Managing Multiple Uses on National Forests, 1905-1995

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MANAGING MumpLE USES ON NATIONALFoREsTs 1905-1995

A 90-year Learning Exi

It Isn't Finished Yet

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USDA UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Managing Multiple Uses on National Forests,

1905 to 1995:

A 90-Year Learning Experience and It Isn't Finished Yet

John Fedkiw

Dedication

To the national forest resource managers and staff who, over 90 years, have devoted their knowledge and skills to the stewardship of the national forests and grasslands which make up nearly one-twelfth of the U.S. lands and waters.

and

To my wife, Helen, for her loving support of my professional aspirations through all our years together.

Foreword

Once in a while, a truly challenging book comes Managing multiple uses on national forests has along. This is one! Dr. john Fedkiw unfolds a story always included many aspects of the ecological that has not been told this way or this thoroughly approach to resource management an approach before. It is the story of how the dedicated conser- that the Forest Service explicitly adopted in1992. vationists of the Forest Service have managed the We are well on a pathway to the holistic ecological public lands, waters, and resources of the United approach to managing multiple uses on national States and served the public trust for over90years. forests. We are again "Breaking New Ground" and, together with the American people, extending the This story is not an easy one to tell. Each generation learning experience that has always been a part of the has had different expectations for the use and enjoy- use and management of the National Forest System ment of the national forests and grasslands and for the lands and resources. other programs of the Forest Service. What emerges from this book is an understanding that Society has sent and continues to send the the Forest Service has always found a way to obey the Forest Service mixed signals over ts priorities. law, care for the land, and serve people, giving Throughout its history, the Forest Service has been society most of what it wanted with extraordinary buffeted by poi itical, factional, and intergenerational efficiency. Forest Service employees, agency disputes. Reflecting society's strife, each Administra- partners, and everyone who cares about this Nation's tion and Congress has set different, sometimes con- natural treasures owe Dr. Fedkiw their thanks. flicting, priorities. As a result, there has never been quite enough money, people, or time available to the Forest Service to do the impossible - accomplishing everything that society has asked. Redacted for Privacy

Nevertheless, Forest Service management of multiple uses on national forests has been resourceful in adapting to changes in society's expectations and to new knowledge and technology and in implementing Jack Ward Thomas productivity improvements to overcome limitations of Chief, USDA Forest Service,1 993-1 996 budgets.

Preface

This project, Managing Muttiple Uses on National the anthropocentric objective that use or choice of Forests, 1 905-1 995, was undertaken with the direct nonuse implied, there was little need for managing support and approval of the Chief of the Forest Ser- national forests aside from protecting and admin- vice, F. Dale Robertson, and Associate Chief George istering public property. So the method of the story M. Leonard and the concurrence of the U.S Depart- and account of managing multiple uses on national ment of Agriculture's Acting Assistant Secretary for forests responded to the following basic questions: Natural Resources and the Environment, John H. Beuter. The original intent was to provide a substan- . Who used the national forests and why? tive account of what "multiple-use management" was How were these uses implemented (managed) on all about in terms of principles, guidelines, and the ground? standards followed. The initial outline and proposal were prepared with the advice and guidance of Hal . What happened (over time)? Salwasser, Director, and James Caplan, Assistant Director, of the New Perspective Project. It was From this perspective, managing multiple uses on justified as necessary documentation to the 1 990 national forests emerges as the fitting of multiple Forest and Rangeland Resources Program emphasis uses into ecosystems according to their capability to on "multiple-use management" as a leading "role" support the uses compatibly with existing uses on for the Forest Service, particularly the National the same or adjoining areas, in ways that would Forest System. sustain the use's outputs, services, and benefits, and forest resources and ecosystems for future The approach through principles, guidelines, and generations. standards for multiple-use management proved infeasible because there was no systematic doc- Because the multiple uses were explicitly differenti- umentation; there were no specific budgets, pro- ated into categories (user groups) and because their grams, staffing, organization, accounting, or management knowledge and art were developed by reporting for multiple-use management per Se. function, the uses were also largely implemented by A top-down policy approach was infeasible because function on national forests. Crhere were few user the policy direction for managing national forests for advocates for "multiple use" per Se. Users generally multiple uses dd not give any specific guidelines for advocated their particular interests, usually recog- applying this policy to specific land areas where nizing the need to "share" the land with other users management for multiple uses was actually taking with different objectives when the uses were com- place. Upon pondering this dead end, it became patible and to compete for the land when they were evident that multiple-use management was not a not). That is the way the story of managing multiple system or method as the term and its connotation uses on national forests is here told. Over time, implied. Rather, it referred to the policy direction to implementation of overlapping and adjoining uses manage National Forest System lands for multiple- becomes progressively a matter of technical plan- use purposes and values. ning and coordinating; then integrating multiple disciplines; next, interdisciplinary team planning; and Because the level and mix of uses of national forest now, an ecosystem approach to managing multiple eocsystems changed over time in response to shifts uses. The fitting of multiple uses within the capa- in demands, technology, knowledge, and social bilities of ecosystems and compatibly with existing values, there seemed to be no other way to cover the uses became the development of sustainable systems subject of managing multiple uses on national forests for recreation, wildlife, fisheries, watershed, timber, than to tell it empiricallyfrom beginning to end, landscape, range, wilderness, minerals, and many 1 905 to 1 995, use by use, area by area, year by year, other more specific uses within national forest and decade by decade. Following this approach, it soon rangeland ecosystem. Thus, managing multiple uses became clear that the uses and users were the became analogous to forest management and the "drivers" of national forest management; for that ecosystem approach to management and evolved matter, of all resource management. Without use and within a changing framework of the state of the art Preface

and knowledge and societal values. The art and the under the administration of the USDA Forest Service knowledge, for forest management and the ecosys- from 1905 to 1995. It is so viewed here in this story of tem approach to management, are both dynamic in managing multiple uses on national forests. response to changing uses, technology, knowledge, and societal values. The Epilogue sums up this story as a 90-year learning experience for national forest resource managers, The modern effort to move from the traditional resource professionals generally, and the American management for multiple uses to "ecosystem man- people. With the formal adoption of the ecosystem agement" or, as it has been expressed and adopted management approach to managing multiple uses for national forests, to an "ecological approach to and benefits in 1992, national forest managers are management for multiple benefits" can be viewed once again "Breaking New Ground" in the tradition in an historical context as an evolutionary rather of the Conservation Movement as expressed by than a revolutionary shiftan extension of the Gifford Pinchot. The learning experience is now evolving management of national forests that began being extended into the future within the ecosystem with the Organic Act of 1897 under the administra- framework of management. tion of the Department of the Interior and continued

VIII Acknowledgments

I have received help from many people in telling James W. Giltmier, Executive Editor, The Con- this story about managing multiple uses on national servation Legacy, The Newsletter of the Pinchot forests and am pleased to acknowledge these Institute for Conservation, Washington, DC. contributions. Lawrence W. Hill, Director, Forest Policy, Society My deepest gratitude goes to Norene Blair, Office of of American Foresters, Bethesda, MD. Public Affairs, Forest Service, Washington, DC, who George M. Leonard, retired, Former Associate collaborated on this manuscript and carefully and Chief of the Forest Service, Fairfax, VA. patiently reviewed and edited repeated drafts. These efforts have added substantially to the coherence of Douglas W. MacCleery, Assistant Director, Forest the manuscript and its readability. Norene has also Ecosystems and Planning, Timber Management worked at au organizational levels of the Forest Staff, USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC. Service, from the ranger district to the Washington John R. McGuire, retired, Former Chief of the Office, so she ground-truthed much of my manu- Forest Service, Gaithersburg, MD. script. I am especially grateful to Norene for her support of the idea of the book - a story that needed to Mark A. Reimers, retired, Former Deputy Chief, be told and her gentle, but constructive encourage- Programs and Legislation, USDA Forest Service, ment to return to the story and complete it when Washington, DC. personal stress led me to interrupt this effort. My gratitude to Norene is unending for her extraordinary Jerry A. Sesco, Special Assistant to the Chief, USDA support of this manuscript and book. Forest Service, Washington, DC. Jeff M. Sirmon, retired, Former Deputy Chief for I am also deeply grateful to the late Terry West, Forest International Forestry, USDA Forest Service, Service Historian, Office of Public Affairs, for his early Vienna, VA. and strong support, counsel, and encouragement in telling this story. His thorough reviews were important Harold K. Steen, retired, Former Executive Director, contributions to the structure of the story. He also Forest History Society, Durham, NC. identified and provided many valuable information sources from the Forest Service History Library. I also Ross Whaley, President, State University of New appreciate the administrative oversight provided by York College of Environmental Science and James Caplan, Director of Public Affairs, and his Forestry, Syracuse, NY. acting successor, Denver R. James. Gerald W. Williams, Regional Sociologist, USDA I am indebted to my peer reviewers who read the Forest Service, Portland, OR. draft manuscript and offered so many useful com- Many Forest Service professional staff and retirees ments and suggestions for its improvement: read review drafts of particular parts of this story and John H. Beuter, Duck Creek Associates Natural offered helpful comments and criticisms. Others Resource Consultants, Corvallis, OR, and Former provided or identified useful information sources. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Natural Resources They include: and the Environment, U.S. Department of Peter Ashton Agriculture, Washington, DC. Robert G. Bailey Edgar B. Brannon, Jr., Director, Grey Towers Chris Barone National Historic Landmark, Milford, PA. Art U. Bryant Stephen B. Dewhurst, Director, Office of the Pater L. Clark Secretary, Office of Budget and Program Planning, Gerald (Skip) Coghian U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC. Harry Croft

ix Acknowledgments

David R. Darr I owe special thanks to Professor E. Tom Bartlett and Laurie Fenwood C. Wayne Cook, emeritus, of the Rangeland Ecosys- tem Science Department of Colorado State University, . Richard F. Fowler who provided important background information and Warren Harper related references on the ecosystem management Rex Hartgraves course sponsored by the Forest Service and Colorado State University during the 1970's and early 1980's. Clifford Hickman . Fred H. Kaiser I appreciate the secretarial services and typing pro- William Lange vided by James Norgaard, my secretary in the Office of Budget and Program Analysis, U.S. Department of Lyle Laverty Agriculture, during the drafting of the early chapters Joseph W. Lewis of this story. I'm grateful to the Forest Service for Nelson S. Loftus accepting my volunteer services upon my retirement from the Department of Agriculture in June 1993 and Robert E. Lynn providing the space, facilities, editorial, secretarial, Jay McConnell and typing services and open access to historical Dennis Murphy information resources to complete the story. Kathryn R. Max Peterson Sprouse, in the Office of Policy Analysis, typed initial drafts and updated repeated markups of the later Walter Schlumpf chapters. I also appreciate the secretarial, typing, and Gordon H. Small administrative services of Simone Dupree and Sherley Brian F. Stout Gooding in the Office of Public Affairs, Mary Paul C. Sweetland Williams and Renee Blue in the Office of Forest Inventory, Economics, and Recreation Research, and John Twiss Judy Cook, Secretary to the Deputy Chief for Jacob L. Whitmore Research. Robert Williamson I have had much help from the Forest Service in Elizabeth Hale, summer intern with the Forest Service writing this manuscript, but I am glad to say that and undergraduate student in English at George have also had the unrestrained freedom to tell this Washington University, provided a special review of story the way I see it. The responsibility for what is major parts of the manuscript for readability and included in this book is solely mine. understanding from the college student's viewpoint.

x Photo Credits

Page 3 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by H.C. Edinborough. Page 6 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Page 10 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricuitural Library. Taken by W.S. Cline. Page 12 Taken by H.L. Shantz. Page 13 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by W.A. Jackson. Page 1 6 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Page 1 7 (top) Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Page 17 (bottom) Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by J.D. Jones. Page 18 (left) Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by W.G. Baxter. Page 18 (right) Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by Jay Higgins. Page 21 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Page 22 USDA Forest Service Photo, Mimbres Ranger District, Gila National Forest. Page 23 USDA Forest Service Photo, Region 3. Page 30 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by Paul R. Canutt. Page 31 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by Dan Todd. Page 32 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by C.M. Rector. Page 35 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by Daniel 0. Todd. Page 36 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by L.J. Prater. Page 38 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by L.J. Farmer. Page 39 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by Paul Steucke. Page 40 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by Bluford Muir. Page 42 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by L.J. Prater. Page 44 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by Thomas C. Adams. Page 46 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by L.J. Prater Page 47 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Page 48 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by P. Freeman Helm. Page 49 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by E.L. Hayes Page 50 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by John Wicker. Page 51 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by B.W. Muir. Page 52 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by Jack Rottier. Page 54 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by Los Angeles County Fire Department. Page 55 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Page 58 (upper left) Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by K.G. Brown. Page 58 (upper right) Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by Dean M. Earl. Page 58 (lower left) Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Page 58 (lower right) Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library.

xi Photo Credits

Page 59 (top) Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by L.J. Prater. Page 59 (bottom) Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by L.J. Prater. Page 60 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by L.J. Prater. Page 61 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Page 63 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by W.L. Hansen. Page 65 RNA Research File, USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC. Page 66 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken byF. Lee Kirby. Page 67 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by L.J. Prater. Page 68 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by L.J. Prater. Page 69 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by L.J. Prater. Page 72 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by Robert E. Radtke. Page 74 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by L.J. Prater. Page 75 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by D.D. Devets. Page 80 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by George Woistad. Page 101 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Page 102 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Page 1 03 Forest Service Photo. Page 105 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Page 106 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Page 132 Colorado State University. Page 133 Harold Goetz, Range Ecosystem Department, Colorado State University. Page 142 USDA Forest Service Photo. Taken by W.S. Cline Page 144 USDA Forest Service Photo. Page 147 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by Philip G. Schlamp. Page 152 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by Ross McPherson. Page 153 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by Paul Hart Page 174 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Page 178 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Page 181 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by Freeman Helm. Page 182 Forest Service Photo Collection, National Agricultural Library. Taken by Walt Mott. Page 195 USDA Forest Service Photo. Taken by Melissa Carlson. Page 204 USDA Forest Service Photo. Taken by Tom Iraci. Page 209 USDA Forest Service Photo. Taken by Tom Andrews. Page 211 USDA Forest Service Photo. Taken by Tom Iraci. Page 225 (top) USDA Forest Service Photo. Page 225 (middle) USDA Forest Service Photo. Page 225 (bottom) USDA Forest Service Photo.

XII Photo Credits

Page 226 USDA Forest Service Photo. Page 231 USDA Forest Service Photo. Takenby Y.Yee. Page 232 USDA Forest Service Photo. TakenbyDon Nichols. Page 233 USDA Forest Service Photo. Takenby Y.Yee. Page 234 USDA Forest Service Photo. TakenbyRon Nichols. Page 237 USDA Forest Service Photo. Takenby K.L.Grove. Page 242 USDA Forest Service Photo, Uinta National Forest. Page 247 USDA Forest Service Photo. TakenbyFrank Erickson Page 248 USDA Forest Service Photo. TakenbyEd Fox. Page 249 USDA Forest Service Photo. TakenbyTom Iraci. Page 250 USDA Forest Service Photo. Page 251 USDA Forest Service Photo. TakenbyTom Iraci. Page 252 USDA Forest Service Photo, Region 2. Taken by Dave Steinke. Page 253 USDA Forest Service Photo. Page 254 USDA Forest Service Photo. TakenbyJim Hughes. Page 255 USDA Forest Service Photo. TakenbyTom Iraci. Page 256 USDA Forest Service Photo. TakenbySam Frear. Page 259 USDA Forest Service Photo. Taken by Jill Bauermeister. Page 263 USDA Forest Service Photo. TakenbyTom Iraci, Page 265 USDA Forest Service Photo. TakenbyDale Bounds. Page 266 USDA Forest Service Photo.

xiii

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction 1

The Concept of Managing for Multiple Uses Emerges ...... 1 The Organic Act of 1897 ...... 1 References...... 4

Chapter 2. Managing Multiple Uses and Protecting Resources: 1905 to 1945 ...... 5 The General Character of National Forest Resource Management ...... 5 Early National Forest Staffing ...... 6 Decentralizing Decisionmaking ...... 7 Professional Forester Recruitment Accelerates ...... 7 Research and Cooperation With State and Private Landowners ...... 8 Implementation and Coordination of Resource Uses and Management ...... 8 Managing Grazing by Cattle and Sheep ...... 9 Managing Wildlife Resources and Use ...... 11 Managing Water Resources ...... 1 2 The Weeks Act of 1911 and Eastern National Forests...... 1 3 Managing National Forests for Timber Production ...... 1 4 Reforestation ...... 1 5 Improvement of Forest Fire Control ...... 16 Insect and Disease Management and Control ...... 18 White Pine Blister Rust Control ...... 19 Other Pest Management Activities ...... 20 Managing Recreation Uses and Activities ...... 20 Wilderness Preservation ...... 21 Natural Areas for Research ...... 22 Mining...... 22 Hardrock Minerals ...... 22 Management of Special Uses ...... 24 Homesteading...... ' 25 National Forest Use and Management at the End of World War II ...... 25 References ...... 26

Chapter 3. Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands: 1945 to 1970 ...... 29 National Forest Planning and Performance: 1945-1970...... 29 Diversifying Staff and Skills in Managing Growing Multiple Uses...... 31 The Management of Multiple Uses: 1945-1970...... 34 Population, Economic, and Demand Trends...... 34 Grazing Use and Management ...... 35 Stockowners Sensitive to 1960 Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act...... 37 The National Grasslands...... 37 Managing Surface Resources on Mineral Leases and Claims ...... 38 MiningClaims ...... 39 Using and Managing Timber Resources ...... 42 Sustained-Yield Units and Long-term Timber Supply Contracts...... 44 Timber Management Planning...... 46 1 961 National Development Program for National Forests ...... 47 Preparation of Timber Management Plans...... 48 The Role of Road Development in Timber Resource Management...... 48 Access To Respond to Natural Disasters ...... 49

xv Table of Contents

Reforestation and Stand Improvement...... 50 Planning for Multiple Uses Under the MUSY Act...... 51 Insect and Disease Management...... 51 Insect Suppression...... 52 Disease Control...... 53 Protection from Forest Fires...... 54 Fuel Management Activities...... 55 Initiation of Fuel Management...... 56 Managing Recreation Uses and Resources...... 56 National Recreation Areas...... 61 Designation of Wild and Scenic Rivers and National Trails...... 61 Wilderness Preservation and Management...... 62 Reservation of Research Natural Areas...... 64 Protecting and Managing Watershed Condition...... 65 Soil Surveys Initiated...... 67 Water Storage Development...... 67 Barometer Watershed Projects To Increase Streamfiow...... 68 Wildlife and Fish Management...... 69 The 1945 to 1960 Period...... 69 Wildlife Habitat Management and Staffing: 1945-1959...... 73 Strengthening of Wildlife Management in the 1960's...... 73 1960's Trends in Wildlife and Fisheries Use...... 76 Emergence of National Policy for the Environment in 1970...... 76 The 1960's Open Major Issues for Timber and Multiple-Use Management...... 77 Timber Management and Fish Habitat...... 77 Clearcutting: Hardwoods and Wildlife on the Monongahela National Forest...... 78 Elk/Timber Management Conflicts...... 79 The Emergence of the Bitterroot Controversy...... 80

References...... 81

Chapter 4. Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the 1970's...... 85 The National Setting...... 85 Administration and Congressional Efforts To Expand National Forest Timber Supplies...... 86 Housing Goals, Timber Demands, and Price Responses...... 86 The Administration's Initial Responses to Rising Timber Demands and Prices...... 88 Congressional Response and the Timber Supply Act of 1969...... 88 Emergence of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act in 1 974...... 90 Administration Efforts To Increase Timber Supplies: 1970-1979...... 94 Report of the President's Advisory Panel...... 95 An Independent Effort for Consensus...... 96 The Performance of Timber Supplies and Housing Goals in the 1 970's...... 97 The Clearcutting Issue Leads to New Guidelines for Managing Multiple Uses...... 99 Early National Forest System Response to Clearcutting Critique: 1 970...... 99 In-Service Evaluation of the Clearcutting Issue on Selected National Forests...... 100 Chief Cliff Gives Emphasis to the Ecosystem Approach and Training...... 102 A Nationwide Field Evaluation of National Forest Timber Management...... 103 Congressional Hearings Elevate Clearcutting to National Issue: 1971...... 104 Church's Clearcutting Guidelines: 1973...... 106

xvi Table of Contents

Emergence of the National Forest Management Act of 1976...... 107 Wilderness Planning and Designation...... 112 Roadless Area Review and Evaluation (RARE)...... 113 Eastern Wilderness and Congressional Disavowal of the Pristine Doctrine...... 114 RAREII...... 115 Multiple-Use Planning Procedures Improved...... 119 Regional Planning Area Guides and Unit Plans for Multiple-Use Management...... 1 20 Unitplans...... 120 "Functional" Resource Plans Link to Unit Plans...... 1 21 Influence of RPA Legislation...... 121 Influence of the National Forest Management Act of 1976...... 122 The Emergence and Development of Public Participation...... 123 Lessons from the National Issues of the 1 970's...... 125 References...... 128

Chapter 5. The Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1970 to 1979...... 131 The Internal Forest Service Setting: The 1 970's...... 1 31 National Forest Managers' Training in Ecosystem Management...... 1 32 Classifying National Forest Lands and Resources...... 133 Timber Management...... 134 Stratification of the Commercial Forest Land Base...... 1 34 The Shift to the Unit Planning System...... 135 Nondeclining-Flow Policy and Its Measure: Potential Yield...... 136 Silvicultural Practices...... 137 Timber Harvests, Logging Systems, and Landscape Management...... 140 Logging Equipment: Methods and Systems...... 141 Road Design and Construction...... 142 Landscape Management...... 143 Wilderness Management and Use...... 145 Outdoor Recreation and Use Management...... 148 Growth in Total Visitor Use...... 148 Staffing for Recreation Management...... 149 Capacity and Use at Developed Sites...... 149 National Forest Trails...... 1 51 Visitor information SeMces and Centers...... 151 Recreation Special Use Permits...... 1 52 Offroad Vehicle Use and Management...... 1 52 Cultural Resource Management...... 1 53 National Recreation Areas and Wild and Scenic Rivers...... 1 54 Minerals Management...... 154 Surface Mining Activities and Environmental Protection...... 1 56 Environmental Analysis Related to Minerals...... 1 57 Leasable Minerals...... 1 57 Control of Forest Fires and Fuel Management...... 1 58 Better Trained and Equipped Firefighters...... 159 Emergence of Fire as a Management Tool in the West...... 1 59 Fire Management Areas...... 1 59 Fuel Management...... 160 A National Model for Planning National Fire Management Budgets...... 160

xvii Table of Contents

Preservation of Research Natural Areas...... 1 60 Biosphere Reserves...... 1 61 Forest Pest Management...... 1 61 Major Insect and Disease Problems...... 162 Insect Control...... 1 63 Disease Control...... 164 Herbicide Use...... 1 65 RangeManagement...... 166 Range Analyses, Planning, and Management...... 1 66 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976...... 168 System-Wide Assessment of Range Condition...... 169 The Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978...... 1 69 The Use and Performance of National Forest Rangelands in the 1970's...... 1 70 Soil and Water Resource Management...... 170 National Forest Water Rights...... 1 71 Watershed Improvements...... 1 72 Managing WUdlife and Fish Habitats and Use...... 173 Species Richness Approach...... 175 Featured Species Approach...... 1 75 Managing Wildlife Habitats in Managed Forests: An Integrated System...... 1 75 Support for and Coordination With Other Resource Activities...... 1 77 A Case in Point: Coordinating Timber Management and Elk...... 1 78 South Fork Salmon River Strategy...... 1 79 Endangered Species Management...... 1 79 Habitat Improvement Activities...... 1 80 State Cooperation...... 1 81 Wildlife Management Institute Study...... 182 Wildlife and Fish Population Status and Trends...... 183 National Forest Land and Resource Management Performance in the 1 970's...... 1 83 Implications for the 1 980's and 1 990's...... 1 84 References...... 1 85

