and noW haYing Whe EudgeW
Wo Panage Whese lands´ 6PiWh
said ³,W would WaNe decades
if noW cenWuries for Whe 86)6
Wo caWch uS in foresW Panage-
PenW EuW iW doesn¶W haYe Whe
resources´
$s a resulW of a decline in
foresW PanagePenW and WiPEer
harYesWed Where¶s a Euild uS of
underErush and WhicN WiPEer fu-
eling larger and larger wild¿res
6PiWh and -oseSh said
³:e need Wo looN aW foresWs
Pore holisWicall\ liNe land-
³6i[W\ Wo Pillion acres is a
SreWW\ sWeeS hill Wo cliPE´ 6PiWh
said ³7he sooner &ongress acWs
on Whese W\Ses of reforPs Whe
EeWWer´
,W also will WaNe he said en-
couraging Whe )oresW 6erYice Wo
use iWs new auWhoriW\ for larger
caWegorical e[clusions once iW
geWs iW 8nliNe Srior legisla-
Wion Whe Eill does noW PandaWe
logging EuW allows Whe )oresW
6erYice Wo do iW 7he 5esWoring
+ealWh\ )oresWs for +ealWh\
&oPPuniWies $cW Sassed Whe
+ouse in laWe EuW died
in Whe 6enaWe Eecause enYiron-
PenWalisWs laEeled iW a logging
PandaWe Eill 6PiWh said +e
disagreed SoinWing ouW logging
was reTuired onl\ wiWh cerWain
criWeria PeW
-oseSh said a SroYision of Whe
Eill noW liNel\ Wo PaNe iW is one
reTuiring an\ ouWside liWiganWs Wo
SosW a Eond Eefore Whe\ can sue
Wo halW a SroMecW WhaW¶s Eeen de-
YeloSed wiWh collaEoraWion of all
inWeresWed SarWies
7he Eill is EacNed E\ Whe
$Perican )arP %ureau )eder-
aWion Whe 1aWional &aWWlePen¶s
%eef $ssociaWion Whe 1aWional
$ssociaWion of 5ealWors Whe
1aWional $ssociaWion of +oPe
%uilders Whe 1aWional $sso-
ciaWion of &ounWies and Pan\
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Best W estern : 5 5 5 Ha m b urg Ave, Asto ria
WriEes foresW indusWr\ associ-
aWions waWer grouSs wildlife
grouSs and recreaWionisWs
7he )oresW 6erYice has
sWeSSed uS iWs reducWion of foresW
fuels increasing WiPEer harYesWs
SercenW since and WreaW-
ing Pillion acres for fuel re-
ducWion in Whe PosW in one
\ear )oresW 6erYice &hief 7oP
7idwell Wold Whe +ouse $gricul-
Wure 6uEcoPPiWWee on &onser-
YaWion and )oresWr\ in 2cWoEer
7he suEcoPPiWWee¶s hearing
reYiewed Whis \ear¶s ¿re season
and longWerP wild¿re Wrends
7idwell WesWi¿ed Whe agen-
c\ needs Wo NeeS increasing Whe
aPounW of acreage iW is WreaWing
and said SroMecWs Whis \ear
were a resulW of new auWhoriWies
froP Whe farP Eill +e said
SroMecWs were Eeing liWigaWed
EuW a Eigger SroEleP was lacN of
Eids for sales
5od +aeEerle owner of
+aeEerle 5anch in &onconull\
:ashingWon Wold Whe suEcoP-
PiWWee Whe lacN of Eids was due
Wo far fewer sawPills in :ash-
ingWon Eecause of Whe sSoWWed
owl endangered sSecies lisWing
\ears ago $ sWead\ reliaEle leYel
of SuElic sales is needed he said
7his \ear )oresW 6erYice
¿re¿ghWing cosWs reached a re-
$ coPPon oSinion aPong
ranchers and WiPEer owners
across Whe :esW is WhaW wild¿res
geW huge Eecause SuElic lands
aren¶W logged or Whinned and
