A3
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2020
Trump rule change opens up logging on national forests
By MONICA SAMAYOA
and DAVID STEVES
Oregon Public Broadcasting
The Trump administration
has fi nalized a rule change
that aims to open up vast
stretches of national forests to
increased logging in Oregon,
Washington state and beyond.
The rule change took
effect last week after it was
fi nalized by the U.S. Forest
Service. It eases the approval
process for activities on pub-
lic forest lands, including log-
ging and road-building. The
newly-revised rule authorizes
the Forest Service to bypass
requirements under a bedrock
conservation law called the
National Environmental Pol-
icy Act . It applies to areas of
national forest land as large as
2,800 acres at a time, allow-
ing the Forest Service to
authorize logging and other
activities without following
the National Environmen-
tal Policy Act’s public noti-
fi cation and environmental
review requirements.
The change to the envi-
ronmental policy act is just
the latest in a wave of moves
by the Trump administra-
tion to roll back environmen-
tal protections and remake
the nation’s policy regime to
be friendlier to industry —
particularly in the extractive
fi elds of mining, drilling and
logging, which have chafed
against laws that impede
their access to raw, natural
resources like coal, minerals,
natural gas and timber.
U.S. Agriculture Sec-
retary Sonny Perdue over-
sees the Forest Service. In
a press statement he lauded
the agency’s newly-estab-
lished authority to use “cate-
gorical exclusions” to bypass
the environmental policy act
provisions.
“The new categorical
exclusions will ultimately
improve our ability to main-
tain and repair the infrastruc-
ture people depend on to use
and enjoy their national for-
ests – such as roads, trails,
campgrounds and other facil-
ities,” he said.
But conservation lead-
ers said the rule change will
bring unwelcome impacts on
the environment stretching
well beyond trail and camp-
ground improvements. They
specifi cally took exception
to the newly created cate-
gorical exclusions — called
loopholes by critics — for
forest restoration and resil-
ience projects and for certain
road-management projects.
“The Forest Service just
granted itself a free pass to
increase commercial log-
ging and roadbuilding across
our national forests under the
guise of restoration,” Randi
Spivak, public lands director
at the Center for Biological
Diversity, said in a statement.
“The Trump administration
is streamlining destruction of
our public lands when what
we need to be doing is pro-
tecting them.”
Nick Smith, public affairs
director of the American For-
est Resource Council, said
the Forest Service’s changes
to environmental policy act
is a modest and important
effort that will help stream-
line restoration efforts as well
as increasing resilience from
Todd Sonfl ieth/Oregon Public Broadcasting
By the late 1980s, between 3% and 7% of old growth forest
remained in the Pacifi c Northwest’s 56.8 million acres of forest
in a mosaic of clearcuts and second-growth timber.
‘THIS IS A
POSITIVE STEP
FORWARD.
IT’S NOT A
PANACEA NOR
IS IT A GATEWAY
TO RAMPANT
COMMERCIAL
LOGGING.’
Nick Smith | public affairs
director of the American Forest
Resource Council
wildfi res and drought.
“It’s one tool that the For-
est Service can do to chip
away at the millions of acres
of n ational f orests lands that
are at risk of catastrophic
wildfi res, insects, and dis-
ease,” Smith said.
In Oregon, Smith said the
primary focus will be national
forests east of the Cascades
that have been impacted by
wildfi res and could use treat-
ments like thinning to help
restore the forests.
But he said the agency
could have gone further as
millions of acres of national
forests are at risk and only
a small portion are treated
and therefore prone to wild-
fi res and insect infestation.
Smith said the claim that the
changes to the environmental
policy act rule will increase
commercial logging is simply
not true.
“Something should be
done to mitigate these risks
and help these forests become
resilient to a changing cli-
mate,” Smith said. “This is
a positive step forward. It’s
not a panacea nor is it a gate-
way to rampant commercial
logging.”
The role of logging to thin
forests and make them more
resilient in the face of wildfi re
threats has been controversial.
It’s a strategy pushed by the
forest-products industry and
their allies in elected offi ce.
But many of the top experts
in the scientifi c commu-
nity have produced research
debunking the idea that cut-
ting trees by itself will solve
the West’s wildfi re conun-
drum — which is only get-
ting more severe as climate
change lengthens the wildfi re
season and brings drought,
insect infestations and disease
to millions of acres of forest
land.
Conservationists say they
will challenge the revisions to
the environmental policy act
in court. It was not immedi-
ately clear how the next Con-
gress or President-elect Joe
Biden might respond once
they are sworn in in January.
The Trump administra-
tion’s changes to the land-
mark Nixon-era environmen-
tal law have been generating
controversy well before they
were fi nalized by a lame duck
president who lost his reelec-
tion bid three weeks ago.
During the public com-
ment period they generated
more than 100,000 public
comments, both “strongly for
and strongly against” the rule
changes, according to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
Englund Marine & Industrial Supply’s
UP TO 15% OFF CLOTHING,
BOOTS, RAIN GEAR & MORE
A L L DAY LO N G !
EARLY BIRD SALE
6:00 - 10:00 AM
The Astoria City Council
wishes everyone a
SAFE AND JOYOUS
HOLIDAY SEASON!
Wear your mask and enjoy
the lights and holiday
festivities while social
distance shopping in
Downtown Astoria
www.astoriadowntown.com
Friday, November 27th
to Friday, January 1
Customers can park downtown
longer than posted time limits
UP TO 20% OFF STOREWIDE!
ASK US ABOUT OUR
2020 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE!
(except in metered spaces)
95 Hamburg Avenue, Astoria
503-325-4341
w w w. E n g l u n d M a r i n e . c o m
Coastal Living
Proudly serving the Oregon North Coast from Tillamook to the WA. Peninsula
Golden Whale Jewelry
Gemstones • Silver
Gold • Navaho • Earrings
14kt Gold & Sterling Charms
Quality jewelry in gold and sterling
silver by nationally known artists
Se habla español
Renae Lalyn Nelson
Owner
Cell: 503.717.2231
renae@luckyductllc.com
P.O. Box 979
Seaside, OR 97138
www.luckyductllc.com
CCB# 206236
Open for take out and online orders
Delivery for food, wine, & beer available
1335 Marine Dr., Astoria
Northwestwildproducts@Gmail.com
We ship overnight.
11-7 sunday-mon-tues-thursday
closed wed
11-8 friday-saturday
northwestwildproducts.com
194 N. Hemlock
Cannon Beach
(503)436-1166
(800)548-3918
IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING UNIQUE, VISIT THE GOLDEN WHALE
Golden, butter
crust, gourmet,
dessert pies.
Now, take a
moment to
compose yourself,
and then...
HURRY IN!
140 S Hemlock St., Suite 3, Cannon Beach
503.436-4182 • piegirl.biz
Visit us soon for a tasty
seasonal drink!
Eggnog, Pumpkin Pie, Apple
Cider and much more!
Mention this ad & save $ 1 OFF
our Candied Peppermint Drinks!
Off HWY 101, next to Costco!
Valid thru Nov. 30, 2020
Come Join Us!
One of the most unique Cafes in the world. Located on
the Columbia River in the West’s oldest cannery building;
the historic Hanthorn Cannery at the end of Pier 39
Friendly services • High quality espresso
Sumptuous fresh pastries
Unique breakfasts and lunches
Monday - Friday 7 AM TO 4 PM
Saturday & Sunday 8 AM TO 4 PM
100 39th Street #2, Astoria, Oregon
503.325.6900 • T HE C OFFEE G IRL . COM