Chapter 6. National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995...... 189 The General Setting...... 1 89 A New Approach to Forest Planning...... 189 Economic and Policy Highlights...... 190 The Role of Public Participation and Growing Confrontation...... 191 Growing Public Confrontation...... 192 The National Forest Planning Process and its Performance...... 193 The Public Issue and Management Concern...... 193 The Role of Planning Alternatives and Management Direction...... 194 Management Direction for Implementing Alternatives...... 194 Principal Guidelines for Planning Multiple Uses...... 194 The Interdisciplinary Process...... 196 The Plan Decision Process: Plan Approval, Appeals, and Litigation...... 1 96 The Preferred AIternatve...... 196 Forest Plan Appeals...... 196 NEPA and NFMA Forest Planning Litigation...... 198 Project-Level Appeals and Litigation...... 1 98 National Action Plan To Improve NEPA Compliance...... 199 Revision of the Rules of National Forest Land and Resource Management Planning...... 200 xv ii Table of Contents

Wilderness Designation, Use, and Management...... 203 Management of Wilderness...... 203 Wilderness Management: 1 980-1 986...... 204 Renewed Efforts To Upgrade Wilderness Management: 1987-1 995...... 206 Research Natural Areas...... 208 Timber Resource Management...... 210 TimberVolumeSold...... 211 Potential for Timber Supply Disruption due to Appeals and Litigation Evaluated...... 211 The Northern Spotted Ow and Old-Growth Management Controversy...... 213 rhe Below-Cost Timber Sale Issue...... 21 9 Timber Harvests...... 222 Clearcutting...... 223 Road Construction...... 223 Road Analysis and Display System...... 224 Silvicultural Examinations and Practices...... 225 Reforestation...... 226 Timber Stand Improvement...... 227 Forest Growth, Mortality, and Potential Yield Trends...... 227 Pest Management and Forest Health...... 228 The 1992 Forest Health Strategic Plan...... 228 Western Forest Health Initiative...... 229 Exotic Pests and Log Imports...... 230 Vegetation and Animal Control...... 230 Fire and Fuel Management...... 230 Wldfires Worsen After 1984...... 231 Fuel Management...... 234 Management of Rangelands...... 235 Domestic Livestock Use...... 235 Range Management Activities...... 236 Noxious Weed Control...... 237 Role of Public Participation...... 237 Issuance of New Grazing Permits...... 238 Emergence of the "County Supremacy" Movement on Federal Lands...... 238 Mineral Exploration & Development...... 239 Oil and Gas Leases...... 239 Coal and Geothermal Leasing...... 240 Minerals Leased on Acquired National Forest Lands...... 240 Locatable Minerals...... 241 Mineral Materials...... 241 Soil, Water, and Air Resources...... 241 Coordinating Resource Management With Soil and Water Objectives...... 241 Soil and Water Inventories...... 242 Long-Term Soil Productivity Study Initiated...... 243 Shift Toward an Ecological Approach and Emphasis...... 243 Water Resource Surveys...... 243 Soil and Water Monitoring...... 244 Riparian and Wetlands Management...... 244 WaterRights...... 244 Soil and Water Resource Improvements...... 245

xix Table of Contents

Air Quality Management...... 245 Weather Monitoring Program...... 246 Outdoor Recreation Use and Management...... 247 Recreation Use of National Forests...... 247 National Recreation Strategy...... 249 Universal Access to Recreation Opportunities...... 249 Scenic Byways and Tourism on National Forests...... 249 Urban National Forests...... 250 Interpretive Services...... 251 "Challenge Cost-Share" Program Expands Recreation Partnerships...... 252 Volunteer Services Contribute to Recreation Program...... 252 Heritage Management...... 253 Trails...... 253 TreadLightly...... 254 Leave No Trace...... 254 Wild, Scenic, and Recreational Rivers...... 255 Special Recreation Areas...... 255 Law Enforcement...... 256 Marijuana Cultivation on National Forests...... 257 Wildlife and Fisheries Management...... 257 Management Practices: 1980-1986...... 258 Fisheries Management...... 258 Threatened and Endangered Species...... 259 Wildlife and Fishery Use: 1980-1986...... 260 Wildlife and Fishery Habitat Relationships: Modeling Efforts...... 260 Wildlife and Fishery Management and Use:1 987-1995...... 261 Fisheries Management...... 261 Every Species Counts...... 262 Protecting Endangered Species After Natural Disasters...... 263 Habitat Management for Endangered Species Reintroduction and Recovery...... 264 PACFISH Strategy for Endangered Salmon in the Pacific Northwest...... 264 GetWild...... 265 The Growth of Partners in Habitat Management...... 267 1980 to 1995: A Period of Accelerating Transition and Transformation in Managing Multiple Uses on National Forest System Lands...... 268 References...... 268

Chapter 7. Policy Commitment to Ecosystem Approach to Managing Multiple Uses...... 275 Forest Service Ethics and Course to the Future...... 276 Breaking New Ground Once More...... 277 References...... 278

Epilogue...... 279 A 90-Year Learning Experience and It Isn't Finished Yet...... 279 The Ecosystem Connection...... 281 References...... 284

xx Table of Contents

Figures Figure 1. National Forest System lands, including the forest reserves, 1 891-1995...... 5 Figure 2. Number of livestock permitted to graze on national forests, 1906-1992...... 11 Figure 3. National foresttimber harvests, 1905-1 945...... 14 Figure 4. Acres burned by wildfires on national forests, 1910-1994...... 16 Figure 5. U.S. urban and rural population, 1940-1990...... 34 Figure 6. National forest timber sold and harvested, 1950-1969...... 43 Figure 7. Outdoor recreation visitor use of national forests, 1 925-1 964...... 57 Figure 8. Outdoor recreation visitor use of national forests, 1 965-1994...... 57 Figure 9. Selected trends in national forests big game populations, 1 930-1992...... 70 Figure 10. Average new housing units constructed annually per 5-year period, 1950-1994...... 87 Figure 11. Wholesale price trend for softwood lumber, 1960-1988...... 87 Figure 12. Trend of new home mortgage interest rates, 1963-1994...... 88 Figure 1 3. Price increases for softwood lumber, 1970-1979...... 91 Figure 14. Average annual national forest harvest by decade for major U.S. regions, 1950-1994...... 98 Figure 15. National forest timber sold and harvested, 1970-1 994...... 140 Figure 1 6. Total road mileage in the National Forest System, 1967-1995...... 143 Figure 1 7. National forest wilderness area and visitor use, 1965-1 994...... 146 Figure 1 8. Developed outdoor recreation site capacity and use, 1 970 and 1979...... 1 50 Figure 19. National forest area leased for mineral exploration and development, 1970-1979...... 1 57

Figure 20. Decline in pesticide treatments in the Eastern Region of the National Forest System, 1960-1980 . . 162 Figure 21. Beef cattle numbers in the United States and its western regions, 1970-1976...... 167 Figure 22. Acres of soil, water, and geologic resources inventoried, selected years 1 970-1979...... 1 71 Figure 23. Wildlife and fisheries user days (WFUD's) on national forests, 1966-1 995...... 173

Figure 24. National forest area treated to provide wildlife food and cover benefits in 1970, 1974, and 1979. . 180 Figure 25. National forest timber growth, harvest, and mortality, 1952-1991...... 227 Figure 26. Oil and gas leases on national forests, 1983-1994...... 239 Figure 27. Coal leases and production on national forests, 1 980-1994...... 240 Figure 28. The Pathway Hypothesis: Over time, the pathway of traditional national forest management leads to a fully holistic approach to resource management...... 284

Tables Table 1. Number of Forest Service employees by occupation and skill...... 31 Table 2. Number of recreation special use permits issued to commercial concessionaries, 1979...... 1 52 Table 3. Completed mineral area operating plans by region, 1979...... 1 56 Table 4. Number of public input events by type of event...... 192 Table 5. Appeals of completed forest plans by number, status, and year...... 1 97 Table 6. Resolution of forest land and resource management plan appeals...... 1 97 Table 7. Summary of project appeal activity, 1986-1992...... 198 Table 8. Distribution of administrative appeals related to national forest management for 1991 and 1992..... 199 Table 9. Trend in clearcutting and total area harvested on national forests, 1984-1993...... 223 Table 10. National Forest System long-term sustained-yield capacity and allowable sale quantity byregion, 1994...... 228 Table 11. Wildlife Challenge Cost-Share assistance...... 268

xxi The National Forest System- 1998 One-Twelfth of the U.S. Lands and Waters

L __;/r7

National Forests: On the Pathway Towards Ecosystem Management Chapter 1 Introduction

The story of managing multiple uses on national Forest Service's other major program areas, are forests is a story about the people who used their similarly addressed where they are relevant. resources and why; how national forest managers fitted the uses with each other within the ecosystems The Concept of Managing that embodied and sustained the national forest for Multiple Uses Emerges resources; and what happened as a result of this use and management. It is a story about national forest The idea of multipurpose resource use emerged from uses and users and national forest managers and the Conservation Movement early in the 20th management. It is a grassroots account of the century. Multipurpose planning for water use and management of multiple uses within the National development became a widely supported goal. It Forest System from 1905, when these lands came became the guiding role of the In'and Waterways under the administration of the U.S. Department of Commission appointed by Theodore Roosevelt in Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, to 1995. The 1907 to design multipurpose river basin develop- multiple uses include a broad range of national ments that coordinated irrigation, navigation, flood forest policy purposes for outdoor recreation, range, control, and hydropower production uses (Steen timber, watersheds, and wildlife and fish which were 1976). Conservationists supported the Inland made explicit in the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Waterways Commission's 1 907 proposal for Act of 1 960. Other land uses such as rights-of-way legislation to establish a multipurpose water for pipe and powerlines, public roads, electronic resource planning agency, which was eventually sites, recreation residences, hydropower projects, passed in 1917 but never implemented due to the lodging facilities and resorts, and others were intervention of Wor(d War I and then congressional covered by the occupancy and use regulations for termination of the Commission in 1920 (Holmes national forests under the Organic Act of 1897 1972; Fedkiw 1989). Nevertheless, multipurpose (USDA Forest Service 1 993). water resource development became the rule for Federal river basin developments and, in time, The forest reserves were initially authorized by included recreation, wUdlife, and fishery uses. Congress and established by Presidential Procla- mation in 1 891. The reserves were administered by The concept of managing for multiple uses appeared the U.S. Department of the Interior with technical in the Forest Service's argot in the 1920's. Its initial assistance from USDA foresters until they were exposition, as "multiple purpose management," transferred to USDA under the Transfer Act of appeared in the USDA Forest Service Copeland February 1, 1905. The forest reserves were renamed Report, ANationalPlan for American Forestry, national forests under the Act of March 4, 1 907, published by the U.S. Senate in 1933 (USDA Forest entitled Distribution of Receipts from National Forest Service 1933). Twenty-seven years later, Congress Resources (USDA Forest Service 1993). formally defined the management of multiple uses on national forests as national policy in the Multiple- This story's focus is on the actual uses of national Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960: "National forests forests and the resource management that national are established and shall be administered for forest managers applied to sustain them and their outdoor recreation, range, timber, watershed, and supporting ecosystems. Its scope is national, but wildlife and fish purposes." Congress reaffirmed and many examples illustrate grassroots use and local, expanded this poUcy in subsequent legislation, most national forest, and regional management. Political importantly in the Forest and Rangeland Renewable issues, policy changes, and national forest funding Resources Act of 1 974 (RPA) and the National Forest are addressed where they influence management, Management Act of 1976 (NFMA). but the main thrust of this story is about the users and managers and the uses and resource The Organic Ad of 1897 management as they have been applied on the land. The Organic Act of 1897 established the first Research and State and Private Forestry, two of the national policy direction for national forest use and Chapter 1

management. The Act was explicit about some In the Administration of the forest reserves it must national forest purposes and uses. It gave the be clearly borne in mind that all 'and is to be President of the United States the power to establish devoted to its most productive use for the permanent good of the whole people and not for national forests on public domain lands "to improve the temporary benefit of individuals and and protect the forest within the boundaries, or for companies. AU the resources of the forest the purpose of securing favorable conditions of reserves are for use, and this use must be brought waterflows, and to furnish a continuous supply of about in a thoroughly prompt and businesslike timber for the use and necessities of citizens of the manner, under such restrictions only as will insure the permanence of these resources. The United States." This clause later became the basis of vital importance of forest reserves to the great the general national forest policy for sustained-yield industries of the Western States will be largely management of forest products and services. The increased in the near future by continued steady Organic Act specifically required that public lands advances in settlement and development. The judged more valuable for mineral or agricultural use permanence of the resources of the reserves is therefore indispensable to continued prosperity, not be included in the national forests. The Organic and the policy of this Department for their Act permitted prospecting for minerals on national protection and use will invariably be guided by forest lands under existing public mining laws this fact (General Mining Law of 1872) and national forest management guidelines (Pinchot 1907). You will see to it that the water, wood, and forage of the reserves are conserved and wisely used for the benefit of the house builder first of Settlers, miners, residents, and prospectors were all; upon whom depends the best permanent use allowed to use national forest timber and stone for of the lands and resources alike. The continued fencing, buildings, mining, prospecting, and various prosperity of the agricultural, lumbering, mining, other domestic uses such as firewood free of charge. and livestock interests is directly dependent upon a permanent and accessible supply of The Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary of the water, wood, and forage, as well as upon the Interior before 1905) was authorized to protect the present and future use of these resources ... In the national forests from destruction by fire and depre- management of each reserve, local questions dations and "to regulate their occupancy and use will be decided upon local grounds. Industry will and to preserve forests thereon from destruction." become considered first, but with as little restriction to minor industries as may be possible; This broad, though simple, authorization was all sudden changes in industrial conditions will be encompassing and permitted all types of uses not avoided by gradual adjustment after due notice; specifically cited in the Organic Act, so long as they and where conflicting interests must be were not destructive to the forests. Examples of such reconciled, the question will always be dedded uses included rangeland grazing, recreational from the standpoint of the greatest good of the greatest number in the long run (Wilkinson and activities, summer homes and resorts, hunting and Anderson 1985). fishing, flora and bark gathering, rights-of-way for various purposes (such as roads and powerlines), The Federal policy at the time was to use national and many others. forests for national and regional growth and development - the focal point of Secretary Wilson's James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture, transmitted a guidance and the Organic Act. But local use was contemporary practical interpretation of the Organic also important. Access by local users was a realistic Act management guidance to Gifford Pinchot, the extension of the long-held tradition that the Chief of the Forest Service, on February 1, 1905- resources in the public domain existed for the the day administration of the forest reserves was benefit of local residents who needed them. This use transferred from the Department of the Interior to the policy was matched by a concern for the USDA. The guidance, initially drafted by Gifford permanence of national forest resources and their Pinchot, stated: mosaic of ecosystems; their use was to be balanced with a concern for their protection from fire and destruction and sustaining waterfiows, timber supplies, and other permitted uses. Introduction elaborated this Book years, until the passage 55 as a management Ground," as Pinchot of became an apt way national forest management. experience. "Breaking New experience. "Breaking characterized the Conservation Movement, nature of characterizing the to this And it remains so day. The Organic Act and Secretary Wilson's guidance set the direction for national forest management. That guidance embodied the utilitarian wise-use concept of the Conservation Move- ment and the fundamental need to protect the biological productivity of resources for their long-term permanence and benefits. Resource use was related to the welfare of local com-

I W'T 1907). LT - - - the emphasized that local questions about ,! munities and their workers and residents and the munities and their workers and residents direction at a local each forest's management be resolved permanence level. All uses compatible with resource were to be permitted. Local industry and were to be permitted. Local industry communities would have first consideration but with as little restriction as possible to minor industries. Sudden changes in local industry conditions were to be avoided in favor of gradual adjustments. Where conflicts occurred, they were to be reconciled in the spirit of "the greatest good of the greatest number in the long run." The 1907 Use concept. It recognized that national forest uses would "sometimes conflict a little" and had to be "made to fit with one another so that the machine little there so that both could benefit "a great deal in implementing national forest management strategies would run smoothly as a whole." Often one use would need to give way a little here and another a the end" (Pinchot This became the Forest Service's philosophy for and practices for the next of the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act (MUSY) of

dál the science underlying U.S.

ita, 1905, naturally became the mode for managing i4ti .; lc1'___ Under the Secretary's guidelines, national forest Under the Secretary's guidelines, national Camping in July 1938 at the Grout Bay campsite, developed under a mature Jeffrey pine stand Camping in July 1938 at the Grout Bay campsite, forest and rangeland ecosystems and resource management was still very primitive. The practice of resource management was similarly primitive and, in upon learning from past experience, judgment, and management became the instrument for fitting management became the instrument other within the multiple uses compatibly with each over the longer capabilities of forest ecosystems and, uses to chang- term, adapting the mix and levels of ing market and social values and sustaining national forest resources and their ecosystems for future generations. In that also serves as winter habitat for bald eagles. San Bernadino National Forest, California. that also serves as winter habitat for bald :rfk ' r the absence of strong science, it depended heavily such science as was available from European forest conditions and management. As national forest use expanded with rising demands and changing social values, there was enormous room and need for both the science and art to grow and improve. Under these circumstances, adaptive management adjusting management to fit changing conditions and uses, changing standards, and changing science and art the multiple uses. Thus, national forest use and management became as much a learning experience Chapter 1

1960. It defined multiple use as the guiding policy forests or other Federal purposes), national forest for national forests. The MUSY Act provided for the rangelands were widely and heavily used for both management of all the various national forest cattle and sheep grazing almost everywhere in the renewable resources in ways that would best meet West. the needs of the American people - and not necessarily the combination that gave the greatest References dollar return or the greatest unit output (USDA Forest Service 1993). The MUSY policy was enacted at a Fedkiw, John. 1989. The Evolving Use and Management of time when strong pressures toward single uses were the Nation s Forests, Grasslands, Croplands, and Related emerging among several interest groups, especially Resources: A Technical Document Supporting the 1989 for timber and wilderness. The policy made the USDA Forest Service RPA Assessment. Gen. Tech. Report RM-1 75. Rocky Mountain Forest and Range multiple-use purposes explicit and directed that Experiment Station, USDA Forest Service, Fort Collins, national forests be managed in ways that assured CO. 67 pp. equal consideration for all resource users. Holmes, Beatrice H. 1972. A History of Federal Water Resource Programs, 1800-1 960. Misc. Pub. 1233. The story of the actual use and management of the Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of national forests and administration by the USDA Agriculture, Washington, DC. 51 pp. Forest Service begins in Chapter 2. It covers the early Pinchot, Gifford. 1907. The Use of the National Forests. U.S. years of national forest management, 1905 to 1945, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. which are generally referred to as the period of Steen, Harold K. 1 976. The U.S. Forest Service: A History. custodial management. University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA. 356 pp. USDA Forest Service. 1933. A National Plan for American Because the western national forests were largely Forestry. U.S. Senate Document No. 12, 73d Congress, located in the more remote areas and higher 1 st Session, with transmitted letter from the Secretary of elevations where access was poor and population Agriculture. U.S. Government Printing Office, numbers were low, they generally received a lower Washington, DC. 1,677 pp. intensity of use including timber harvests, which USDA Forest Service. 1 993. The Principal Laws Relating to remained relatively limited and geared to meet local Forest Service Activities. U.S. Government Printing needs until after World War II. Livestock grazing was Office, Washington, DC. 1,163 pp. a singular major exception. As with public domain Wilkinson, Charles F., and H.M. Anderson. 1985. "Land and lands (those lands originally acquired and held by Resources Planning in the National Forests." Oregon the Federal Government but not reserved for special Law Review 64:1 -2. University of Oregon, Eugene. uses such as the national parks, monuments, and 373 pp.

4 Chapter 2 Managing Multiple Uses and Protecting Resources: 1905 to 1945

The national forests became the first Federal Gov- management was that they be applied in ways that ernment effort to manage a large natural resource would protect the permanence of both the flow of enterprise. In1 905,when the USDA was first autho- national forest uses, products, and services and the rized to administer these lands, there were83forest resources themselves. reserves totaling75million acres. Within5years, President Theodore Roosevelt had proclaimed67 Because resource demands were modest and there more reserves bringing the total area to1 72mil- was plenty of space for all within the national lion acres. The national forests remained close to forests, the number of uses and users grew that number and area until1945and constituted throughout this period with little conflict, even fully7.6percent of the U.S. land base (fig. 1). though the uses often overlapped or adjoined. Trails and roads for forest fire protection and administration also provided access for hunting, fishing, and other recreational activities. Regrowth of browse, 250 grasses, and trees on harvested timber areas NaUonal Forests 200 improved wildlife food supplies and cover. Ranchers Cd, ci, and sheepherders were sensitive about big game and 150 their predators using rangelands, but national forest Forest Reserves 100 managers were usually able to find ways to recon-

50 cile these concerns without major conflicts. Forest fire damage was greatly reduced to an average annual burn of234,000acres during the first half of 1891 1900 1905 1915 1935 1955 1975 1995 the1 940'sbut was still a major concern in1 945, Year with more than 10,000 ignitions per year. National Figure 1. National Forest System lands, including the forest managers improved the quality of recreation forest reserves,1891-1995 experiences and protected forest resources by Source: USDA Forest Service; Bureau of the Census. 1975. Historical establishing campgrounds, sanitary facilities, and Statistics of theUnitedStates, Colonial Times to 1970. U.S. Depart- fireplaces. Game populations were largely main- ment of Commerce, Washington, DC. p. 533. tained and in some cases were improved. The research natural area concept established and implemented a natural ecosystem baseline for The General Charader of monitoring and studying resource performance National Forest Resource Management under the multiple-use management philosophy. Abandoned and eroding farmlands and the heavily The first40years of national forest management is cutover woodlots acquired in the1920'sand1930's best characterized as fitting the multiplicity of under the Weeks Act of1911,mainly in the Eastern natural resource uses into forest and rangeland States, were being reforested and improved and ecosystems and protecting them from fire and were on their way to being rehabilitated and destruction. restored as forest ecosystems.