¿re¿ghWers ofWen use defensiYe
raWher Whan offensiYe WacWics
7he senWiPenW is suPPa-
ri]ed E\ a Eig sign WhaW wenW
uS in &olYille :ashingWon lasW
sSring ³3uElic lands /og iW
gra]e iW or waWch iW Eurn´
³*ra]e iW 'on¶W Ela]e iW´ is
a slogan in ,daho said :\aWW
3rescoWW e[ecuWiYe Yice Sresi-
denW of Whe ,daho &aWWle $ssoci-
aWion in %oise
+e said he suSSorWs an\Whing
WhaW sWreaPlines PanagePenW of
resource lands WhaW is Woo encuP-
Eered wiWh rules and regulaWions
&oPSounding Whe SroEleP
3rescoWW said is agencies con-
WePSlaWing whaW liWigaWion Pa\
force WheP Wo do
7he Eill seePs Woo sPall
and focused on foresWs he said
6iPilar aSSlicaWion is needed for
greaWer gra]ing on %/M lands Wo
NeeS grass and sod fuels down
and he¶s worNing Woward WhaW
end he said
,daho ranchers said EeWWer
gra]ing PanagePenW would
haYe reduced Whe si]e and seYer-
iW\ of Whe 6oda ¿re WhaW scorched
acres in 2w\hee &oun-
W\ and SarW of (asWern 2regon
6od was so WhicN in :ash-
ingWon 'eSarWPenW of )ish
and :ildlife grasslands froP
\ears of no caWWle gra]ing
WhaW iW WooN Eulldo]ers Wwo and
Whree Sasses Wo cuW ¿re lines Wo
soil 1icole .uchenEuch +ae-
Eerle¶s daughWer said in lasW
suPPer¶s -acre 2Nan-
ogan ¿re
/iNe oWher ranches iPSacWed
E\ wesWern ¿res Whe +aeEer-
le-.uchenEuch 5anch is sWill
searching for Pissing caWWle
and dealing wiWh loss of gra]-
ing lands WhaW¶s causing soPe Wo
downsi]e herds 5anchers¶ liYe-
lihoods haYe Eeen seYerel\ hurW
E\ wild¿re
7he 2Nanogan and closel\
neighEoring 7unN %locN and
1orWh 6War ¿res WoWaled
of Whe acres Eurned in
:ashingWon Whis \ear
Frustration and
skepticism
6WeYe /or] Yice SresidenW of
2Nanogan &ounW\ )arP %ureau
and a forPer logger said Whe Eill
sounds liNe a sWeS in Whe righW di-
recWion EuW ³onl\ a WeasSoon in
Whe ocean´ of need
(Yen if iW Sasses SroEaEl\
noWhing will Ee done wiWh iW he
said
$ large aPounW of Elow
down WiPEer was wasWed for
enYironPenWal reasons on Whe
lasW )oresW 6erYice harYesW he
worNed on Wwo \ears ago he
said
³7o Pe Whe\ 86)6 haYe
SroYen for \ears WhaW Whe\ are
noW aEle Wo do an\Whing Eecause
Easicall\ Whe\ are SrosWiWuWes Wo
Whe enYironPenWal PoYePenW
7he\ Whrow awa\ Pillions of
Eoard feeW of WiPEer and are
daPn Sroud of iW´ /or] said
6PiWh said he hears a high
leYel of frusWraWion froP Pan\
SeoSle in foresW coPPuniWies
oYer Whe )oresW 6erYice¶s inaEil-
iW\ Wo rePoYe high fuel loads
froP foresWs
³2Yer Whe lasW \ears´
6PiWh said ³Whese coPPuniWies
haYe Eeen hiW hard E\ fewer log-
ging MoEs and now we¶re seeing
Whe enYironPenWal conseTuenc-
es froP declining PanagePenW
where heaY\ fuel loads are fuel-
ing larger and Pore seYere wild-
¿res WhaW desWro\ noW onl\ SuElic
foresW lands EuW SriYaWe WiPEer
lands and hoPes waWersheds
wildlife haEiWaW and recreaWion
lands´
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