Local land users were the driving force behind the An emerging problem in1 945was the management management of national forest resources. They of mining claims, particularly their surface resources. included stockowners, hunters, anglers, trappers, The homesteading of lands suitable for agriculture loggers and lumbermen, summer home residents, within national forest boundaries was no longer an farmers, homesteaders, irrigation and power issue. Though rangelands were generally improving, companies, miners, a wide variety of recreationists, there were still significant acreages in unsatisfactory hotel and resort managers and their guests, com- condition. Increased timber harvest from the huge munity water systems, scientific researchers, State national forest reserves effectively contributed to game managers, travelers just passing through, and World War II lumber and plywood production and others. The principal constraint on resource uses and military needs. Chapter 2

Early National Forest Staffing local people with backgrounds similar to those of Young graduates with technical forestry training from local residents and national forest users was an eastern colleges and woods-wise men with western important factor in gaining local people's ranching and logging experience made up the early understanding of national forest rules and standards national forest administrative and field force. The and in encouraging local people to help in fighting latter made up the district ranger workforce, and forest fires and in accomplishing other forest tasks. many advanced to higher national forest manage- Local residents often provided important information ment roles. There were fewer professional foresters. on resource uses and conditions. They provided technical resource management support for forest and rangeland uses, including In the early 20th century, areas in the West were still inventorying and mapping and preparing technical in transition from a "pioneer" economy of rapid management and work plans. settlement and development often with exploitive use of timber and range resources to the conser- The Forest Service published the national forests' first vation and wise use of resources over the longer "Use Book" (The Use of the National Forest term. The national forest manager's role was to help Reserves, Regulations and Instructions) in the users make the transition from the settler's easy summer of 1905 (USDA Forest Service 1 905). It access to public lands and resources to a user's guided national forest use, protection, and managed access with established rules and regula- management. tions. Although forest managers sought local support for these rules, many times it was not easy to obtain. The Forest Service developed its first written and Early national forest history is marked by local practical district ranger exams in1 906. Each ranger resistance to national forest managers' restrictions, was a land and resource management steward for particularly when it came to domestic livestock several hundred thousand acres. Often, he (there were -Il- no women rangers until the J n;!.

1 970's) also served as the Li 'policeman, fish and game warden, coroner, disaster rescuer, and doctor" (West 1 992). He settled disputes between cattlemen and sheepherders, organized and led firefighting crews, built roads and trails, negotiated and supervised timber sale contracts, issued grazing and other permits, --- carried out reforestation and disease control projects, and ran surveys. 1 I He was the national forest manager who was closest to the uses and the users. One of his major roles was to L gain the cooperation of Helen Dowe, a local Forest Service employee, packing equipment into pickup for a survey trip local forest users by earning into the Montezuma National Forest (now part of the Grand Mesa Uncompahgre and San Juan their respect. Employing National Forests, Colorado. Managing Multiple Uses and Protecting Resources: 1905 to 1945

grazing the most intensive use of national forests ground implementation of these management plans at the time. required determining appropriate uses, management practices, and operational methods on a site-by-site Decentralized Decisionmaking basis. Over the years, this practical management The district ranger became the local line officer and requirement, fitting multiple uses compatibly with decisionmaker. He implemented national forest uses, each other and the capabilities of the particular protected resources from fire and destruction, and situations in ways that would sustain the resources, ensured their permanent productivity. He was made it very difficult to define a universal system for guided by the technical support and management managing multiple uses on a site-specific basis. plans of professional foresters and the general guidelines of the 1905 Use Book and its successor National forest management was formally decentral- management manuals and handbooks. Forest ized in 1908 when regional offices were established resource use allocations became, in many ways, a in Denver, Ogden, Missoula, Albuquerque, San joint or participative activity between the users and Francisco, and Portland (Williams 1994; Clepper the district ranger. The users' needs and their and Meyer 1960). Regional foresters (then called locational constraints were jointly considered with district foresters) were authorized to make on-the- national forest resource capabilities and limitations. ground decisions for their respective regions. Some In this way, managing multiple uses became first a 377 Forest Service Washington Office employees locational and area decision matter, and second a were reassigned to these new regional offices. The matter of selecting and applying the practices and Washington Office also published a new "Manual of methods that would ensure the protection and Procedure" detailing procedures and policies for the permanence of resources and compatibility among Washington Office and the new regional offices the overlapping and adjoining uses. (Williams 1994). Forest supervisors remained accountable for all that happened on their forests; Except for mining, individual national forest uses district rangers were responsible for, and took charge were largely determined by local user needs and of, what happened on their districts. The philosophy demands. These grew steadily with increasing local was that the person on the ground was the best populations and improved access. Thus, managing judge of management situations and options. The multiple uses developed as a highly decentralized, public was encouraged to turn to and work with the local decision process within each district under district ranger, not the forest supervisor. Such a each district ranger's stewardship, with oversight decentralized organization needed some control from the forest supervisor, regional forester, and and, therefore, some uniform performance stan- periodically the Forest Service's Washington Office. dards. The "Use Book" initially served this purpose; Management options were bounded by resource in later years, it was replaced by expanding manuals capabilities and compatibility among uses, but were and handbooks. Regional and Washington Office also influenced by the users' demands and location people periodically conducted performance reviews constraints, Management of the expanding multiple and on-the-ground inspections. uses could not be systematically planned on an area- by-area basis for the long term. Public resource Professional Forester Recruitment Accelerates management needed to respond incrementally, year As forestry schools expanded, the Forest Service by year, locale by locale, and forest by forest to the aggressively recruited professional forestry gradu- changing and growing user demands and the ates. In the mid-i 93 0's, the Forest Service restricted evolving state-of-the-art of resource management in all appointments at the technical forest management the face of new scientific knowledge, feedback level to candidates who had earned a 4-year forestry derived from experience, and emerging technology. or related degree. This recruitment policy signaled Technical management plans and maps, however, an end to the era of the self-taught, locally experi- were helpful in classifying and locating resource enced "rugged outdoorsman" in national forest line capabilities and identifying their limitations. On-the- positions though some continued to serve as late

7 Chapter2

as the1960's.Throughout the1905to1945period, Forest Service forest and range experiment stations, the Forest Service was the leading employer of a comprehensive survey of the Nation's forest re- professional foresters. Graduates from forestry sources implemented nationally in1930 and degree programs or elective options in related fields, an expansion of the broad forestry research program such as range or wildlife management, were also serving not only national forest needs, but also those eligible and often recruited by the Forest Service. of States, the forest industry, and other private forest landowners. Conversely, many universities recruited experienced foresters for their teaching faculties from the Forest Thus, as the use and demands for national forest Service. Aldo Leopold, who developed his concept resources grew, the Forest Service sought to of wildlife management on southwestern national strengthen its underlying science, knowledge, and forests from1909to1928,for example, joined the technology through research on resource protection, faculty of the University of Wisconsin and began the management, and improvement and by recruiting first academic program in game management in professionally trained foresters, range specialists, and 1933the year he published America's first text- wildlife experts. It also began to share its growing book on game management. knowledge about the use and management of forest and rangeland resources through cooperative Research and Cooperation programs with State and private landowners. with State and Private Owners The Department of Agriculture began research By1945,the Forest Service was not only managing related to national forest resources in1903,with the national forests, the most extensive public or investigations of forested rangelands. A USDA Office private forest management enterprise in the United of Grazing Studies was established in1910.In1915, States, it was also distinguishing itself as the Nation's as the need for research on national forest grazing leading professional forestry agency through its problems became more acute, the Forest Service research, its State and private cooperative assistance, was given the responsibility for such research. and its nationwide forest survey.

The Forest Service established its first experiment Implementation and Coordination station at Fort Valley, Arizona - ponderosa pine of Resource Uses and Management country in1908,with others soon following in Colorado, Idaho, Washington, California, and Utah. Coordinating the management of multiple uses Other early research addressed the distribution and where they were complementary, competitive, or growth habits of commercial tree species. Equally overlapping on the same acre, or on adjoining acres important was the need to develop inventory and with the national forest users, was largely the role of growth-measurement systems for standing timber the district ranger and the forest supervisor. This was and volume-measurement systems for harvested particularly important where grazing or timber uses logs. Forestry research studied forest protection, and management could significantly influence harvest, and regeneration methods. Another impor- waterflows, since national forests were specifically tant research target was the relationship between created to "protect the flow of waters." In the early forest cover and watershed conditions and perfor- decades, coordination also became important where mance to runoff and infiltration. game conflicted with timber or livestock use. This coordination almost always involved cooperation In1 91 5,the Forest Service created an independent with State fish and game agencies. Under the State's but supporting Branch of Research, which formu- Rights Doctrine, States had the primary role for lated research policies, defined research goals and managing wildlife and fish populations and reg- objectives, and consolidated various research activ- ulating hunting, fishing, and trapping. The nationa' ities. This initiative led to the McSweeney-McNary forest role was limited to habitat management Act of1928,which authorized a system of regional which indirectly affected such populations. Managing Multiple Uses and Protecting Resources: 1905 to 1945

Because the science of ecology was still develop- In 1974, the Forest and Rangeland Renewable ing and largely descriptive, a holistic ecosystem Resources Planning Act would be designed at the approach to managing multiple uses encompass- behest of its sponsor, Senator Hubert H. Humphrey, ing and addressing the forest as a whole including to respond to this concern. the interdependencies among all its parts - was impractical at the time. The limited knowledge and From the very beginning, national forest uses and science that existed about the Nation's natural management were implemented by function. In the resources, including their use and management, early decades, national forest budgets were allocated before 1945 was organized into textbooks and to fund specific activities such as range manage- taught in forestry and other natural resource ment, forest fire control, timber sales and manage- management educational programs by discipline or ment, and road construction. Over time, those function rather than holistically. functions increased. National forest regulations and management guidelines and much of the manage- Shifts in the way the Federal Government organized ment planning were also organized by function; its planning and budgeting in those early decades of management activities and uses were likewise national forest management also had some influence reported by function. For these reasons, national on the national forest funding structure and imple- forest management is described by function in the mentation. In the early 20th century, Federal budget- following sections and chapters. Coordination ing was based on an objects-merited approach that among the resource uses and management will be funded staff, materials, furniture, buildings, and described as it has been reported in Forest Service other things needed to carry out Government opera- annual reports and elsewhere. tions. Between 1920 and 1945, the Federal Govern- ment shifted from the objects-merited system to a Managing Grazing by Cattle and Sheep functional approach that focused on funding pro- More than half the area of the forest reserves grams for carrying out Government activities such as (renamed national forests in 1907) was rangeland road construction or reforestation. This functional where unregulated grazing had gone on since the approach became an effective way to develop and 1870's and 1880's. Grazing on public domain justify programs and budgets and the appropriations rangelands was an established use for many ranchers for their implementation a shift that also favored and sheepowners. At the end of the 19th century, organizing Federal Agency programs by function. however, due to two decades of severe drought and The shift also strengthened the decisionmaking overgrazing, much of the pubiic rangeland was influence and power of both the Executive Branch being depleted. The establishment of the forest and the Congress over national forest resource reserves in 1891 led to a conflict between stock- management programs and the functional allocation owners and conservation and preservation interests of funding to resource uses and specific manage- about the continued unregulated grazing on the ment activities. It likewise shifted some of the newly reserved lands and the need to control it, balance of decisionmaking power from the local, particularly sheep grazing, to protect the soil, range on-the-ground level to the Washington level. and forest vegetation, and waterflows. Conservation However, since national forest management was and preservation interests were made up of mostly largely custodial and very limited at the time, the eastern legislators, conservationists, aesthetic and impacts were also limited. In time, however, this recreational groups, many western urban people, approach would lead to funding the management of and irrigationists who were afraid that any use, some resource uses more than others. The Forest however small, might damage their water supplies. Service expressed strong concerns about the approp- Timber interests were not overly concerned because riate balance of funding among resource uses in the in 1 891 the best timberlands were owned by private 1 960's and 1 970's, when the timber and road pro- interests and the forest reserves amounted to only grams were dominating national forest funding as 17 million acres. In 1893, this polarization over use the Nation focused its priorities on economic growth brought the creation of new forest reserves to a halt, and housing goals. Chapter 2

when President Grover Cleveland, after proclaiming two additional reserves in Oregon totaling 4.5 million acres refused to create any more reserves until Congress provided authority to manage the already existing 1 7 million acres (Roth, no date; Robinson 1975; Rowley jT

1 985). : - In April 1 894, the Department of the Interior's General Land Office (GLO) issued its first official policy statement regulating i-f grazing. It prohibited "driving, feeding, grazing, pasturing, or herding cattle, i sheep, or other livestock" Sheep grazing on the Icaibab National Forest, Arizona, August 1914. on all forest reserves (Colvilie 1898b). However, this order was poorly enforced. For example, a continued this system. Grazing fees were imposed National Academy of Science committee appointed on permittees in1 906. in 1896 reported 2 years later that, with only one exception, it had found no evidence of Government Continued range grazing and vegetation research led efforts to protect the forest reserves from overgrazing to the introduction of deferred and rotational grazing (U.S. Senate 1 898; Wilkinson and Anderson 1 985). systems and other management innovations on national forest rangelands practices that contrib- The grazing issue was resolved after the signing of uted to improving their vegetative condition and soil the Organic Act. The GLO gradually permitted cattle stability. By the late 1920's, grazing management grazing. Then, with assistance from USDA research was shifting from "rule of thumb" management to and the Division of Forestry, it determined that if "scientific range management" (Alexander 1 987). sheep were properly controlled, their grazing would The research-based national forest approach of not harm the range or forest soils and vegetation. matching the number of grazing animals and use to They also determined that the welfare of the people the carrying capacity of the permitted rangelands would be better served by a USDA-recommended gradually reduced the animal unit months (AUM's), "special tract permit system." Sheep were a concern except during World War I when stocking was because they greatly outnumbered cattle and were increased to provide for military needs (West 1992). thought to cause soil and vegetation damage (Coville (An AUM is1 month's occupancy of the range by 1 898a, 1 898b). To avoid such damage, the GLO one mature cow, weighing 1 ,000 pounds, and her adopted the special tract system and required calf or the equivalent for other grazing animals). graziers to obtain a written permit to graze a Livestock numbers on nationai forest rangelands, specified number of animals on a specific forest primarily sheep, were reduced from 8.7 million area, which the area could support without damage. annually before 1935 and a maximum of 10.8 mil- When the forest reserves were transferred to the lion in 1919 to 5.5 million by 1945 (fig. 2). In 1934, Forest Service in1 905, national forest managers a Report on the Western Ranges: A Great but Managing Multiple Uses and Protecting Resources:1905to1945

occurred otherwise. In the longer term, however, as 12- use and interest in wildlife and fish populations grew 10- and became differentiated, the extensive, contiguous national forest lands provided many options for designating wilderness areas, wildlife refuges, and 6- management areas and for implementing a wide Sheep and Goats variety of habitat management practices. National forests also became a source of big game animals for reintroduction into areas with extirpated populations.

191019201930194019501960197019801990 Early wildlife management efforts focused on controlling livestock and wildlife predators (wolves, Figure 2. Number of livestock permitted to graze on coyotes, mountain lions, and eagles) and prairie dog national forests,1 906-1992 colonies that were considered a hazard to livestock. Source: USDA Forest Service. At the time, the eradication of predators was a widely favored step toward restoring big game populations, which had been reduced to very low levels Neglected Natural Resource (U.S. Senate1936) by the turn of the rfUypriinariIy due to unregu- revealed that national forest rangelands were in lated hunting and killing for commercial markets. significantly better condition than those in private Game refuges were established on National Forest ownership or in the public domain. National forest System lands - often in cooperation with State ranges had improved from1905to1934,while initiatives to conserve wildlife and increase game private and other public ranges had deteriorated populations. Some were also established to concen- significantly (Gardner1991). trate deer and coyotes away from livestock grazing areas to reduce wildlife competition for forage and Until the passage of the Taylor Grazing Act of1934, to reduce livestock predation. In1939,the661 unregulated grazing on the basis of free and open refuges and sanctuaries on national forests totaled range continued on the remaining unreserved public 36.5million acres. Their management was limited domain. The Act introduced regulated grazing on largely to a few basic principles. Multiple-use the remaining public domain administered by the coordination of wildlife and domestic livestock Department of the Interior's newly established grazing, for example, was oriented toward protecting Grazing Service. In1946,the administration of and encouraging the growth of game populations public grazing lands was placed under the Bureau and avoiding conflicts between livestock and game of Land Management (BLM), which merged the animals and their predators. Predator eradication Grazing Service with the GLO. favored both game and livestock populations. However, where use imbalances between livestock Managing Wildlife Resources and Use and game occurred, national forest managers, with Hunting, fishing, and trapping were major national State cooperation, managed both wildlife habitats forest uses not specifically cited in the Organic Act, and populations more rigorously. due in part to uncertainty about the role of States and State rights in managing wildlife and fish (West In the late1920's,national forest managers hunted 1992).The Forest Service cooperated with State and excess mule deer to reduce the damage being caused Territory game wardens to enforce their laws that by overextended populations on the forage resource protected fish and wildlife on national forests. on the Grand Canyon Federal Game Preserve (Kaibab National Forest). By1924,the North Kaibab deer The proclamation of national forests itself probably herd had grown from3,000to4,000animals in had only a minimal effect on wildlife and fish. It may earlier years to approximately 100,000 animals. By have reduced poaching levels that might have 1 925,the forage resources were severely depleted

11 Chapter 2

and deer die-off had reduced the herd to 32,000. - - -: During the latter half of the 1920's, livestock grazing on ; the preserve remained fairly e stable at about 9,000 head, IJ including 5,000 sheep. Although livestock grazing had been somewhat reduced, range conditions did not improve and deer ii continued to die of starvation. Deer herd reduction was thought to be a key management need and option. In 1927, such rpdiictinn wc ciiccccfiiIIv challenged attheUS District Court level. The U.S. Supreme Court, upon appeal, however, sanc- Group of mule deer holing up in winter cover after a new snowfall on the Bridger-Teton National tioned Government hunters Forest, Wyoming 1940. to kill Kaibab deer (Russo 1970). In 1928, Govern- ment hunters further reduced the herd. Notwithstanding the Mount Olympus National Monument experience, national forest managers In the Pacific Northwest, issues over timber manage- initiated elk restocking in 8 of the 11 contiguous ment on the Mount Olympus National Monument, Western States (excluding California and Nevada). established on 620,000 acres of national forest lands By 1940, the numbers of elk on national forests had in 1910 to protect the Roosevelt elk, showed that increased from less than 100,000 to more than public concern for protecting the elk outweighed the 150,000 (Thomas et al. 1988). public demand for timber production. During and after World War I, to develop communities and jobs, A new, positive concept of habitat management to national forest managers assigned the Monument support wildlife began to emerge from the Kabab and its surrounding national forest area a top priority and other experiences. Depression-era public works for road construction and timber production. This programs, particularly the Civilian Conservation action was long and widely opposed by some Corps (CCC), achieved a great deal of habitat interests and supported by others. In the mid-i 930's, improvement. On the administrative side, by 1936 the Forest Service and the USDA Bureau of Biologi the Forest Service had a Washington Office Director cal Survey recommended shooting excess elk in the of Wildlife Management, with 61 people assigned to area around the Monument to prevent overgrazing, wildlife management activities mainly in the field disease, and starvation. However, public outrage in (Roth 1 989). the nearby Seattle area and among conservation groups, both of whom felt a great concern for the elk, Managing Water Resources led to the transfer of the Monument and its adjacent The primary and explicit policy goal of the Organic national forest lands into the new Olympic National Act was to ensure favorable conditions for water- Park in 1938. Although the herd reduction goal was flows. It responded to farmers and communities who credible, the public believed that forest management wanted to be assured that grazing and logging would had been insensitive to the elk herd (Wolf 1990). not adversely affect their irrigation and domestic

12 Managing Multiple Uses and Protecting Resources:1905to1945

water supplies. Soil conservation became a prime evaluation of water development proposals. (USDA concern in managing grazing and safeguarding Forest Service1 990). streams from logging. Improved forest fire protection and prompt reseeding of severely burned-over areas Some dams had been built on national forests while reduced the potential for rapid runoff and erosion they were still public domain or forest reserves damage. administered by the Department of the Interior. Between1933and1942,the CCC built many more National forest managers cooperated with commu- small dams for recreation, water conservation, and nities to protect the national forest sources of their fishing. By1945,there were more than2,500such water supplies. While timber harvesting and dams. Most had been privately built and were management were practiced on some such areas, operated under national forest permits, but the Forest they were planned to protect municipal water Service owned and managed about a third. supplies. The Weeks Ad of 1911 and States, communities, various Federal agencies, Eastern National Forests private irrigation companies, miners, and others The belief that forests influenced waterfiows and were permitted to construct and manage dams for contributed importantly to flood control became a farm irrigation, municipal water supplies, mining, driving force behind the purchase and establishment hydropower generation, and other purposes. of national forests in the Eastern States, where there National forest hydroelectric engineers, among the was no public domain to reserve as forest land. first professional engineers on the national forests, Congress initially addressed the idea in1900,when assessed the suitability of water resources for it funded a study to investigate the need for a hydroelectric projects and provided technical Southern Appalachian Forest Reserve. Although the investigation "unmistak- ably" showed such a need on the grounds of bolstering

I Fl the southern economy and improving flood control, no reserves were proclaimed. Nevertheless, support for eastern forest reserves grew.

In1911,to protect the headwaters of navigable streams, Congress author- I ized the purchase of lands to establish the eastern national forests (Shands and Healy1977).This legislation became known as the Weeks Act of1 911.By 1920,more than2million acres had been purchased. In1924,the Weeks Act was P. j expanded to include land purchases to protect the Fish dams on stream in Poliza Canyon on the Santa Fe National Forest, New Mexico, 1936. flow of streams for irrigation These dams benefit fish, wildlife, riparian area, stream channel condition, and stream condition or to promote a future and flow. timber supply. By1945, Chapter 2

more than 20 million acres had been added to 44 War II, national forest timber remained largely a new national forest locations mostly in the Eastern reserve to be used, when needed, to meet national States. Much of the purchased acreage was demands or to supplement industry's supply from submarginal and abandoned, often seriously private lands as its supply became more limited or eroding, farmland a legacy of the agricultural was depleted. Although some national forest recession of the 1 920's and the Great Depression. managers pressed for large, long-term timber sale Before they were abandoned or sold, the forested contracts to encourage economic and community portions of these lands were often stripped of all development, the annual harvest in 1920 was barely saleable timber without regard for the land's future. a billion board feet (Wolf 1990). In 1926, national Protection was not enough. In many places, these forest managers curbed the modest timber sale seriously damaged woodlands and watersheds program and extended long-term sales to avoid needed reforestation and improvement. National compounding the economic and business problems forest managers promptly began restoring forest of a depressed timber industry. A soaring timber ecosystems on non-stocked lands by rehabilitating economy in 1930 increased national forest timber damaged woodlands; eliminating feral dogs, cattle, sales to 1 .7 billion board feet (bbO, but the Great and hogs; and generally improving the related Depression shrunk harvests for the balance of the watersheds. decade (fig. 3). In 1940, national forest timber sales reached a new peak of 1 .8 bbf. Then, as the Managing National Forests for demands of World War II grew, sales rose to the Timber Production 3.0-bbf level (West 1992). In 1898, a year after the passage of the Organic Act, the Department of the Interior's GLO made its first timber sale on a forest reserve. The Homestake Mining Company purchased 1 5 million board feet of timber on South Dakota's Black Hills Forest Reserve at $1 per thousand board feet.

a) a) By 1 901, the GLO's Division "R" and the USDA U- Division of Forestry were dividing the task of managing the forest reserve lands Department of the o2 Interior personnel patrolled the reserves and USDA C foresters provided technical management support. Forest reserve administration was regulated by Interior'sForest Reserve Manualof 1902. When the reserves were transferred to the USDA, the general objective of the forest reserves was defined in the Forest Service's 1905 Use Book as: 1905 19101915 192019251930193519401945 preserving a perpetual supply of timber for Year home industries, preventing the destruction of forest cover which regulates the flow of streams, Figure 3. National forest timber harvests, 1 905-1 945 and protectrng local residents from unfair competition in the use of forest and range. Source: USDA Forest Service. (USDA Forest Service 1 905)

The forest reserves provided a legacy of timber sales To guide the use of standing timber and ensure the for national forest lands. However, the timber forest's future usefulness, all national forests were industry preferred to log off the more accessible required to prepare working plans. Each forest's private lands and their own lands, so national forest working plan displayed its approximate timber yield timber sales remained minor in scale. Until World to avoid overcutting and to calculate and manage

14 Managing Multiple Uses and Protecting Resources: 1905 to 1945

the rate of timber harvest consistent with its yearly various silvicultural shortcomings of selective cutting growth and prospective )ocal needs (USDA Forest in some forest types became apparent, harvesting Service 1908). By the 1920's, detailed management gradually shifted toward clearcutting and other even- plans were being prepared on each timber- aged regeneration methods such as shelterwood and producing forest. Such plans estimated the amount seed tree. National forest managers eventually rec- of timber that could be cut from "working circles," ognized that Pacific Coast Douglas-fir generally did which were areas that contained enough timber and not regenerate and grow successfully in the shade of timber growth to support local forest industries. They trees remaining after individual tree selection cuts. also provided information on the area from which a Other, less economically desirable shade-tolerant "continuous" supply of timber could be grown and species, such as hemlock, would eventually replace cut; the amount of timber that could be harvested most Douglas-fir in the resulting regenerated stand. annually or by decades and still maintain timber Even-aged forest management, including harvesting growth at a level that would replace the harvested and regeneration, which removed all trees (clear- volume; cutting guidelines to ensure the best crops cutting), was most successful in regenerating Pacific for future harvests; the location of overmature or Coast Douglas-fir. Another consideration at the time decadent stands most in need of early harvest; and was the susceptibility of the often shallow-rooted the contribution of the timber harvests to local residual old-growth Douglas-fir trees to windthrow industry, employment, and community stability and volume losses in partially harvested stands. (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985). Other factors favoring even-aged methods included easy and effective slash removal and, in the case of Between 1905 and 1945, the annual national forest severely diseased and infested areas, the easy timber harvest averaged less than a billion board remova' of infected and infested trees (Robinson feet. The 40-year harvest total represented only 1 975). Clearcutting, however, did not become the 2 percent of the Nation's total timber supply from National Forest System's predominant method of domestic sources and involved less than 2 percent of timber harvest and regeneration until well after the total national forest area. In this period, timber World War II. But clearcutting patches of Douglas-fir harvesting and management introduced relatively in the Pacific Northwest did begin as early as the small changes into forested ecosystems. Such 1 92 0's and became more widespread and general by changes were generally seen as benefiting game World War II (Robinson 1975). populations because they created desirable openings in mature and old-growth forest areas, which, in Reforestation turn, provided edges, openings, and regrowth of The reforestation of burned-over lands and non- young trees and other vegetation that increased the restocked harvested areas initiated on the forest spatial diversity of wildlife food and cover. reserves during their administration by the GLO was greatly accelerated on the national forests after Timber harvesting was seen as a tool for increasing 1 905. The Forest Service increased the number of national forest timber growth and transforming tree nurseries and seedling production. Acres national forests from "wild" to cultivated forests reforested rose from about 1,000 per year before (USDA Forest Service 1 908). Most timbered areas on 1 905 to 25,000 by 1 933. The establishment of CCC national forests were available for timber harvesting. camps on national forests, with their ready supply of However, green timber could be sold and harvested tree-planting labor, jumped the acres reforested only where regeneration was reasonably assured and annually to 69,000 in 1 934 and to more than where harvesting would not reduce future timber 1 50,000 in the late 1 930's and early 1 940's. As the supplies or damage streamflows (USDA Forest acquisition of abandoned farmlands expanded Service 1 907). rapidly in the East after 1 924, the reforestation of former croplands and fields became a high priority. During national forest management's early decades, selective cutting was the most common method of With the entry of the United States into World War H timber harvest (Robinson 1 975). However, as the in1 942, reforestation on national forests came to a

15 Chapter 2

partial halt. The total cumulative acres reforested to that time, including replantings, was approximately 1 .5 million acres, of which 1.1 million were evaluated as - established plantations indicating about a 75- percent success rate. However, 255,000 acres needed improvement to free more desirable species and allow the better quality trees to grow more rapidly, especially where young planted trees were being crowded by natural seeding and sprouting of lower value, less desirable trees rrl kriick (IcnA Hired crew replanting Douglas-fir in 1936 on the 622-acre area devastated by the Yacolt burn Service 1905-1945). In on the GiffordPinchot National Forest (formerly Columbia National Forest), Washington State. 1940, an estimated By 1950, more than 19,500 acres had been reforestedon this severe burn. 3 million acres of national forest lands needed reforestation. About a third were years when forest fires burned between 500,000 and on eastern forests and the balance were in the West, 1 million acres: 1917, 1918, 1924, 1926, 1929, where many burned-over areas needed restocking. 1931, and 1934 (fig. 4). The annual burn in the In the decades following 1905, forest fires were a 30 years from 1905 to 1935 averaged nearly major destructive force, particularly on western 600,000 acres (USDA Forest Service 1905-1 945, national forests (USDA Forest Service 1905-1 945). 1993 a)

Improvement of Forest Fire Control Throughout the 1 905 to 1 945 period, forest fires were a destructive force on national forests. Light- ning (the principal cause), the lack of adequate Cci) detection and rapid access systems, and persistent drouthiness contributed greatly to the large areas C,, burned each year. Organized protection began soon C) C after 1905. The Expenditures and Receipts Act of 0 1913 authorized regular funds for developing road and trail access on national forests. It directed that

1 0 percent of all money received by national forests O I be available for road and trail construction and 1910 1920 1930 19401950 1960 19701980 1990 Year maintenance (USDA Forest Service 1 983). Although forest fire protection improved steadily, huge con- Figure 4. Acres burned by wildfires on national forests, flagrations still occurred. In 1910, forest fires burned 1910-1994 5 million acres on national forests; in 1919, they Source: USDA Forest Service. destroyed 2 million acres. There were seven other

tLl 17 1945 with 1928 120. to 1944, 1905 224,000 1942, and including 1905-1 945). to focused on there were 1935 The fire-weather 1933 1932, 1944, when the operational Between 1920's became fully average helped reduce the needs (USDA Forest Service 1990). rating systems and information on forest fuel building and trench-digging By the standardized fire the standardized detection and control the earJy system initiated in persistent effective and the This drouthiness abated. annual burn to factors acres. Many other also helped. The forestwide transportation system planning effort, first established between and access and transportation coverage for fire control forecasting and fire danger distribution and hazards were greatly improved. More motor-driven fi reline- equipment camps located on national 24. 1940, 1,300 By 1934. and improved portable chainsaws with light- and improved portable chainsaws suppression. Experimental work with smokejumpers began in program began, the number of trained smoke- Smokejumpers greatly increased the speed of attack on remote lightning-caused fires that were difficult to probability that such fires would be suppressed forests, also contributed importantly to the effectiveness of fire prevention and suppression. Corpsmen and communication systems and provided more tractors, plows, bulldozers, and brush-breaking tools tractors, plows, bulldozers, and brush-breaking High weight gasoline motors were introduced. to much more frequency two-way radio sets led effective communication during fire detection and jumpers had risen to access by ground transportation and raised the while still small (USDA Forest Service The CCC, which operated from a majority of its constructed many fire towers, telephone lines, trails, and roads that substantially improved fire detection Managing Multiple Uses and Protecting Resources: Multiple Uses and Managing j I Kr. ,; .1 M - -r - / - /.' : Forest ranger on forest fire patrol duty, Cibola National Forest, New Mexico, 1923. 2 / Idaho. Aftermath of 4ugust 20, 1910, hurricane and fire, Coeur d'Alene National Forest near Wallace, Aftermath of 4ugust 20, 1910, hurricane and Chapter 2

'r ?'

N 1:/

A UlIUlIt' ]

Ranger putting up notice telling campers to extinguish fires, Forest ranger recording morning readings of fire-danger weather Smuggler Mountain road, White River National Forest, Colorado, data on the San Isabel National Forest (formerly Cochetopa June 1915. National Forest), Colorado, 1939. rapid fire access. They also contributed their set up a Division of Forest Insect Investigation to firefighting capabilities to controlling forest fires provide these services, and national forest managers vigorously used Division entomologists throughout Despite the fact that World War II drained national the 1905 to 1945 period to evaluate insect out- forests of many of their trained firefighters, national breaks, test and develop control methods, and forest managers were able to sustain this improved design and oversee practical control operations forest fire suppression performance. They managed (Gill and Dowling 1945; USDA Forest Service to do so by recruiting and training military personnel 1905-1 945). located at nearby facilities and centers, 16- and 17- year-old boys from local high schools, and elderly During the early years, reconnaissance and expert men and women (for lookout posts only) from inspections to discover insect damage and locate nearby communities. problems before they became epidemic received major emphasis. Insect control funds were very Insed and Disease Management and Control limited. National forests, without dedicated control In 1902, Congress authorized the USDA Bureau funds, gave special emphasis to testing and evalu- of Entomology and Plant Quarantine as a clearing- ating control methods. Where serious infestations house for advice on the timing and location of insect were found, reconnaissance focused on the most control measures on national forests (forest reserves valuable timber species. Control activities were before 1 907). It also authorized the Bureau to pro- concentrated on the forests with valuable timber and vide technical skills for examining reported out- where damage from previous outbreaks had been breaks and to advise the Forest Service on pesticide extensive. application and insect control methods. The Bureau ii;i Maraging Multiple Uses and Protecting Resources: 1 905 to 1945

The first substantial insect control funding came in insect defoliators that damaged tree foliage. Bark 1922 for a major epidemic of ponderosa pine bark beetle control consisted of combinations of felling beetles scattered over 1 .3 million acres in southern infested trees, bucking them into short lengths, Oregon and northern California - causing a loss of peeling off their bark, or burning them. Occasion- 1 .5 bbf of valuable ponderosa pine timber. About ally, standing infested trees were burned. half the infested area was on private land; a small amount on State forest land; and the balance on White Pine Blister Rust Control national forests, Crater Lake National Park, Indian In the 1920's and 1930's, white pine blister rust, an reservations, the public domain, and revested introduced fungal disease with no natural controls in Oregon and California (O&C) Railroad grants. Many the United States, became the object of a major con- more acres were threatened. This situation of multi- trol effort. In 1916, the Office of Blister Rust Control ple ownerships and public jurisdictions typified the in the USDA Bureau of Plant Industry initiated blister complexity of controlling major insect infestations. rust control activities in the Northeast, where the Coness provided $1 50,000 of emergency funds for disease had first been found in 1910. Control activ- control on Federal lands subject to State and private ities centered mainly on non-Federal lands and con- landowner cooperation. The result was a gratifying sisted of eradicating the Ribes spp. plant the rust's cooperative control effort between the Department alternate host. Field teams systematically searched of the Interior, the State of Oregon, private land- eastern white pine stands and uprooted Ribes plants owners, the USDA Bureau of Entomology, and the (gooseberry and currant bushes). Blister rust control national forests, which constituted 285,000 acres in began on New Hampshire's White Mountain the infested area. National Forest in 1924 and then became more heavily concentrated on national forests in Penn- During this period, ponderosa pine bark beetles sylvania and the Lake States. Blister rust was not a were generally the most destructive insects on serious problem in the Appalachian national forests national forests and other ownerships in the western of the South because there were too few Ribes coniferous forest. There were epidemic outbreaks in plants. In 1937, white pine blister rust was reported all of the Western States, killing large numbers of to be fully arrested in the Northeast by the Ribes trees, severely impacting the growth of the surviving eradication effort (Benedict 1981). trees, and setting the stage for devastating fires. Epidemics often started in trees weakened by White pine blister rust was first found in the Western drought or fire or damaged by windthrow, snow- United States in the State of Washington in 1921. It break, or root rot. Timber losses were often the most had apparently been introduced from British Colum- obvious result of insect epidemics, but sometimes bia, where it had first been discovered in 1910. A infestations caused tree stands to revert to shrubs or White Pine Blister Rust Advisory Board, made up of grasses or to regenerate to less desirable tree species. representatives of public and private landowners, Wildlife hiding and thermal cover was altered, was quickly formed. In 1925, they recommended making wildlife movement more difficult and often that all affected ownerships act promptly and disturbing their composition and distribution. Tree vigorously to protect the western white pine timber loss from insect infestations often resulted in several resource, about 1 .5 million acres, and its dependent years of downstream flooding and soil erosion. industry in the Pacific Northwest. The first western Ribes eradication efforts began in 1 930, when the Almost every year from 1906 to 1945, bark beetle rust had spread to northern Idaho and western control was carried out on one or more national Montana. Blister rust was found in California's west- forests. During this era, a total of 7.6 million acres ern white and sugar pines in the mid-i 930's, and were treated throughout the six western national control efforts were initiated on its national forests forest regions (Fowler 1 993). Because bark beetles in 1935. Due to limited funding, the western-wide did their damage under the bark, spray treatments national forest blister rust control effort remained with bark sprays such as lindane were not as modest until 1933, when the CCC became available effective against bark beetles as they were against and greatly accelerated national forest Ribes control.

19 Chapter 2

In 1 941, Ribes had been eradicated on half of the forest managers appUed chemical treatments to 2.6 million acres on public and private western suppress pine sawflies and other defoliators on one white pine and sugar pine timberlands needing or more national forests in these States. blister rust control. The end of the CCC program and war's impact on national forest staffing halted this Managing Recreation Uses and Activities control program during World War II. During its first decade, national forest management of recreation uses was largely passive. It supported Other Pest Management Activities such established recreation activities as hunting, National forest managers addressed many other fishing, trapping, and camping. The 1905 Use Book insect and some other disease outbreaks between recognized camping and required district rangers to 1 905 and 1 945. The general strategy was to detect support State regulations on hunting, fishing, and outbreaks in their early stages when they were easier trapping. Roads and trails were often designed to and less costly to control. National forest managers accommodate recreation access needs as well as preferred silvicultural control methods, but used other purposes the Use Book provided for road chemicals when they were recommended and effec- and trail signs. The Report of the Forester for Fiscal tive - after 1930 on the eastern national forests and Year 1912, for example, observed that national somewhat earlier on the western national forests- forests were being visited more and more due to the where insect outbreaks could become extensive very construction of new roads and trails. Some 1 3,500 quickly. miles of trail and 1 ,500 miles of road were constructed between 1905 and 191 2 (USDA Forest Service When spruce budworm heavily infested the foliage 1912). of Douglas-fir stands on Wyoming's Shoshone National Forest and astraddle the entrance to Recreation use was growing very rapidly on national Yellowstone National Park in 1928, national forest forests near large cities. Camps and cottages on managers found that such outbreaks could be con- some of the most accessible and desirable national trolled by chemicals sprayed from high-pressure forest lands dotted many canyons and lakeshores ground sprayers or dusted from airplanes. If the that had been set aside and divided into lots to spruce budworm, a defoliator, was not controlled in accommodate as many visitors as possible. Com- one or two seasons, it could kill trees by stripping mercial uses in recreation areas, such as grazing and them of their foliage or affect their growth by defo- timber harvests, were adjusted to meet recreational liating and killing their tops- an unsightly prospect needs. National forest managers excluded livestock for the entrance to Yellowstone National Park. from permitted recreation areas and prohibited livestock driveways in canyons heavily used by Another introduced European disease, the chestnut campers. They restricted timber harvesting to very blight, was killing American chestnut trees in the light or no cutting at all close to lakes and in other East. Because there were no known methods to places where it was desirable to preserve natural control this blight, national forest managers in the beauty unmarred for public enjoyment (USDA Forest southern Appalachians initiated a systematic effort to Service 1911-1913). market infested and threatened timber before the blight ruined its commercial value. Because no National forest managers' sensitivity to the public's effective controls were available, our Nation lost the interest in recreation grew in the early decades. It chestnut tree as an endemic component of eastern was strongly influenced by withdrawals of selected hardwood forests. scenic and other attractive national forest lands for national parks and by the establishment of the In the 1930's and 1940's, pests became troublesome National Park Service (NPS) in 1916. In 1915, for in the Lake States, where large acreages of cutover, example, the Forest Service sought and received burned-over forest lands and abandoned farms had authority to issue 30-year leases, parallel to the been planted with pine species. In 1934 and almost established national park practice, to increase the every year thereafter except the war years, national incentive for individuals to build summer homes

20 Managing Multiple Uses and Protecting Resources: 1905 to 1945

ests were maintaining more than 100,000 road miles per year. Horse and foot trails, which had increased to more than 11 3,000 miles by 1930, had risen to 150,000 miles by 1945. This rapidly expanding access to national forests combined with increased automobile ownership and use and a growing U.S. population accelerated the recreational use of national forests (USDA Forest Service 1920-1 945). The expansion of recreation areas with constructed shelters and improved camping sites and related facilities likewise contributed to this growth.

Annual visits to national forest recreation sites reached a peak of 18 million, but declined to 6 to 8 million during World War II. During the 1905 to 1945 period, national forest visitors engaged in camping, picnicking, swimming, boating, hiking, and riding. Some came to spend time at summer homes or resorts located on national forests. Others came to enjoy the excellent opportunities that national forests offered for skiing, tobogganing, and other winter sports. A Sunday drive among the giant redwoods on the Six Rivers National Forest, California, was a popular diversion in 1913. Wilderness Preservation In the early 1 920's, the idea of setting lands aside for wilderness preservation emerged on national forests and for commercial interests to develop hotels, in Colorado and New Mexico. Two foresters, Arthur resorts, and other services for the recreating public. Carhart and Aldo Leopold, persistently urged that In 191 7, there were permits for 814 summer homes, scenic parts of the National Forest System be with- 26 hotels, and 28 summer resorts on California's held and retained in as near a natural state as Angeles National Forest one of the forests most possible (Clawson and Harrington 1991). Forest intensively developed for recreation use. In 1919, Supervisor Leopold identified such a wilderness area national forests counted 3 million recreation visits, on New Mexico's Gila National Forest, and it was so including sightseers and those just passing through designated in 1924 - the first formally designated (USDA Forest Service 1910-1920; Wolf 1990). wilderness in the country. As this concept was evalu- National park recreation visits did not reach 1mil- ated, it was differentiated to distinguish wilderness lion until 1921 (Clawson and Harrington 1991). areas as those of 100,000 acres or larger; smaller areas down to 5,000 acres as wild areas; other areas Road construction for purposes other than forest fire considered but not yet classed for wilderness as protection escalated in the 1 920's. By 1930, the total primitive areas; and some tracts without road access national forest road miles exceeded 59,000 and as roadless areas. By 1 945, almost 1 5 million acres, included almost 15,000 miles of forest highway. 8.5 percent of the national forest area, had been Between 1933 and 1942, the CCC built many rec- administratively withdrawn from commercial devel- reation improvements, including small dams that opment for wilderness evaluation. Almost 1 0 percent formed many attractive artificial lakes and ponds; of the 15 million acres were formally dedicated as sanitary facilities at picnic and campsites, typically wilderness; most of the rest were classed as primi- pit toilets with simple structures; and picnic tables tive, with smaller acreages in the wild and roadless and fireplaces (Clawson and Harrington 1991). Road categories. Wilderness areas were then viewed as access also expanded so that by 1 945, national for- scenic, limited use, and no development areas a

21 Chapter 2

part of the National Forest .': System serving those who sought a remote, pre- S settlement type of -p. recreation experience. Because so much of the - national forests were de facto wilderness, largely .: unaccessed and undeveloped old-growth timber, the criteria for defining wilderness were highly restrictive and oriented toward the most unique undisturbed lands suitable for this use. :-

Natural Areas for Research During the early formation of the national forest Viewof the Cl/a Wilderness, Cila National Forest, NewMexico. In 1924, it was the first national wilderness preservation forest land to be designated as wilderness. concept, a parallel idea emerged for preserving selected areas as research fuel supply, withdrew 3 million acres of oil land in natural area (RNA) reserves. RNA's were then Wyoming and California from public entry. In 1910, viewed as baseline areas for documenting the devel- Congress authorized the President to withdraw opment of individual natural ecosystems and forest public lands temporarily from mining for nonmetal- types that would be used to evaluate the effects of liferous minerals (oil, gas, shale oil, coal, natural national forest use and management on ecosystems. asphalt, bituminous coal) and the fertilizer and chemical minerals (phosphate, potash, and sodium), The RNA concept reflected concerns that emerged and the President withdrew essentially all unapprop- within the Ecological Society of America in1 91 7 to riated public lands from such mineral entry. Between protect habitats of rare plant and animal species. To 1910 and 1920, conservationists actively pursued that end, the Society set up a work group that ulti- the development of a leasing approach to fuel and mately evolved into The Nature Conservancy. The fertilizer minerals on public lands and achieved their Forest Service adopted the RNA concept in 1927, goal with the passage of the Mineral Leasing Act of when it set aside the first such area on Federal land 1 920. This Act authorized the Secretary of the the Santa Catalina Natural Area on Arizona's Interior to lease nonmetalliferous minerals at his Coronado National Forest. By 1945, a total of 39 discretion and to define use guidelines that would RNA's, with an aggregate area of 45,808 acres, had protect public resources and the public interest. been established on national forests an average of National forest managers had little influence over a little more than 1,000 acres per RNA (USDA Forest minerai leasing on national forests except to review Service 1993b). lease applications and plans (Wilkinson and Anderson 1 985). Mining Miners' unconstrained access to minerals on Hardrock Minerals national forests and other public lands began to National forests are underlain with a significant gain national attention in 1909, when President share of the Nation's hardrock mineral wealth. William Howard Taft, concerned about the Navy's Where such lands were more valuable for their Managing Multiple Uses and Protecting Resources:1905to1945

mineral use than forestry purposes, the Organic Act $2.50per acre($5.00for placer claims) to obtain of1 897provided that they be excluded from the ownership (patent) of the minerals and all surface forest reserves. Thus, the forest reserves (national rights. A patent could be obtained by showing forests after1 907)remained open to legal entry for sufficient mineralization to justify a "prudent man" mineral exploration and mining under the General making further expenditures on the claim with a Mining Law of1872.The1872law provided that reasonable prospect of success (Wilkinson and gold, silver, and other hardrock minerals in the Anderson1985). public domain (including national forests created out of the public domain as provided in the Organic Act In the early decades, the national forest manager's of1897),could belong to the "finder" of a valuable role in mineral prospecting and mining development mineral deposit by merely staking a claim. was not defined by law. The Transfer Act of1 905 gave the Secretary of Agriculture authority to exe- Entry into national forests for mineral exploration cute all laws affecting national forest lands except and mining was a matter of self initiation; no permit those "as affect surveying, prospecting, appropria- was required. A claim was set at20acres, with no ting, entering ... or patenting of any such lands." The limit on the number of claims that could be filed. An administration of such laws remained with the unpatented claim gave the finder the exclusive right Department of the Interior (Wilkinson and Anderson of possession and use of all surface resources within 1 985),but the Department of the Interior regularly a claim's boundaries to develop the claim. An sought national forest managers' advice on the valid- unpatented claim could be held by completing ity of claims that miners sought to patent. Thus, from $100 worth of work on it each year or by paying the beginning, national forest managers recognized that "mining claims ... may be sought for, located, developed and protected in accordance with the law and the forest reserve regulation" (USDA Forest Service1 905).The Forest Service made no attempt to regulate valid prospecting and mining activity (Wilkinson and Anderson 1 985),but national forest regulations restricted mining claim occupancy and use to the activities necessary to develop such claims. That often included the issuance to miners of free-occupancy permits and free-use timber permits to build cabins on national forest lands beyond their claim boundaries.

The national forest managers' role in reviewing View of the Santa Catalina Research Natural Area in the Santa Catalina Mountains, Coronado National Forest, New Mexico. In 1927, it was the first such area to be established on national claim patent applications forest land. was limited to assessing the

23 Chapter2

mineral find's validity for practical development, The problem of mining law abuse continued to grow determining whether mineral development was to the end of World War II. Of nearly a million acres compatible with overlapping or adjacent national on36,000patented claims, only14.7percent had forest uses, and ensuring that the claim's surface been worked on a commercial basis. For another2.2 resources would only be used for mineral develop- million acres on84,000unpatented claims, less than ment activities. Doubtful claims, those with evi- 3percent was being actively developed beyond the dence of fraud or failure to comply with mining law $1 00 of work to hold the claim. The timber inven- requirements, were always examined on the ground tory on these lands exceeded$50million. At the end by a practical miner or a mining expert. National of World War II, mining law abuse was to become a forest managers made adverse recommendations to priority national forest issue. BLM only when a miner or a mining expert certified to the male fides of the case (USDA Forest Service Management of Special Uses 1912). Special uses include all resource uses other than commercial timber sales, forage grazing, occupancy Fraudulent mining claims were a continuing prob- established by the Federal Power Commission, and lem on national forests throughout the1905to1945 the U.S. homestead laws. Special use permits could period. The Reportofthe Forester for Fiscal Year be issued for the following uses: residences, farms, 1913 reported that "frauds committed or sought to pastures, corrals, apiaries, dairies, schools, churches, be committed in the name of the mining industry roads, trails, telephone and telegraph lines, stores, (under the1872Mining Law) were legion, all but a sawmills, factories, hotels, stage stations, sanator- very few of them are only remotely, if at all, con- iums, camps, wharves, miners' and prospectors' nected either with mines or mining" (USDA Forest cabins, windmills, dipping vats, reservoirs, water Service 191 3).Such claims were located to get title conduits, powerhouses and transmission lines, aerial to land for a variety of purposes: for townsites; to tramways, railroads, and the purchase of sand, access scenic surroundings; to control access to stone, clay, gravel, hay, and other products except timber sales negotiated by the national forests; for timber (USDA Forest Service1907).The list broad- summer home sites; to control stock watering places ened over time. or mineral and medicinal springs; to acquire farmable lands without meeting homestead law Special use permits were seen as promoting the requirements; to obtain power and reservoir sites; for welfare of individual users and the larger community transmission line rights-of-way; and for saloons and living in and near the national forests. The permits other enterprises not permitted on national forest provided a means whereby any forest resource, no land. More than a decade later, the Reportofthe matter how minor, could be turned to individual Forester for Fiscal Year 1926 (USDA Forest Service account if its use did not conflict with a larger com- 1926)reported on continuing fraudulent mining munity interest and it was compatible with national claims using high-value national forest lands worth forest purposes (USDA Forest Service 191 3).A from $1,000 to$2,500per acre for business, recre- special use permit required a formal application for ation, and water power development or for control- the use or occupancy of national forest lands and ling access to resources on large adjoining national resources and specified use conditions such as area, forest areas. These were essentially attempts to time, and management requirements and standards. obtain national forest lands through misuse of Special use permits numbered about4,000in1905. mining laws requiring the Government to make They increased to19,000in1915.By1941,they heavy cash outlays to identify fraudulent claims and numbered44,000.Between 1905and 1945,permit- cancel them. The Forest Service sought legislative ted uses involved only a negligible percentage of the relief from Congress, but was only successful in national forest area, but served large numbers of obtaining it for particular situations on a few users. Use permits involving the payment of annual nationa' forests. fees ranged from40to60percent of the total permits issued. The balance were free-use permits. Pay permits were issued where uses were commercial,

24 Managing Multiple Uses and Protecting Resources: 1905 to 1945

served industrial purposes, or involved exclusive 1 906 Act encouraged homestead ing on national private use such as summer recreation residences. forest lands, but only on lands which national forest managers determined were more suitable for agricul- Free permits were issued for uses of a public nature, tural use. Having settlers on forest homesteads was such as cemeteries, Girl and Boy Scout organiza- seen as a benefit to forest protection and a way of tional camps, and access roads to private homes or thwarting speculative homesteading under the more inholdings, and uses such as rights-of-way that were liberal 1862 Jaw. needed to carry out other national forest land uses. Free-use permits were granted to settlers, farmers, Between 1900 and 1910, settlers were awarded a prospectors, or similar persons who might not rea- total of 18,000 homesteads on 1.9 million acres. The sonably be required to pay a fee and who did not pressures for entry to these agricultural areas after have a usable supply of timber or stone on lands 1906 (and exclusion of entry under the 1 862 law) they owned or controlled. continued until the demand for new farmland abated during the mid-i 920's agricultural depression. By During the early 1930's, the Forest Service repeat- 1926, practically all national forest lands suitable for edly sought authority to raise the occupancy permit agriculture had been listed as available for entry for acreage limit from 5 to 80 acres. National forest the previous 5 to 1 5 years. Many areas remained managers felt that in many cases the 5-acre mini- open after a series of earlier entries and abandon- mum was too low to provide for the best developments unpatented and unoccupied indicating ment of occupied areas and service to the public. a somewhat optimistic classification for agricultural Where additional area was needed, national forest use. By 1930, entry applications under the Forest managers could issue only a separate, terminable Homestead Act had declined to less than 100 per permit. This option was considered insufficient and year. In 1934, Congress withdrew homesteading lacked secure tenure for longer term occupancy uses entry under the 1 862 Homestead Act on all public such as airplane landing fields, educational insti- lands except those in Alaska. Entry under the Forest tutions' scientific stations, or high-quality resorts. Homestead Act remained extant through 1945. In Congress, however, did not choose to extend the 5- 1937, however, the Forest Service reported that acre maximum permit limit. practically no agricultural land remained suitable for homestead entry on national forests. In1 940, there Homesteading were only 36 applications (USDA Forest Service The Organic Act of 1 897 excluded lands more valu- 1905-1 945). Only a few homesteads established on able for agriculture from the forest reserves. The national forest lands actually succeeded as farms; Department of the Interior encouraged entry and most failed. Failure was attributed to a combination settlement of such agricultural lands under the of low soil fertility, low rainfall, climate with a short liberal terms of the Homestead Act of 1 862, which ii growing season, and the agricultural depression in administered. When the reserves were transferred to the 1 920's. the USDA, the exclusion remained in force, and the Department of the Interior continued to administer National Forest Use and Management the entry and settlement of these agricultural lands. at the End of World War II

There was strong demand for and pressure to enter At the end of World War II, national forests were still and settle these lands, often improperly for specula- huge, largely undeveloped reserves of natural tive timber acquisition and sale or other nonagricul- resources. They were still remote and difficult to tural uses. Often homestead ownership was quickly reach by the majority of the U.S. population, which transferred to timber companies. While not techni- was concentrated in the East. Access to national cally violating the law, the intent of the Homestead forests was very limited. Western forest industries Act was clearly not being met. This situation, under were getting most of their log supplies - about national forest administration, quickly led to the 80 percent from their own and other private passage of the Forest Homestead Act of 1 906. The lands. The eastern national forests, still being rehab-

25 Chapter 2

ilitated, had little merchantable timber available. Renewable Resources:Historical Trends and Current National forest timber harvesting- mainly in the Challenges. Edited by Kenneth 0. Frederick and R.A. West and mineral exploration and deve}opment Sedjo. Resources for the Future, Inc., Washington, DC. pp 1 23-1 68. had been accelerated to meet wartime needs. National forest livestock numbers were at their Gill, Tom, and Ellen C. Dowling (compilers). 1943. The lowest level since 1906. Rangeland conditions were Forestry Directory. Reese Press, Baltimore, MD. 411 pp. improving. Due to the influence of wartime Robinson, Glen. 0. 1975. The Forest Service. Published for demands and conditions, recreation use was still Resources for the Future, Inc. Johns Hopkins University depressed. Press, Baltimore, MD. 237 pp. Roth, Dennis. No date. The Public Domain, State's Rights, The maintenance and management of national and the National Forests. Draft manuscript. Forest forest resources and improvements were largely History Library, USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC. foregone or deferred during World War II. Military 28 pp. service and diversion of available staff to wartime Roth, Dennis M. 1989. A History of Wildlife Management in priorities reduced the national forest workforce. The the Forest Service. Unpublished manuscript. History depressed management situation, however, would Unit, USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC. go into rapid reverse as the postwar Baby Boom and Rowley, William D. 1985. U.S. Forest Service Grazing and rapid economic growth acc&erated demand for Rangelands: A History. Texas A & M University Press, national forest goods and services. College Station, TX. 270 pp. Russo, John P. 1 970. The Kaibab North Deer Herd: Its References History, Problems and Management. Wildlife Bulletin No. 7. Arizona Fish and Game Department, Phoenix, Alexander, Thomas G. 1 987. The Rise of Multiple UseAZ. 195 pp. Management in the Intermountain West: A History of Shands, William E., and R.G. Healy. 1977. The Lands Region 4 of the Forest Service. FS-399. USDA Forest Nobody Wanted. The Conservation Foundation, Service. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, Washington, DC. 282 pp. DC. 267 pp. Thomas, Jack W., U. Verner, L.R. Jahn, R.D. Sparrow, D.F. Benedict, Warren B. 1 981. History of White Pine Blister Rust Toweill, M. Bender, and T. Quigley. 1988. Status and Control-A PersonalAccount. USDA Forest Service, Trends of U.S. Renewable Resources: Wildlife. From Washington, DC. 47 pp. tabulations of elk trends presented to the National Clawson, Marion, and W. Harrington. 1991. "The Growing Conference in Natural Resources for the 21st Century, Role of Outdoor Recreation." In: America's Renewable November 1 988, under the sponsorship of the Resources: Historical Trends and Current Challenges. American Forestry Association, Washington, DC. Edited by Kenneth 0. Frederick and R.A. Sedjo. USDA Forest Service. 1 905. The Use of National Forest Resources for the Future, Inc., Washington, DC. Resources, Regulations and Instructions. Washington, pp 249-2 52. DC. 209 pp. Clepper, Henry, and Arthur B. Meyer. 1 960. American Forestry: Six Decades of Growth. Society of American USDA Forest Service. 1 905-1 945. Report of the Forester for Foresters, Washington, DC. 319 Pp. Fiscal Years 1 905-1 934 and Report of the Chief of the Forest Service for Fiscal Years 1935-1945. Washington, Coville, Frederick V. 1 898a. "Sheep Grazing in the Forest DC. Reserves." The Forester 4(2): 832-835. USDA Forest Service. 1 907. The Use Book: Regulations and Coville, Frederick V. 1898b. Forest Growth and Sheep Instructions for the Use of the National Forests. Grazing in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. Bulletin Washington, DC. 248 pp. No. 15. Division of Forestry, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC. USDA Forest Service. 1908. Report of the Forester for Fiscal Year 1908. Washington, DC. Fowler, Richard. 1993. Unpublished USDA Forest Service data provided by Forest Pest Management staff, USDA Forest Service 191 0-1920. Report of the Forester for Washington, DC. Fiscal Years 1910-1920. Washington, DC. Gardner, Delworth B. 1991. "Rangeland Resources: USDA Forest Service. 1911-191 3. Report of the Forester for Changing Uses and Productivity." In: America's Fiscal Years 1911-1913. Washington, DC.

26 Managing Multiple Uses and Protecting Resources: 1905 to 1945

USDA Forest Service. 1 91 2. Reportofthe Forester for Fiscal U.S. Senate. 1898. ReportoftheNational Academyof Year1912.Washington, DC. Sciences.Senate Doc. No. 57, 55th Congress, 2d Session. Washington, DC. USDA Forest Service. 1 91 3. Reportofthe Forester for Fiscal Year1913.Washington, DC. U.S. Senate, 1936. A Reportonthe WesternRange:A Great butNeglectedNatural Resource. Senate Document No. USDA Forest Service. 1926. Reportofthe Forester for Fiscal 199. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. Year1926.Washington, DC. 620 pp. USDA Forest Service. 1 920-1 945. Report of the Forester for West, Terry L. 1 992.Centennial Mini-Histories of theForest Fiscal Years1920-1934 andReportofthe Chiefofthe Service. FS 518. USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC. Forest Service for Fiscal Years1935-1945.Washington, 72 pp. DC. Wilkinson, Charles F., and H.M. Anderson. 1985. "Land and USDA Forest Service. 1 983. The Principal LawsRelatingto Resources Planning in the National Forests." Oregon Forest Service Activities. Agriculture Handbook No. Law Review 64:1 -2. U niversity of Oregon Press, Eugene. 453. Washington, DC. 591 pp. 373 pp.

USDA Forest Service. 1 990. The Historyof Engineering in Williams, Gerald W. 1994. HistoryofForest Service the Forest Service,1905-1989.EM 7100-1 3, Administrative Units and ReorganizationEfforts. Grey Engineering Staff, Washington, DC. 503 pp. Towers National Historic Landmark, Pacific Northwest Region, USDA Forest Service. 10 pp. USDA Forest Service. 1 993a.NationalForest Fire Report, ofMultiple Use: The 1990.State and Private Forestry Fire and Aviation Wolf, Robert E. 1 990. The Concept Management Staff, Washington, DC. 40 pp. Evaluationof the Idea within the Forest Service. Report submitted under contract no. N-3-2465.O. Office of USDA Forest Service. 1993.ResearchNaturalArea Data Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress, Washington, Base. Forest Service Research, Washington, DC. DC. 81 pp.

Chapter 3 Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands: 1945 to 1970

National Forest Planning and fisheries, and recreation use increased by about a Performance: 1945 to 1970 million surface acres. Mineral exploration and development grew sporadically, but steadily. Rapid economic and population growth after World Beef consumption, nationally and per person, also War II created extraordinary demands on the goods increased steadily during this period. National forest and services of the Nation's natural resources. cattle grazing rose from 1 .2 million to 1 .5 million National forests quickly became a major source AUM's - an increase of 25 percent. Forage produc- for expanding the supply to meet those demands. tivity improvements and the acquisition of the National forest managers were immediately national grasslands brought a 30-percent increase challenged to rebuild and expand their workforces, in grazing allotment carrying capacities. Animal access roads, facilities, and equipment. They also husbandry improvements and improved range forage had to make up for the maintenance and manage- added significantly to cattle weights. However, there ment deferred through the war years and deal with was a significant decline in sheep herding and the rapid growth in resource demands that outran grazing. and continually taxed their managerial capabilities and workforces. National forest area dedicated to wilderness use increased by 7.1 million acres, from less than 1 .5 mil- In the 25 years from 1 945 to 1 970, national forest lion acres to 9.1 million in 1964. The National timber harvesting rose an average of more than Wilderness Preservation Act of 1 964 included these 5 percent per year twice the rate of the national wilderness acres as the initial components of the economic growth and almost four times faster than National Wilderness Preservation System. An addi- total U.S. production of industrial wood products. tional 5.5 million acres were scheduled for evalua- During the 1950's and 1960's, national forest tion and eventual wilderness designation over the timber and the expansion of sow-cost Canadian next 10 years. Nearly a million of those acres were lumber imports offset a near 40 percent decline in added to the National Wilderness Preservation the South's average annual softwood lumber produc- System by 1 970. tion (Ulrich 1989). National forest timber stabilized log supplies for the large and highly productive tim- There was an evolution in planning and manage- ber industry of western Oregon and Washington and ment for multiple uses on national forests during this increased total log supplies for the rest of the West period. The fitting of multiple uses into ecosystems (Fedkiw 1964). The large and rapid increase in on individual national forests became increasingly national forest timber harvests contributed to the complex as demands for all national forest uses economic stability and growth of many western burgeoned. The fitting of adaptive management communities and helped meet national housing practices for overlapping and adjacent resource uses goals and lumber demands. They also relieved pres- into the site-specific conditions within highly vari- sures to harvest the stands of young, small-diameter able ecosystems became more challenging. Recon- timber. This gave the South's young and rapidly ciling competing and overlapping user interests growing southern pine trees a 20-year opportunity likewise became more demanding, especially as to grow in size and increase the South's timber those interests broadened beyond local users to inventory. regional and national publics and special-interest groups. ConfUcts between the timber industry and Recreation visits to national forests grew more than wilderness and recreation interests reached national 11 percent per year - more than 6 times faster proportions. than population growth as the American family's income and leisure time increased and the Nation's During the early years and into the 1950's, planning highways and transportation facilities greatly on national forests focused on individual resources expanded and improved. Hunting and fishing visits such as timber, rangeland, recreation opportunities, rose at an even faster rate. Water-storage facilities for wilderness areas, wildlife and fish, and watersheds. power, irrigation, domestic consumption, mining, Planning called for inventories of resource

29 Chapter 3

conditions and trends on rangelands, forests, watersheds, recreation sites, and wildlife habitats. Planning determined sustainable timberland and rangeland use levels and assessed the need to modify use or adapt management in areas where there was a need to protect watersheds and other - resources. The collection and evaluation of resource i 1 - :--

data for national forest -. WW_____-_ planning grew throughout the1945to1970period. The data reflected both the use and the condition of natural resources. .--

Conflicts were largely Multiple use: timber growth and harvest and mineral-i_- development. Lakeview Logging Company avoided or easily mitigated truck hauls harvested logs, Fremont National Forest, Oregon, 1960. The derrick in the background * as long as the level of use is part of a Humble Oil Company- wildcat operation searching for oil or natural gas. remained relatively low compared to the national - forests' capacity to absorb it. Where conflicts did The Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield- Act (MUSY) in occur, a multifunctional consultation approach was 1960brought a more balanced consideration of all used to coordinate the uses. Users and State and national forest uses and resources. MUSY mandated local wildlife and water resource officials often that national forests be managed for multiple uses helped resolve these issues. and sustained yield of their products and services; that the various renewable surface resources be used National forest efforts to coordinate land uses in combinations that best met the needs of the through management planning became more American people; and that the relative values of the deliberate as resource uses accelerated during the various resources be considered and that decisions 1950's.Local managers began to demarcate recre- not be limited to use combinations that gave the ation and special management areas, waterways, greatest dollar return or the greatest unit output. roads and trails, and other use characteristics in their plans as resource inventories were completed. The The Forest Service proposed the MUSY Act when content of these plans differed from forest to forest pressures were emerging from the timber industry because the National Forest System had no uniform and wilderness interests, respectively, to increase standards or direction for coordinating multiple uses. and to halt the harvesting of remaining old-growth Despite this lack of consistency, more informed stands. The wilderness interests largely perceived planning and management decisions were being old-growth timber lands as "the" remaining wilder- made. However, the actual implementation of the ness. They saw the construction of national forest decisions on the ground in many instances still roads to access old-growth timber as rapidly depended on the district ranger's or forest super- reducing wilderness designation options. The Forest visor's practical experience and intuitive judgment Service felt that legislative direction to manage (Wilkinson and Anderson1 985). national forests for multiple uses and sustained yields would provide the policy guidance to ensure

30 Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands:1945to1970

:.} resource specialists expanded. Although foresters continued to dom- inate the professional Hi workforce, the diversity of skills and knowledge within

jI the national forest workforce in the early1970'sgrew :; (table 1) (Fedkiw1981).

M Although these skills had I been previously represented in the Forest Service, they

I' were almost exclusively in LI Forest Service Research and in Washington and the regional offices. Now they I were increasingly needed on national forests and ranger districts.

Brahma hybrid cattle grazing under permit on wiregrass forage in a .tdflU UI IUlI5ItI Depth of experience and pines, Apalachicola National Forest, Florida. seasoned judgment from working with a wide range a nationally balanced mix of uses in the face of the of forest conditions, uses, and users on the ground opposing pressures of "single-interest groups" and were important supplements for managing natural economic demands for possible "overuse" (USDA Forest Service1 961b). Table 1. Number of Forest Service employees by Diversifying Staff and Skills in occupation and skill,1972 Managing Growing Multiple Uses This period saw an improvement in natural resource Occupation or Skill Number science, knowledge, technology, and professional Forester 5,021 skills. For example, the number of degrees conferred CivilEngineer 1,081 annually in natural resource areas rose from an Range Conservationist 262 estimated 1 0,000 to 1 5,000 in1 940to more than Contracting and Procurement 239 60,000around1970,and for the first time around Landscape Architect 181 1970included a significant number of women. For Soil Scientist 151 the same period, the number of doctorates in natural Wildlife Biologist 108 resources subjects rose from1 2in1940to1 22in Hydrologist 104 1970.Membership in natural resource professional Plant Pathologist 94 92 societies rose from6,300to47,400(Fedkiw1 993). Computer Specialist Geologist 52 The Forest Service increased both the number of Fisheries Biologist 24 resource professionals in the national forest work- Archaeologist 4 force and the diversity of their knowledge and skills Geographer 3 as resource use and management became more Economist 2 complex and the supply of professionally trained Total 7,418 Source:USDAForest Service1980.

as they increasingly national forests. During the 1 950's and 1 960's, national and adapted the forest range, wildlife, fishery, landscape, and wilderness 1 960's began to reveal overlapped and adjoined each other in various combinations within the forest managers modified structures and their ecosystems as they provided Americans with increasing quantities of products, services, and benefits from water, timber, mineral, watershed, recreation, resources. However, major events and uncertainties during the serious management inadequacies and dissatisfactions among some national forest users and important groups of the American people.

ing. Forest fires were being contained to lower ing. Forest fires were acreages and other natural disasters were being acreages and other were more research natural area ameliorated. There The quality of man- and wilderness designations. improved incrementally, but aging multiple uses to growing uses as well as slowly, responding and management skills. National improving science new attention to wetlands and forest managers gave to identify and take measures increased their efforts species and their habitats. to protect endangered responses National forest management's incremental of multiple uses to the growing and changing mix and mod- were progressively building, extending, National Forest ifying use systems throughout the System, and during this period incremental National Forest responses seemed sufficient. The into an integrated System was progressively evolving systems that association of uses and management and ensure the were designed to sustain the uses their productivity. permanence of the resources and The individual use systems became more integrated The individual use systems became - I'

In this general setting, national forest managers met In this general setting, national forest

increasingly critical tools for the effective integration increasingly critical influence the seeking of resource-specific solutions. influence the seeking in each individual resource area continued to in each individual 1960. Range cattle grazing, timber production, water supply, and fish habitat. multiple uses. But the driving force of annually multiple uses. But

resources effectively. Multidisciplinary consultation resources effectively. Chapter 3

being improved and forage production was increas- being improved and forage production being rehabilitated. Rangeland conditions were being rehabilitated. Rangeland conditions tained or improved. Eastern national forests were tained or improved. Eastern national warbler, and osprey, were generally being main- warbler, and osprey, were generally cally targeted species, such as the condor, Kirkland's cally targeted species, such as the habitats, particularly for game species and specifi- habitats, particularly for game species peak levels in the 1960's. Wildlife and fisheries peak levels in the 1960's. Wildlife the way, national forest outputs and uses rose to the way, national forest outputs and multiple uses. Although there were shortfalls along multiple uses. Although there were the art, practice, and effectiveness of managing the art, practice, and effectiveness expanding output and use targets while advancing expanding output and use targets

of multiple uses and their management. of multiple uses and Advanced planning and longer lead times became Advanced planning

expanding use "targets" and management challenges expanding use "targets" expanded and helped integrate the management of expanded and helped Managing for multiple uses on the Dale Ranger District, Umatilla National Forest, Oregon, Managing for multiple uses on the Dale Ranger District, Umatilla National Forest, Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands:1945 to 1970

Public concerns for wildlife management, for and address endangered species habitat needs example, began to develop broader and deeper jointly with various interest groups and pub'ic dimensions. Game biologists and some hunters agencies. questioned the knowledge and practices used to manage elk throughout the Rocky Mountains. Using In the West, national forest managers realized that timber harvest to improve food and forage supplies, forest fire prevention and control were leading to a controlling excess livestock and big game numbers, new problem - forest fuel buildups. They began to and protecting big game winter range did not always address this concern through fuel inventories and sustain desired deer and elk population levels or fuel hazard management projects that used prescribed quality hunting experiences. This issue came into burning to reduce fuel buildups and strategically sharp focus when Montana Department of Fish, located firebreaks to slow and control fires that WiLdlife, and Parks biologists challenged a proposed might break out in areas of heavy fuel and high risk. timber sale on the Lewis and C'ark National Forest. National forest managers saw the sale as a necessary National forest managers, seeing a need for better part of the Forest's timber management program. The soil inventories and soil management capabilities, biologists anticipated an adverse impact on elk that initiated soil surveys and a related soils training would shift game populations from State-owned program. The soil surveys were barely underway in lands to private lands. To resolve this dilemma, 1 964when a massive landslide occurred in the national forest managers joined several Federal and watershed of the South Fork of Idaho's Salmon River. State wildlife agencies in a long-term study of elk A combination of extraordinary rainstorm conditions habitat requirements (Lyon et aL1985). and extremely wet soils on steep and unstable slopes, which for decades had been crisscrossed by In the East, national forest users on West Virginia's logging roads, were seen as the cause. These con- Monongah&a National Forest questioned the way ditions led to severe sedimentation of the river and even-aged management was being applied to hard- its tributaries, with devastating damage to salmon wood forests. Such forests provided important turkey fisheries and habitat - particularly spawning beds. and squirrel habitats and long-established, highly valued hunting grounds. National forest users also In Montana, local citizens were relentlessly chal- questioned the visual impacts and quality impair- lenging clearcutting and terracing on the Bitterroot ments associated with clearcutting. After several National Forest's steeper, more visible mountain years of challenges from the West Virginia Legisla- slopes. The issue became national in1 970's. ture and national forest users, the Monongahela prepared an environmental impact statement (EIS) Internally, the Forest Service was using the traditional on the forest's implementation of even-aged timber incremental management response to local demands, management. The Forest recognized the need for issues, and problems - a style that had worked well management changes and improvements and gen- in addressing natural disasters and catastrophic for- erally agreed with the findings of a study commis- est fire conditions. National forest managers felt that sion established by the State Legislature. The [IS shortfalls, failures, or new problems that involved recommendations, if they could be effectively management, as well as natural events, could be implemented, indicated that the Monongahela's ameliorated or reversed using this same approach. timber management questions could be resolved, Believing this, they took care to define and limit but the issue actually broadened in the early1970's. matters to their local dimensions. Implementation of System-wide initiatives such as fuel hazard manage- During the1960's,the public became aware that ment and soil surveys was largely left to the regions populations and habitats of some wildlife, fish, and and forests according to what they perceived were plants were declining, including wetland habitats their local priorities and preferred timeframes. for waterfowl. National forest managers, responding to these emerging concerns, began to increase their The Forest Service's hierarchical administrative struc- efforts to protect and restore wetlands and to identify ture and decentralized style of managing multiple

33 Chapter3

uses continued to prevail during this period even though national forest managers were becoming 300 more aware of the public's growing concerns about the direction and quality of national forest manage- 250 ment. No comprehensive effort emerged within the Forest Service or USDA to integrate these major oC 200 events and concerns into an holistic evaluation of the National Forest System's performance. Although C 150 there were a few individual exceptions, the national forest management hierarchy did not generally per- .1oo ceive this traditional hierarchical and decentralized 0 approach to managing multiple uses as a potential weakness or Achilles heel" in managing national 50 forest lands.

The next part of chapter3describes the develop- 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 ment and growth of mukiple uses on national forests Year and the efforts to improve resource protection, main- Figure 5. U.S. urban and rural population, 1940-1 990 tenance, and management in meeting the demands Source: Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce. of the American people from1 945to1 970.Each resource is described separately because that is the way use was managed and reported. The growing need for planning and coordinating the management Between1940and1970,the number of households of multiple uses is given special emphasis. nearly doubled, from35million to more than 63million. Construction of new housing rose to an average of a million homes per year. The need for The Management of Multiple Uses: replacement housing rose from 100,000 units per 1945 to 1970 year in the1930'sand early1940'sto700,000units per year in the1 960's.Lumber and plywood con- Population, Economic, and Demand Trends sumption rose from32bbf in1 945to44bbf in From1945to1970,the American population grew 1950,an increase of40percent, and to50bbf by by45percent, from64million to205million an 1970, 57percent more than in1 945.Beef con- increase unmatched before or since. The economy sumption more than doubled to a peak level in rose almost twice as fast as population and led to 1976.Cattle numbers rose from86mtlion head in substantially improved per capita incomes and 1945to132million by1976. family welfare. Leisure time and mobility likewise increased. There were also major shifts in regional Outdoor recreation activities accelerated faster than demographics as Americans sought to share in the the population growth. Recreation use on Federal Nation's economic growth by relocating to areas of lands soared. Manufacturing, construction, energy growing employment and higher wages. Urban use, and urban development also expanded more populations rose from60percent to74percent of rapidly and produced great increases in emissions, the Nation's population, while rural populations effluents, and wastes that increasingly impacted the declined to26percent (fig.5).Agricultural pro- Nation's air, water, and land for their dispersal and ductivity per acre and per farmer rose rapidly and disposal. Rapid growth in every dimension of society induced younger people to out-migrate from rural brought unprecedented demands on the goods and areas. Even though national growth became concen- services provided by the Nation's natural resources. trated in urban and suburban communities, agricul- National forests quickly became an expanding ture and natural resource development prospered. source of supply for meeting those demands.

34 Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands:1945to1970

Grazing Use and Management strongly opposed any increased grazing on Federal In1945,some23,000ranchers and farmers were lands and supported national forest initiatives for further livestock reductions and range betterment grazing1 .2million cattle and4.3million sheep and goats on national forests. This stocking level was (Rowley1 985). 45percent below the severe overstocking of ranges during World War I and closer to range carrying Despite stockowners' opposition, the Forest Service capacity. But seriously degraded vegetation, eroded renewed its emphasis on reducing stock levels. Both soil, and other unsatisfactory range conditions stockowners and national forest field employees remained (USDA Forest Service1 945;Rowley recognized the challenges in implementing such 1985).Although World War II production pressures reductions. They did not agree on methods for esti- had also slowed efforts to reduce livestock numbers, mating grazing carrying capacity or range conditions livestock producers after the war were prepared to and trends. Some field employees complained that resist renewed efforts to reduce the number of ani- "We just do not have reliable records of conditions mals they could graze. Cattlemen and sheepowners measured periodically from which trends can be were resolved to work together to achieve vested determined" (Rowley1985).Range rehabilitation rights (established entitlements) to their allotments, was recognized as easier to implement and more clarify grazing objectives, and strengthen their role acceptable to stockowners, but it was a slower in managing their livestock on national forest allot- process. Between1 933and1945,western national ments. forests reseeded85,000acres of rangeland, while 45,000acres of pastured lands were reseeded on As the public became more aware of this issue, eastern forests. This was a start, but4.2million acres national forest managers became more sensitive needed reseeding. To accelerate range rehabilitation, about letting unsatisfactory range conditions con- Congress in1949authorized$3million to develop tinue. The general press and conservation groups nurseries to grow grass and shrub seed to reseed depleted rangelands and restore their forage and browse cover. The Forest Service also began to explore easily demonstrated ways to measure range vegetation conditions and trends (Rowley1 985).

The Granger-Thye Act of - 1 950provided for the use of legally authorized 10-year grazing permits and local grazing advisory boards. It also authorized the use of grazing receipts when appropriated by Congress 2cents per AUM for sheep and goats and 1 0 cents per AUM for other stock for reinvestment on the national forest rangelands for reseed- Forest supervisor and district ranger inspecting conditions in Big Whitney Meadows, lnyo ing; constructing fences, National Forest, California, 1958. stock watering places, i 954. With this Between 1945 and 1955, Between 1945 and national cattle numbers on were forest rang&ands and reduced by 9 percent one- sheep numbers by third. Range permittees to declined by 10 percent decline 21,000. The sharp was in sheep grazing by strongly influenced market factors such as the advent of synthetic fabrics and a one-third reduction in U.S. wool and mohair production. Wool imports declined even more, by 60 percent, reflecting a sharp drop in market demand. The cattle industry, however, grew as beef consumption steadily rose to a oeak in the mid-i 970's. Cattleowners, thus, r: ii continued to strongly oppose reductions in permitted continued to strongly oppose reductions livestock. rangeland man- In this environment, national forest reductions agement shifted away from aggressive to increase and emphasized range improvements supported forage production. Stockowners strongly increasingly and cooperated with this shift. They participated in improvement projects with money, time, labor, and materials. The pace of reseeding, fencing, installing water developments, and building livestock driveways accelerated after i955. In addition to increasing forage productivity and output, these range improvements also helped correct some of the longer term problems of deteriorating and depleted ranges. Cattle numbers in 1970, compared to 1955, were up about 31 percent to 1.5 million, and range carrying capacity was up by 30 percent. Half of the increase in capacity was due to the addition of the national grasslands in shift in management emphasis, the aggressive drive for livestock reductions faded. But national forest managers made it clear to stockowners and their political representatives that such reductions were still needed on the more critical lands. Sheep numbers declined to 1.7 million by 1970 and allotment

S : :i. .i St ...,.. .l... -4% 5 -- . . L and could include a representative of District ranger with permittee inspecting range conditions and cattle grazing under permit on District ranger with permittee inspecting Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington, 1949. an allotment/n the Tatoosh Mountain range, negotiating the terms of their grazing contracts. bridges, corrals, driveways and other improvements; bridges, corrals, driveways and other lishing or modifying individual or community allot- its emphasis on improving and expanding forage 1985). The Granger-Thye Act did not grant the vested rights The Granger-Thye Act did not grant contract sought by permittees. Permits remained The new legal privileges rather than absolute rights. boards encour- status given local grazing advisory aged stockowners to participate more actively in Grazing advisory boards were made up of 3 to 12 stockowners who were also national forest grazing permittees 36 controlling range-destroying rodents; and eradicating controlling range-destroying rodents; poisonous plants and noxious weeds. wildlife interests appointed by the State game commission. When requested to do so by a permittee, the boards could provide national forest managers with advice and recommendations on grazing permit modifications, animal reductions, or denials for permit renewals. The boards also advised on estab- ments. The Granger-Thye Act brought stockowners some relief from the policy for reducing permitted stock as national forest range management increased production to avoid future reductions (Rowley Chapter 3 -.I- j;v" t1: 1.1 Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands: 1 945 to 1970

permittees dropped below 18,000 by 1970. When Act explicitly authorized range use in law for the first allotments were no longer needed for sheep, some time, the livestock industry perceived a threat from were converted to cattle allotments. this affirmation. The industry became particularly sensitive to recreation use, including wilderness, as National forest grazing managers installed an allot- a competitor to traditional grazing privileges. The ment analysis system using improved methods and emergence of the environmental movement during measures for assessing range conditions and trends the 1960's and early 1970's similarly raised stock- developed by research in the mid-i 950's. Permittees owner and range manager concerns, as environmen- were encouraged to participate in allotment analyses tal groups began to perceive national forest range and planning. They also began to hire range scien- managers as being too closely allied with range tists to do independent range studies for their own users and livestock organizations. These unfolding interests. By 1 960, allotment analyses had been sensitivities were indicative of changes to come in completed on a third of the 11 ,000 national forest the 1 970's and later. allotments. Some 1,900 - more than 1 7 percent- had plans based on these analyses. In 1965, grazing The National Grasslands permittees became cosigners of their 10-year per- In 1954, the administration of 3.8 million acres of mits. By 1970, the first cycle of systematic range rangeland land utilization projects (LLIP's) was analysis and planning had been completed on all transferred from the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) allotments. Range rodent and noxious weed control to the Forest Service. The SCS had originally also advanced during this period (USDA Forest acquired these lands, primarily in the Great Plains Service 1945-1970; Rowley 1985). Region, and managed them for domestic livestock grazing during the depth of the Depression under a Stockowners introduced improved breeds and New Deal program designed to purchase unprofit- animal breeding during this period. These improve- able, low-productivity farmlands for Federal admin- ments, together with greater forage production and istration. In 1960, the Secretary of Agriculture higher forage consumption per animal, increased the designated almost all of these lands as 19 national number of cows calving and overall stock weight, a grasslands and formalized their management by performance difficult to quantify, but nevertheless national forest managers (Rowley 1985). NFMA an observed benefit of better animal husbandry and formally incorporated the national grasslands into range betterment. the National Forest System in 1976.

Grazing on southern national forests was free until The national grasslands brought new challenges to 1965. Because the southern forests had been national forest managers. The Bankhead-Jones Farm acquired through piecemeal purchases of farmland, Tenant Act, as amended in 1 963, required that their their progress in range management had been slow management promote grassland agriculture and and difficult. Long-established customs and free use sustained-yield management and demonstrate sound of open range reinforced the reluctance of local land use practices to adjacent public and private stockowners to accept regulated grazing. Poor landholdings. During its 20 years of management, economic conditions in the more remote rural South the SCS had established cooperative agreements also slowed progress. In 1965, however, when cattle with Great Plains grazing associations and districts grazing was expanding with growing beef demands, to help integrate the management and use of LUP grazing fees were introduced on southern forests. grasslands with the needs of the private operators who leased them. The SCS issued permits to the Stockowners Sensitive to 1960 associations, which, in turn, redistributed grazing Multiple-Use Sustained- Yield Act privileges among their members according to the The MUSY Act in 1 960 specifically identified range overall grazing limits. The associations often partic- as a resource use, along with outdoor recreation, ipated in planning and design of LLIP improvements. timber, wildlife, watershed, and fish, among the This participative and coordinated approach to national forest multiple-use purposes. Although the rangeland husbandry was in stark contrast to the

37 for 'V 1951,

- S. 1951-1 952). N national forest managers was to ensure that mineral national forest managers rights and resources. By international forest surface reviewing applications, recom- USDA, this included actions, and stipulating condi- mending approval applications, national forest man- In reviewing lease In recreation, and wildlife and fisheries. the oil industry to League, the Audubon Society, and Forest Service, each application National forest managers reviewed exploration and development were compatible with exploration and development between Interior and departmental agreement and use of surface resources. tions for the protection mineral development, under agers sought to further resources for conditions that protected the surface forest timber production, watershed protection, Forest example, California's Los Padres National lzaak Walton worked cooperatively with BLM, the for all oil and agree upon a set of special stipulations (USDA gas leases in the Sespe Condor Sanctuary and use to determine whether mineral development mil- 5 1 992; Blackbird mine operations on Blackbird Creek, Salmon National Forest, Idaho, location of the Blackbird mine operations on Blackbird Creek, Salmon National Forest, Idaho, location world's largest cobalt deposit, 1952. mainly for gas and oil the and covered less than their number had increased to 1947, leases 4,000 almost 1970, 1 940's, 1985). and covered 16 Managing Surface Resources on Mineral Leases and Claims potassium, and (oil, gas, coal, oil shale, phosphate, in the sulfur) on national forests grew steadily and related postwar years as national development In the late Rowley numbered about lion acres. By 19,000 million acres 10 percent of all national in the western national lands of the southern national forests. But leasing national forests' direct control of rangeland manage- national forests' direct managers, nevertheless, ment. National forest and eventually acceded to accepted the challenge approach and practice in grassland much of the SCS grassland managers and technical management. As to the national grasslands trans- assistants assigned elsewhere on the National ferred to range positions helped spread the use of coop- Forest System, they and demonstration approaches erative, integrative, Chapter 3 Chapter The exploration and extraction of leasable minerals The exploration and extraction of rapidly. demands for energy resources expanded The BLM had responsibility for administering both mining leases and hardrock mineral claims on national forests created from the public domain. In 38 forest lands. Most of the growth occurred on the former public domain lands forests and on the acquired occurred in all regions. BLM was also delegated the administration of mineral leases and claims on acquired national forest lands. The Department of Survey was responsible for to other national forest rangelands (West to other national forest the Interior's Geological technical administration of the leases. The role of 39 1 970 per to By the end became an 1 945 $25,000 1950's 1 963-1 964). 1983). era of the "weekend miner.' Legitimate claims by miners discovered minerals and were working to develop them were mixed in with spurious claims - making the handling of mining claims a nuisance for national forest managers. Many national forest managers became skeptical and even hostile to mineral development (Peterson In the big-timber country of California and the Pacific Northwest, where timber values often far exceeded estimated values of minerals on claims (some timber was valued up to acre), some claimants clearly used the mineral who had actually and early Act did not provide that 1 872

1940's T' national forest managers were initia- national forest managers 1 960's, leases per year. Mining Act accelerated. Many claimants limits on tanks and other surface uses; disposition of other surface uses; disposition limits on tanks and 1872 for purposes other intended to use the staked claims was patented, nor mining be done on a claim after it construction, and use of roads; pipeline locations; construction, and to measures; and measures equipment; revegetation wildlife, and other resources. protect scenic, water, exploration ended as a "dry As it turned out, the Service hole" (USDA Forest of the and protection actions on about ting coordination 4,000 Mining Claims of people Shortly after World War II, the number forests under the staking spurious claims on national than mining. The to soil, did it provide any checks against damage In many places, a timber, water, or other resources. filing a document finder could still stake a claim by with a note in with the county and marking the site In many counties, an old Prince Albert tobacco can. questionable there were literally thousands of such claims. The late stipulations to 35 Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands: National the Face of Unprecedented Multiple Uses in Managing

wildlife groups challenged oil and gas wildlife groups challenged oil and I I 1960, In could be carried out in harmony with surface uses. could be carried use was impractical, they Where harmonious values. In the case of strip assessed the relative a determination could be made mining, for example, interest precluded strip mining that the best public watershed or recreation areas, altogether in valuable in other areas. Where such but could be permitted impair the surface resources, mining would seriously be made that, after mining, the a stipulation would surface resources for produc- operator would restore erosion. tive use and otherwise prevent soil leases to explore interests when the latter applied for on the North and develop oil and gas resources National Forest. Kaibab section of Arizona's Kaibab cooperatively with National forest managers worked Survey, the BLM, the oil industry, the Geological conserva- State of Arizona, sportsmen, and other and issue final tionists to review lease applications permits. They jointly developed The protect wildlife and wildlife user interests. of wells that stipulations controlled the number location, could be drilled at any one time; the 'k Hydrologist checks pH content of strip mine, Shawnee National Forest, Illinois, 1967. Chapter 3

Legitimate mining operations continued to be encouraged, and they increased on national forests. Claimants could obtain patents tobona (ideclaims under the mineral laws and title to 20 acres of timber as well as the minerals. But national forest managers increasingly saw a need for stronger guidelines and more deliberate efforts to protect the public's interest in proper land and resource management on frivolous claims.

In the early1 950's,the Forest Service proposed the separation of surface and subsurface (mineral) rights as one solution to the growing problem of managing surface resources on claims and adjacent lands. This did not jeopardize the interests of legitimate miners, but it could prevent abuse of mining laws from spurious claims and interference with managing other national forest uses and resources. The American Mining Congress, representing the mining industry, agreed that it was time to face the problem, and a new law, the Mining Claim Rights Restoration Act, was passed in1 955.It separated surface rights from subsurface rights while permitting legitimate mineral exploration and mine operations. The law also withdrew the staking of mining claims to extract common-variety materials: sand, stone, gravel, common pumice, and cinders. These became "salable" District ranger examining mining claim found in a can nailed to a minerals subject to permits and sale under direct tree during a forest boundary survey in the Clear Creek area, national forest supervision. Boise National Forest, Idaho, 1955. Uses unrelated to mining were no longer permitted laws to obtain title to that timber. Other claims were on mining claims, nor could claimants remove used to control access to large bodies of merchant- timber except as needed to operate their claims. In able national forest timber or to develop summer addition, the1955Mining Act provided a procedure home sites. In many areas, the claimholder's pre- requiring the claimant, upon proper notice, to prove emptory right to surface resources often made his or her claim was valid. The national forests effective natural resources management difficult or promptly instituted a review process, guidelines, and impossible. a schedule to identify valid claims - a review that took 1 2 years to complete. Some 1 .2 million claims In the early postwar years, the national forest were identified, covering 24 million acres. Tens of resource manager's role in mining claims and thousands of dormant and abandoned claims were patents was largely reactive and limited to initiating eliminated. By 1967, national forest managers had protests against claims believed to be invalid and validated 1 3,371 claims, less than 2 percent, on the those where surface resources were being improp- basis of verified claimant statements. erly used. Mining claimants, to hold their claims, had to do a small amount of work on them each National forest managers reviewed hundreds of year and had the right to use surface resources, but occupancy applications on unpatented claims where only as needed for such work. claimants had become occupant-owner residents of valuable improvements. Qualified claim occupants

40 Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands:1 945to1970

those entitled to surface rights - received relief on maintaining water quality for established uses; through leases, special use permits, or purchase of providing both winter and summer recreational the occupied site or an alternate site, but this type of opportunities, including swimming, hiking, hunting, relief required that all rights to the unpatented and camping; and creating a pleasing appearance mining claim be reverted to the Government. Thus, (USDA Forest Service 1 970). These actions were at the age of frivolous national forest mineral claims the forefront of the mining industry's response to eventually came to an end (USDA Forest Service intensifying concerns about national forest 1956-1968). environments.

During the 1 950's and 1 960's, except for periodic But there also were more challenging situations. In spurts of uranium prospecting and a few high-value 1969, the American Smelting and Refining Company minerals, most national forests were not very active (ASARCO) located a major molybdenum deposit in in hardrock mineral or energy development. The the highly scenic and game-rich White Cloud Peaks principal, and largely sufficient, sources of domestic area on Idaho's Challis and Sawtooth National ores and energy were being located on private and Forests. ASARCO applied for a special use permit to BLM lands. The more remote, topographically build an 8-mile access road to its claim. It worked rough, and difficult to access national forests were closely with national forest managers to evaluate largely ignored with the notable exceptions of road access options for minimizing impacts on the nickel, cobalt, and uranium (Peterson 1983). area's sensitive scenery, ecology, and game resources. Nonetheless, ASARCO's proposed development During the cold war and missile-driven uranium became very controversial. Conservation interests boom, claimants filed about 5,000 claims per opposed the road proposal and argued that the month. In the late 1960's, renewed interest in pros- permit be denied due to threats to wildlife, water pecting for uranium, silver, copper, molybdenum, quality, and scenic values. They felt that protection and gold again prompted the staking of many of these resources outweighed the benefits from hundreds of claims on nationa' forests. The number mining a relatively abundant mineral (Wilkinson and of claims examined for compliance with mining Anderson 1985). laws rose to 4,000 per year, and surface rights were coordinated on 10,000 to 40,000 claims each year. In the public press, writers protested the rationale that gave mining top priority on a pristine 80-square- During the 1960's, as public interest in protecting mile national forest area that included 54 scenic natural resource conditions grew and the environ- mountain lakes and one of Idaho's few glaciers. mental cause emerged, some mining companies They urged that the White Cloud area be closed to began to introduce resource protection measures mining. Under the mining laws, national forests had into their national forest operations. For example, no regulations to control prospecting or to protect national forest managers and six major mining surface areas, water quality, fish, wildlife, timber, or companies cooperated to ensure environmental soil resources; they also lacked authority to deny protection in developing their leases on Missouri's access. Their authority was limited to regulating the Clark National Forest. By the terms of their leases, manner and route by which a road could be con- permits, and agreements, these companies took structed. National forest managers held three public action to control erosion, prevent stream pollution, meetings on the White Cloud issue, which then revegetate disturbed lands, and reduce harmful air became moot in 1970 when ASARCO, due to pol- emissions. In Colorado, the American Metal Claim itical sensitivity and a weak molybdenum market, Company (AMAX) cooperated with national forest withdrew its permit request and ceased further managers; the Colorado Game, Fish, and Parks development (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985). In Department; and the Colorado Open Space Foun- 1 972, Congress added the White Cloud area to the dation to plan and operate mining projects near a Sawtooth National Recreation Area, where mining well-known ski resort on the Arapaho National was permitted only under strict resource protection Forest. Environmental protection practices focused standards: the use of tracked vehicles and other

41 Chapter 3

moving equipment on this highly scenic area with each decade thereafter on a long-term, sustainable fragile soils and frail ecology susceptible to aesthetic basis. This calculation was based on the planned life damage was prohibited or restricted. The White (rotation age of the managed forest) of the existing Cloud issue illustrated how national forest authority old-growth timber inventory and the accretion from was limited to managing only surface resources on the estimated growth of any young timber in these claims filed under U.S. mining laws. It also illus- stands and expressed on an annual basis. trated the influence of environmental interests. During the postwar years, allowable cuts were sep- Using and Managing Timber Resources arate determinations in the national forest timber The military's demand for timber products abated management plans prepared each decade for some abruptly after 1 945, but rising domestic housing 400 working circles. Working circles basically repre- demands quickly absorbed wartime timber supplies sented the efficient national forest timber supply and more. Annual housing starts rose to 1 .5 million areas for the established local timber industry. per year by 1 950 and remained at that average level Working circle allowable cuts were summed up to until1 970. National forest timber supplies increased estimate the allowable cut for the whole forest. from 3.1 bbf in 1945 to 3.5 bbf in 1950. Between 1 945 and 1 950, even though demand for wood was Actual annual timber sale volumes generally lagged strong and rising, expansion of the national forest behind calculated allowable cuts because some timber harvest was dampened by the lack of timber markets were limited by industry's milling adequate roads. Road construction budgets were scarcely enough to maintain wartime harvest levels. In 1946, the Federal Housing Expediter eased this situation by allocating funds "to build 1,443 miles of access roads, and reconstruct 656 additional miles to develop a maximum contribution from national forests toward providing more lumber for veteran's housing" (USDA Forest Service 1945-1950).

Congressional eaders, administration officials, and national forest managers saw expanding national ir.1 forest softwood sawtimber harvests and producing high-quality wood products as performing a social service to the Nation. The softwood timber inventories of the Northeast and Lake States had been heavily depleted by the early 20th century. In the : South, supplies of large trees and high-quality timber were declining rapidly and the smaller second- growth trees were producing low-quality wood products. Southern softwood inventories were also declining as timber harvests continued to exceed the growth of younger stands (USDA Forest Service 1945-1 950). National forests, at this time, held half of the Nation's softwood timber inventory, primarily in mature and overmature stands in the West (Powell etal. 1992). :

In the West, the national forest allowable cut was the Forester measuring a 46-inch d.b.h. western white pine on a calculated timber volume that could be sold and timber-survey sample-tree measurement plot, Powell Ranger harvested in each year of the current decade and District, Clearwater National Forest, Idaho, 1951

42 Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands:1945to1970

capacity or the available timber harvest included year. Timber harvests reached9.4bbf in1960 species for which markets were limited or nonexis- 85percent of the allowable cut of 11.0 bbf (fig.6). tent a common situation in the Rocky Mountains. The decadal updating of inventories and manage- Lack of staff and funding to prepare timber sales and ment plans with more accurate and detailed data build access roads contributed to this lag. National permitted a steady rise in the calculated estimate of forest managers viewed the allowable cut estimates the sustainable allowable annual cut for the400 as an upper limit to the average annual and decadal national forest working circles. Such data included sales level while the western timber industry inter- new information on growth, reproduction stocking, preted them as lower limits for timber sales and protection, reforestation and stand improvement expected the full amount of the allowable cut esti- practices, access, wood utilization standards, and mate to be offered for sale throughout the1945to inventory levels. Changing technologies and 1970period. During the1940'sand1950's,and into improved timber inventory methods were especially the1960's,the industry widely held the view that important. They made intensive timber utilization national forest estimates of the full allowable cut more economical and timber inventories more were conservative compared to the sustainable har- accurate. These improvements continued to influ- vest potential. They continually pressured national ence yields and harvests through the1 960'sas the forest managers to raise allowable cut estimates. The total national forest allowable cut rose to12.9bbf in allowable cut, or the allowable sale quantity (ASQ) 1 969.In that year, the harvest rose to11 .9bbf - as it came to be called in the1980's,became a almost8.4bbf more than in1950 and to92per- persistent and divisive issue between the timber cent of the allowable cut (USDA Forest Service industry and the Forest Service (Cliff, no date). 1945-1970, 1984, 1993).

In1950,the allowable cut level for aH national Ninety percent of the increase in national forest forests was6.0bbf, but actual timber harvest vol- timber harvests came from the western old-growth. ume, due to lack of access, was limited to3.5bbf. The largest share came from Washington and As staffing and funding improved, road construction Oregon with41percent, northern California with and reconstruction accelerated from2,000miles per 20percent, and Idaho and Montana with1 5per- year in1950to4,700miles in1960.Timber sales cent. Small increases in the rest of the Rocky and harvests during the1950'srose almost every Mountain and Great Plains States forests added

(a) Timber Sold (b) Timber Harvested

16 16

12 12 a) a) U- U-

4/2:11

0 0 1950 1960 1970 1950 1960 1970 Year Year

Figure 6. National forest timber sold and harvested,1 950-1969 Source: USDA Forest Service.

43 Chapter 3

9 percent, Alaska had 5 percent, and the remaining 10 percent came from the eastern and southern national forests (USDA Forest Service - 1993).

In the East, national forests focused on rehabilitating the I heavily cutover, often burned- over acquired forests and p reforesting abandoned farm croplands and fields. Planted forests were still too young to be harvested for sawtimber. To rebuild growing stocks and sawtimber inventories in the rehabilitating forests, only half of the growth was being harvested. Thus, average annual timber sales and harvests of the southern and eastern forests were limited to about half of Clearcutting by staggered settings in old-growth on the Willamette National Forest, Oregon, their sustainable allowable 1953. cut levels. and South. Softwood lumber production in the South During the late 1 940's and 1 950's, national forest had dropped from 10 bbf in 1940 to less than 6 bbf timber supplies in the Douglas-fir areas of western in the early 1 960's and 7 bbf in 1 970. In the New Oregon and Washington offset the timber harvest England, Mid-Atlantic, and Lake States, softwood decline on private lands. As a result, the total har- lumber production declined by 1bbf in the same vest in western Oregon and Washington during the period. The huge old-growth reserves of the western 1950's remained relatively stable at an average national forests provided 20 years of reduced market annual level of 1 0.9 bbf, while the harvest share pressure on the declining softwood sawtimber stocks from Federal lands rose from 25 to 37 percent. Some on industrial and other private forest lands in the lumber mills, however, went out of business for lack East and South. This respite in sawtimber harvests in of logs, as the larger and higher quality logs were the eastern United States helped to increase the rate increasingly used for plywood by an expanding soft- of regrowth and buildup of softwood timber stocks, wood plywood industry. Many lumber mills short of particularly in the Southeast and Northeast, which timber supplies shifted their operations to northern became important sources of increased sawtimber California, Idaho or Montana, and Canada, where supplies during the 1970's (Ulrich 1989; Wheeler available public timber supplies helped expand jobs 1969; Row 1962). and community growth (Fedkiw 1964; USDA Forest Service 1 993). Sustained-Yield Units and Long-term Timber Supply Contracts Nationally, the rising western national forest harvest Up through the 1 940's, national forest managers offset large declines in softwood sawtimber harvests used sustained-yield units and long-term timber and lumber production in the younger, much cut- supply contracts to advance community develop- over, and declining private inventories in the East ment and stability and to develop young, managed

44 Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands:1 945to1970

forests. The Sustained Yield Forest Management Act 1 980's,as its dependence on national forest timber of1 944,passed largely through the efforts of the declined to zero. Simpson's timber needs are now Western Forestry and Conservation Association and being supplied by the regrowth on company lands, with the support of timber companies in need of but the formal contractual dependency on national new log supply sources, authorized the Secretary of forest timber remains a valid agreement. Agriculture to establish cooperative and Federal sustained-yield units on national forests. The Act was Just five Federal sustained-yield units were ever designed to promote forest industry, employment, established. They reserved a total1 .7million acres and community stability where sustained-yield units of national forest timber lands in Arizona, California, could ensure a stable and continuous timber supply. New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. These units By 1 945,national forests in seven regions had essentially guaranteed a sustained timber supply to identified64potential opportunities for cooperative local mills located in small communities dependent sustained-yield units and more than61opportunities on the timber industry. Each, however, became a for Federal sustained-yield units, and had applica- continual source of complaints and frustration to tions for60cooperative units and1 6Federal units national forest managers (Clary1986).All units are (Clary1986). still in existence, except the one in Flagstaff, Arizona, which was developed in1 948to support two saw- Sustained-yield units could be established on mills. In1980,the Coconino National Forest shut national forests where community stability depended this unit down when the surviving mill had grown on Federal forest timber supplies and where such strong enough economically to operate without the supplies could not be assured through the usual preferential supply of a sustained-yield unit (Clary timber sale bidding procedure. The sustained-yield 1986). unit was designed to supply the timber needs of such communities on a sustainable basis without com- In the face of strong opposition from many segments petitive bidding, but at prices not less than the of the timber industry, conservation groups, orga- appraised value of the timber. A cooperative unit nized labor, civic organizations, and communities, was an agreement between an industrial or other national forest efforts to advance community stability private timber landowner and the national forest to through sustained-yield units faded in the1950's. establish and manage a unit made up of both private One of the outgrowths of the retrenchment was the and national forest timberlands. AFederalunit development of oral timber sale bidding in the contained only national forest timberlands. Pacific Northwest. Oral bids gave local timber firms an opportunity to meet "outside" competition and Only one cooperative unit was ever established thus support community stability (Leonard1995). the Shelton Cooperative Sustained-Yield Unit on the State of Washington's Olympic National Forest, National forests offered long-term timber sale established in1947through a 100-year agreement contracts to encourage the development of the pulp with the Simpson Logging Company. The unit in- and paper industry. In1950,a public auction of cluded 110,000 acres of virgin national forest old- 4.5million cords of pulpwood on four Colorado growth and1 59,000acres of Simpson's second- forests culminated years of effort to develop a market growth and regenerating forests. This cooperative for the Engelmann spruce timber that dominated the arrangement provided the Simpson Company a sus- mountain slopes of the upper Colorado. The sale tainable timber supply of90million board feet per required erection of a pulp mill with a capacity of year. Without this cooperative arrangement, the 200to250tons daily and would keep that mill Simpson harvest would have been50percent lower, supplied for 30 years. Since two-thirds of the sale mills would have closed, and1,400people in the area timber was dead - killed by tiny sprucebeetles local communities of Shelton and McCleary would the sale also became a gigantic salvage project. have lost jobs (Clary1 986;Steen1 976).The In the high mountains, short summers and low Simpson unit was effectively phased out in the humidity kept the beetle-killed timber in usable condition for pulpwood for many years.

45 Chapter 3

In 1 958, Alaska's Tongass National Forest awarded a that may be cut from the national forest lands within long-term pulpwood sale of 1 .5 billion cubic feet to the unit by years or other periods"; and be reviewed the Ketchikan Pulp and Paper Company. This culmi- and approved by the Chief of the Forest Service nated three decades of effort to bring a pulp and (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985). paper industry to southeast Alaska. The sale required construction of a 300-ton capacity mill that would Central control and consistency for all timber employ 800 people, and would supply that mill with management plans among the national forests was 50 years of pulpwood. There were three additional ensured by the Washington Office review and long-term sale contracts; two have been canceled approval process (Leonard 1995). From Pinchot (the latest, Alaska Pulp Corporation in 1993), and a times, three basic procedural steps have been used third, the Pacific Northern Sale, was modified to a in timber management planning: determining the 25-year contract when pulp mill construction land that was suitable for harvest (the commercial became infeasible. The 25-year contract was com- forest land); calculating the amount of timber that pleted in the 1980's by the Alaska Lumber and Pulp could be sold from the suitable land base on a sus- Company (now Alaska Pulp Corporation) (Leonard tained basis; and deciding the appropriate methods 1995). Only one long-term contract, Ketch ikan for harvesting and regenerating that timber Pulp's, remains operational but under revised (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985). terms and reduced volume. These were among the last long-term timber sale contracts that national Commercial forest land (CFL) included all areas forests granted. capable of growing at least 20 cubic feet of commercial wood per acre per year in soil conditions, Timber Management Planning Until the late 1970's, there were very few and only rudimentary national guidelines for overall national forest management planning. Official regulations, focused primarily on timber management, had only six specific requirements. They were to aid in providing a continuous supply of national forest timber; be based on the principle of sustained yield; provide an even flow of timber to help stabilize communities and local employment; help coordinate timber production and harvesting with other national forest lands and uses in accordance with principles for managing multiple uses; establish the allowable Winberry sale unit, Willamette National Forest, Oregon, clearcut in 1951, showing advanced harvest rate at "the regeneration and brush in 1957 after 1953 replanting. Brush provides wildlife habitat and forage maximum amount of timber until shaded out by new tree crop.

46 Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands: 1945 to 1970

terrain, and locations where logging would not be natural" management in certain zones of California's too costly. CFL excluded lands withdrawn for wilder- Sequoia National Forest, the Chief of the Forest ness, administrative sites, or other purposes. In 1952, Service called for a certain amount of harvesting in CFL made up 94.7 million acres more than half of some scenic areas. He felt that maintaining all parts the National Forest System. By 1962, there were of every scenic area in a near-natural condition in 96.8 million acres. CFL acres declined thereafter as this case, the establishment of virtually unmanaged new wilderness areas were designated by Congress. areas of up to 1 00,000 acres was impracticable (Clary 1986). The Forest Service issued new national National timber management guidelines gave direction that required allowable cut levels for national forest managers a great deal of flexibility landscape management areas to be determined and discretion and placed responsibility for planning separately and used only where there was assurance and carrying out plans at the national forest and that the forest and industry could protect the desired ranger district levels. Some latitude in national features and attractions of landscape areas. direction was desirable and necessary to enable district rangers to deal more effectively with local In the mid-i 950's, during the planning for the forest timber type variations and conditions and Quilcene watershed on Washington's Olympic other national forest resources and uses (Wilkinson National Forest, the city of Port Townsend was con- and Anderson 1985). The pressure to harvest timber cerned about timber harvesting and management in in areas reserved for recreation, landscape aesthet- its municipal water supply source. National forest cs, and watersheds led to more specific guidelines. managers assured the city that the Forest would For example, in rejecting a 1962 plan for "near "propose nothing in the way of management that would adversely affect the amount and purity of the water supply." The watershed was part of the Quilcene working circle, and more than half of the watershed supported mature and merchantable timber. The Forest wanted to begin harvesting as soon as possible so that average annual harvest would be smaller (it would be spread out over a greater number of years). The harvest plan stipulated that the timber harvest would be limited to the watershed's sustainable yield of 9.5 million board : feet per year; clearcuts would be limited to 30 acres t or less (compared to a maximum of 80 acres); each 7: f clearcut patch would be reforested soon after slash disposal; and national forest managers would care- r fully select logging practices to protect watershed conditions (Clary 1986).

1961 National Development Program ' for National Forests In1 961, President Kennedy, on behalf of the Forest Service, transmitted a long-term "Development Pro- gram for National Forests" to Congress, in which it was determined that the long-term sustainable harvest of national forests under intensive management would be 21.1 bbf by the year 2000. This included Winberry sale unit, Willamette National Forest, Oregon, in 1972, showing 20-year regrowth of Douglas-fir planting following an intermediate goal of 1 3 bbf by 1972 (USDA clearcut in 1951. Planted trees are more than 20 feet tall and Forest Service 1961 a; Clary 1986). The goals, how- brush is suppressed. ever, were never realized. Timber sales and harvests

47 Chapter 3

averaged less than 1 2 bbf through the 1 960's, 1 9 70's, and 1980's.

Nevertheless, national forests were seen to play an important role in the Nation's timber supply and

economy, particularly in . .;. - ..: .11 '. - the housing sector. The '-.:: . f4.. harvesting of old-growth - ,- -. '.' .' ....,4.. timber, which was often I V. decadent or deteriorating, was also viewed as a :$ positive factor. Such ... harvests replaced mature '. and overmature western 'l coniferous forests that had little or no net growth with .47 fast-growing young timber :; stands (Clary 1986; USDA 'S. Forest Service 1945-1 970). Reforestation and clearcutting. A 1 5-year-old Douglas-fir plantation well-established following a 1950 clearcut, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington, 1955. In the background, a more recent clearcut area with mature timber on either side. Preparation of Timber Management Plans Forest supervisors and their timber staffs, working post-World War II period. Although road access to with district rangers, prepared timber management all parts of the National Forest System was needed to plans, although in the major timber-producing administer, protect, use, and manage the national regions a significant amount of technical work was forests efficiently, timber management to develop centralized in the regional offices - from the taking vigorous young forests and achieve the full allow- of timber inventories to the calculation of allowable able cut became a strong focus for the rapid devel- annual cuts. The Washington Office Timber Staff opment of the road system. Timber harvests became reviewed timber management plans throughout the the principal basis for financing, justifying, and 1945 to 1970 period. Often, allowable cuts were accelerating the construction of almost all local increased above pre-war levels to reflect updated logging and collector roads, and many mainline inventory and regeneration data, improved harvest access roads. Road system development also methods and equipment, shorter rotations, and allowed the use and management of national forests higher utilization standards. National forest timber for other purposes, especially outdoor recreation, management plans "that did not calculate timber so wildlife, and fisheries. as to permit the greatest annual allowable cut were returned to the regions for revision" (Clary 1986). An average of 22,000 timber sales per year took The final approval for national forest timber man- place during the 1950's; in the 1960's, the average agement plans rested with the Chief of the Forest was 24,000. More than 90 percent were very small Service. sales to small local timber operators and other users, generally less than 100,000 board feet and under The Role of Road Development in $1,000 or $2,000 per sale. About 1,000 sales per Timber Resource Management year involved 100,000 to 1 million board feet to Developing and maintaining the national forest somewhat larger operators. The bulk of the annual road system was a primary priority throughout the timber sale volume, however, was sold through

48 49 as 200,000 miles. 1945 was about 100,000 covered larger harvest areas covered larger harvest the and likewise extended road system to previously unroaded areas. forest Although the national initially road system was and developed to reach extract national forest as the timber, it was seen key to opening up the national forests for hunters, anglers, hikers, other recreation interests, and other users The total permanent road system in miles. By 1970, it was nearly Arterial and collector roads were engineered to Government standards and constructed by the Forest Service or the timber operator as a timber sale requirement. Temporary L

'-' 1 -, 1 I 1 I logging costs. However, many of these spurs were logging costs. However, many of these Between 1950 and 1970, timber operators built 70 1970. Roads built by the Forest Service increased Between 1949 and 1951, repeated hurricane-force Idaho and Montana. National forest managers reori- spurs were built by timber operators and treated as spurs were built by timber operators engineers built on lines staked by national forest be needed. where future permanent roads would Maintenance or reconstruction in later years would add these roads to the permanent road system. to 90 percent of the annual road miles constructed or reconstructed. The annual mileage built by timber operators rose from 1,500 miles in the early 1950's to 3,800 miles in 1960 and over 6,000 miles by from 500 miles in 1950 to 850 in 1960 and 1,100 miles by 1970. Access To Respond to Natural Disasters storms blew down timber over wide areas of western Oregon, northern Idaho, and western Montana much as 8 bbf in Oregon and a half-billion more in - -' - - ,-, -- -S I I .1 w II million to 20 million Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands: 1945 to 1970 Demands: 1945 National the Face of Unprecedented Multiple Uses in Managing 1 I I - ¶ 1_-L P U!r I .. - -' ______

- I -_-mA. - another 1,000 or so sales of 1 naturally seeded by surrounding timber, artificially between, limited the logging disturbance to a rela- Residual ponderosa and sugar pines left as seed source after logging, Umpqua National Forest, Residual ponderosa and sugar pines left as later, after the unit has been restocked. Oregon, 1953. Residual trees will be harvested large-size timber board feet or more to medium- and they required in developing the access road system; primary road system to major drainages or large land mary roads and reach smaller drainages and blocks lower standard roads to reach specific timber sales. To extend the road system into previously undeveloped areas, timber sales scheduled many widely spaced timber harvest units. This approach encouraged smaller units that could be harvested and seeded, or planted. Such units, with "no cut" areas tively small portion of the total timber sale area. The selection harvest system, often used for ponderosa pine, removed only a few trees per acre. Such sales operators. These large sales were an important tool operators. These large sales were three types of roads: arterial (mainline) roads, the areas; collector (lateral) roads, to feed into the pri- of land; and local roads (logging spurs), temporary, - Chapter 3

ented timber sales and road plans as soon as possi- p ble to salvage the heaviest concentrations of dead and damaged trees. F. With major outbreaks of Engelmann spruce and Douglas-fir beetles in Idaho, Montana, and Oregon in 1952, the emergency efforts shifted to harvest the newly infested timber as soon as possible. A decade *4! later, in 1962, the Columbus Day storm again caused similar widespread timber damage in Wash- - .; ington and Oregon. Redirected timber sales and road construction enabled salvage of 1 .4 bbf of H9 national forest blowdown timber by 1964 (USDA Forest Service 1949, 1953, 1964-1965).

Reforestation and Stand Improvement Before World War Il,1 .2 million acres of deforested land had been planted or seeded, and an unknown amount had received timber-stand improvement cuts, weeding, thinning, or pruning. During World War II, these activities were largely suspended. By 1946, some 3.2 million acres of CFL needed reforestation and 3.8 million acres needed some type of timber-stand improvement.

Such work was reactivated in 1946, but it was limited to sale areas where timber operators paid for Ponderosa pine seed orchards, Hackamore area, Modoc National reforestation and post-harvest stand treatments. In Forest, California. Forest worker installing metal bands to prevent that year, 27,600 acres were planted or seeded. chipmunks from climbing trees to ha rvest pine cones and eat the Reforestation had doubled to 56,000 acres by 1 955, seeds. accelerated to 200,000 acres in 1962, and stabilized at about 260,000 acres per year in the late 1960's. seed orchards were under development on 1 ,763 This trend reflected the rising national forest timber acres. The number of seed orchards and their area harvest level, primarily clearcutting, and a shift away continued to expand seed production during the from natural regeneration to planned reforestation. balance of the postwar period. About 50,000 acres per year were being naturally regenerated in the 1 960's. Success was improved by The quality of regeneration management improved brush removal and scarifying the soil surface to throughout this period. In 1962, the Forest Service expose mineral soil. established the position of certified silviculturist on national forests and upgraded it to the level of senior National forest tree nurseries were reactivated after timber sale positions. Forest Service research com- the war. In 1950, 13 nurseries produced 45 million pleted studies that improved regeneration methods, seedlings. This rose to 88 million in 1955 and seed orchards, seed production, seed and tree 137 million in 1960, then stabilized at 100 million quality, and nursery management and production. to 120 million seedlings per year. Superior seed production areas, seed orchards, and hybrid pro- Weeding, precommercial thinning, and sanitation duction were developed in the late 1950's. By 1963, cuts to remove both excess and poor-quality trees national forests had 13 superior forest tree seed increased from about 250,000 acres per year in the production areas on 10,069 acres, and 28 forest tree early 1 95 0's to more than 500,000 acres per year

50 51 1970 to 1945 1967). elevated the 1967, 1978). Wilson 1 947 1985; provided any clear or 1 960's District plans did not withdraw CFL from timber District plans did not withdraw CFL and other landscapes, water quality, recreation, created other Resource planning for nontimber uses it became apparent that neither the functional resource plans of the earlier years nor the multiple- Insed and Disease Management national priority of and strengthened the Federal Forestry Association, who often saw insects and among the regions. -rhe general forest zone was among the regions. areas were not zoned because usually CFL. Wildlife all zones. All regions required the wildlife occupied influence, and dedicated-area water influence, travel guides, however, did not give any zones. Regional combination or pattern of uses direction on the use the public's needs within the that would best meet use combinations or patterns regions nor how the Multiple uses actually were should be determined. on the ground through coordinated incrementally within each management decisions and practices emerged, site land-use zone as the demand for uses by site and year by year (Wilson prepared district In the second stage, district rangers entire district multiple-use plans that classified their used to de- into land-use zones. These plans were should take place. cide where management activities protection of production; rather, they directed the Timber plan- resources within the land-use zones. timber harvest ners were required to ensure that zone values. plans would protect other designated reducing the Sometimes this direction required practices. allowable cut or modifying management planners difficulties. For example, wildlife resource a general forest would often categorize CFL within for adapta- zone as elk winter range, which called Thus, tion of timber harvests and management. wildlife management under the multiple-use plans was essentially a matter of coordination with other uses rather than a matter of separate zoning. In time, use plans of the uniform guidelines for coordinating multiple uses (Wilkinson and Anderson The Forest Pest Control Act of Government's leadership and funding in pest control. Forest industry groups and the American diseases as generally more destructive to commercial timber stands than forest fires, strongly influenced this legislation. The new policy recognized

300,000 ___I. fI Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands: National the Face of Unprecedented Multiple Uses in Managing As thinning costs rose As thinning costs USE 1963. Other activities were animal damage Other activities were and iJ\P 1955 1 970. Foresters on Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina, discussing multiple-use plan for the Pisgah Ranger District, 1963. Planning for Multiple Uses Under the MUSY Act two-stage process under the MUSY Act established a regional Such zones were defined in the first-stage gave broad multiple-use planning guides. They water influ- zones for recreation, travel influence, forest, and ence, landscape, grassland, general natural formally dedicated areas such as research somewhat areas and wilderness. The zones varied protect longleaf pine from brown-spot disease, to protect longleaf pine brush competition, and to prepare reduce understory 1946-1970). The initial planning for managing multiple uses The initial planning for managing land-use zones. for classifying national forests into and managing direction for establishing, planning, between activities declined to significantly, these acres in to exclude deer, on about control, mainly fencing year, and rodent control on 200,000 acres per acres. Prescribed burns several hundred thousand used, especially in the South, to were increasingly seeding (USDA Forest Service the ground for natural Chapter 3

that the key to cost-effective pest management was coordinated control of pest infestations on all land ownerships and authorized Federal technical and financial assistance to States and private landowners. 0I The Act, which was initially administered by the Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Entomology, placed heavy emphasis on surveys and early detection of forest pest outbreaks. In 1953, the Secretary of Agriculture transferred the administration of the USDA forest insect and disease research and control programs to the Forest Service. Throughout the post- World War II period, following the 1947 policy direction, national forest managers coordinated insect and disease control with State and private landowners through technical and financial assistance for detection, evaluation, and control of insects and diseases on all ownerships. This multi- jurisdictional and multi-ownership approach approximated an ecosystem-wide approach and contributed significantly to the effectiveness of pest management (Worrall 1 994). : The National Forest System's emphasis on insect and disease management and control accelerated rapidly after World War II partly in response to more Ranger chopping bark of mature ponderosa pine to check for bark beetle infestation on Panguitch Lake District, Dixie National frequent spruce budworm and bark beetle attacks in Forest, Utah, 1953. the mature and overmature western national forests. It was also influenced by the low cost and high effectiveness of DDT and aerial spraying on spruce From 1958 to 1969, some 700,000 to 1.2 million budworm in aging true fir, Douglas-fir, and spruce felled trees, stumps, and cull logs were debarked, forests. burned, or treated with chemical emulsion bark sprays annually to control bark beetles. The strategy Insect Suppression was to suppress initial outbreaks while they were By 1 960, national forest managers and pest control small and less costly to control. However, epidemic experts were conducting insect suppression projects outbreaks were frequent in the 25-year post-i 945 on 80 national forests per year. Such projects in- period. Epidemics often followed major windstorms volved 1 0 to 1 6 species of bark beetle, 6 to 8 defo- that damaged mature and aging timber. Commercial liators, and a half a dozen or more other insects. salvage operations quickly removed damaged and Bark beetles continued to be the most destructive weakened trees that were highly susceptible to insects in the pine, Douglas-fir, and spruce forests of beetle attack, so they became an important tool in the West. Periodically, they were also very damaging containing outbreaks and limiting the spread of to southern pines. Annually, four species of bark beetles to healthy timber. beetles the mountain pine, western pine, Engel- mann spruce, and southern pine beetles caused Spruce budworm was the most destructive defoli- the most damage. Bark beetle suppression projects ator. It attacked Douglas-fir, true firs, and spruce were the largest and most costly insect control stands on western national forests and spruce and fir efforts. stands in the Lake States. Immediately after World

52 Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands: 1945 to 1970

War II, spruce budworm and other defoliators were Treatments for insects other than bark beetles and sprayed with DDT. National forest managers learned defoliators were limited to very small acreages. The that DDT was less toxic than compounds previously total area annually treated for such insects varied used to suppress defoliators and had a very low cost from 200 acres in 1954 to 25,000 in 1964, and (less than $1 .00 per acre after 1958). In 1963, the averaged 6,000 acres a year for the entire National total area sprayed for defoliators reached a peak of Forest System. 1 .2 million acres and averaged 600,000 acres per year from 1957 to 1965. DiseaseControl After World War II, white pine blister rust control National forests used DDT liberally in this period efforts were renewed. Although there were questions about the cost-effectiveness of the Ribes eradication, (USDA Forest Service 1945-1 970). Although early studies indicated some environmental sensitivity to studies on previously completed eradications were reporting favorable results. White pine blister rust DDT, the Forest Service cooperated with the Federal Council on Insect Control and Federal and State control continued to be the largest national forest disease control effort by far. Some 3.5 million acres wildlife agencies to reduce possible adverse effects of national forest white pine and sugar pine lands (USDA Forest Service 1959). were designated for Ribes eradication. They involved 30 national forests in the West and the Lake In 1962, because of perceived damaging impacts of States (now the Eastern Region) (Benedict 1981). pesticides on some wildlife, Rachel Carson, in her book Silent Spring, raised serious challenges to the In1 949, Forest Service research experimented with use of chemical pesticides, particularly DDT. Silent applying the chemical Actidion on tree boles of Spring, a subsequent report by President Kennedy's infected trees to kill the blister rust fungus. By 1957, Science Advisory Committee, and reports from other this experimental procedure was being applied to information sources on pesticide hazards quickly infected trees on national forests. An antibiotic foliar contributed to grave public concerns about pesticide spray, Phytoactin, was tested in 1958 and sprayed use. In 1963, more people observed aerial spray pro- from ground equipment and helicopters between jects on national forests and other lands and partici- 1959 and 1965. More than 500,000 acres were pated in monitoring than ever before in the history of treated from the air and an additional 1 .5 million forest insect control. Despite this intense scrutiny, acres from the ground. However, the use of these there were no reports of discernible pesticide treatments was terminated in 1965 and 1966, as damage to fish, wildlife, or other national forest evaluations determined these antibiotics were not resources. effective (Benedict 1981).

Nevertheless, the use of DDT on national forests was Genetic testing, begun in the 1940's produced a first greatly reduced in the latter 1960's, partly because generation of rust-resistant western white pine seed- of fewer defoliator outbreaks and partly because of lings in 1957. By 1966, scientists were able to show restrictions on pesticide use. The national forest area that second-generation progenies had a 66-percent treated with pesticides to suppress defoliators survival rate. Western white pine seed orchards to dropped from 1 .7 million acres in1 963 to 800,000 develop rust-resistant tree seeds and seedlings were acres in 1965, then fell sharply to 72,000 acres in eventually planted in Idaho in the early 1970's. A 1966 and 14,000 acres in 1969 as use restrictions similar project to develop rust-resistant sugar pines were tightened. At the same time, national forest was initiated in California in 1957 (Benedict 1981). managers mounted aggressive screening and testing activities to find nonpersistent pesticides that were During the mid-i 960's, continuing evaluations of acceptable alternatives to DDT. Biological control Ribes eradication in western white pine areas of methods and silvicultural practices were also Idaho, Montana, and Washington found that the rust expanded and used to minimize insect outbreaks was reinfecting young stands in protected areas at an and damage. average rate of 3 percent per year. It would not be

53 4 ,-. .'

-.. . larger fires without using parachutes, and using air- larger fires without Protedion From Forest Fires Protedion From national forest managers respon- After World War II, control turned to more effective sible for forest fire technology and the expanding use of the growing forest fire losses and dam- road network to reduce expanding smokejumper crews age. This included fires in remote mountain areas, for rapid access to to move people and equipment to using helicopters and fire retardants on fires. The craft to drop water firefighting organ- effectiveness and striking power of use of new izations was raised through increased equipment and improved mechanical firefighting to reduce the need and expansion of the road system communications for large firefighting forces. Radio effectiveness of were improved and expanded. The among logistics, communications, and coordination highly destructive States, and industry on large and training and behavior for more effective firefighter methods were attack techniques with ground-attack rating sys- improved. A uniform national fire danger firefighting forces of Federal and military agencies, firefighting forces of Federal and military of fire fires was increased. Technical knowledge new air- generalship and strategies for coordinating California, October 1958. Air tanker dropping borate s/urn,' at the head of the Monrovia fire, Angeles National Forest, Air tanker dropping borate s/urn,' at the head of the Monrovia fire, Angeles National In 1959, four western national forest regions pilot In 1959, four western national forest merchantable size. When compared to its benefits, merchantable size. white-fir, western larch, and meantime, Douglas-fir, to curtail Ribes eradication in managers decided and Montana. Elsewhere, where Idaho, Washington, was still considered effective, it Ribes eradication Ribes. 1 960's, only 1 5 forests were eradicating Chapter 3 Oak wilt, another introduced fungal disease, Oak wilt, another introduced fungal emerged as a new disease problem in the East in the 1950's. It was limited to five national forests in the Mountains. Because the disease posed an unknown elm disease and chestnut blight, to the widespread, searched out in wide- reaching surveys. In the 1969 less than 100 were removed, and those were limited to the Monongahela National Forest in West tested silvicultural control of dwarf mistletoe, a tested silvicultural control of dwarf control parasitic disease of conifers, to evaluate in infected methods, costs, and operational problems lodgepole pine ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, and a stands. During the 1960's, they implemented 25,000 acres control program that treated about mature trees were annually in those regions. Infected the infected harvested or otherwise removed, and trees. branches were pruned from younger economically feasible to bring such young stands to economically feasible Ribes was excessive. In the the cost of eradicating in relative value to western cedar had increased northern Rocky Mountains and white pine in the markets. Therefore, national forest were finding good By the late was continued on a cautious basis. 54 Appalachian and Ozark threat, analogous to Dutch valuable oak species and forests, it was aggressively early 1960's, the infected trees removed from national forests numbered less than 200 per year; in 1968 and Virginia (USDA Forest Service 1 945-1 970). Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands: 1945 to 1970

terrns of tirnber killed and other resources darnaged, in rnany years. A billion board feet of sawtimber and 1 00,000 acres of young stands were damaged or destroyed. These fires also darnaged watersheds in the Southwest and California. Heavy rainfall on sorne of the burned areas caused t severe flash flooding.

The year 1 967 was similar to 1951. Washington, I Oregon, Montana, and Idaho had the warrnest and driest surnmer since 1910, when 2.8 million acres burned in Montana and Fighting wildfire with hand tools on the Hanover fire line, Nez Perce National Forest, Idaho, Idaho alone. Despite sus- August 1967. The lightning-caused fire eventually burned 2,450 acres. tained critical forest fire conditions, fire damage was limited to 208,000 acres. tern was developed for rnore accurate prediction and Resource losses were similarly limited. This success comparison of fire situations. Clothing and protective was attributed to modernized fire control capability equiprnent for firefighter safety were also irnproved. and strong interagency cooperation. Sorne 15,000 firefighters, including organized crews of American The average annual burn on national forests was Indians, Hispanic-Americans, farrnworkers, loggers, reduced to 200,000 acres per year barely and BLM Alaska Native crews were rnobilized. one-tenth of one percent of the total national forest Foresters were drawn from every part of the Nation area. By 1951, the total strength of the short-terrn to supervise firefighting. Smokejumpers attacked a firefighting force was reduced to 6,000, cornpared to record nurnber of fires with more than 4,000 jumps. rnore than 1 3,000 in 1940, at the time of the CCC, The National Guard, the Army Reserve, and the U.S. and 9,300 in 1 945, after the CCC. Army and Air Force provided additional firefighters and equipment. The Forest Service employed The nurnber of fires controlled annually on national hundreds of aircraft and bulldozers and rnassive forests varied from 7,000 to 1 3,000, and averaged amounts of support equipment and marshaled 11,000 per year. Lightning caused a consistent supplies, feeding facilities, and other support for 55 percent of the total fires mostly in the West. firefighters. More effective fire attack and control Given the quadrupling of the timber harvest and plans were made possible by recently adopted even greater increases in the use of the national airborne infrared fire rnapping technology that could forests by recreationists, this performance was an 11see" the fires through smoke and darkness. extraordinary achievernent. However, there were a few bad years. In 1951, rnore than 510,000 acres Fuel Management Activities burned. Severe drought in the Southwest and Cali- Fire control managers were also responsible for dis- fornia and the driest fire season since 1922 in west- posing fuels from timber harvests, road rights-of-way, ern Washington and Oregon contributed to one of and thinning. They burned fuels when moisture con- the worst national forest fire seasons, measured in ditions minimized the risk of spread to green tirnber

55 Chapter 3

and atmospheric conditions dissipated smoke If the Forest Servicewereto adopt the policy quickly. Firefighting equipment such as bulldozers, of burning off the ridges in the early spring, this would eliminate in great measure the possibility water tankers, and pumps were often kept on stand- of fire spreading over any great area, and would by to minimize losses in case a burn escaped to give the fire fighter unmeasurable advantage green timber. Any such escapes were suppressed as (McLean 1993). forest fires. In the late 1 960's, 300,000 acres or more were being burned annually, although by 1961 chip- In the late 1960's, western national forests began ping, chopping, and other alternatives to burning to apply prescribed burns to limited areas, up to were being used. The latter alternatives did not 50,000 acres per year. About 1,000 miles of fuel create smoke or impair visibility, which began to be and firebreaks were also being put in place. Progress seen as environmental concerns in some areas in the was slow, but by 1 969 it was evident thatwhere fires late 1960's. had originated or burned into fuel-treated areas, both suppression costs and damage were signifi- Flammable vegetation was being removed from cantly lower (USDA Forest Service 1968-1 970). about 1,000 miles of roadside each year to minimize the threat of forest fires caused by passing motorists. Managing Recreation Uses and Resources Fire-hazardous snags were being felled on 500,000 Postwar recreation visits to national forests each acres per year to reduce the incidence and spread of single entry by a person equated to a visit literally lightning fires. Eventually, in the late 1970's, a num- exploded when wartime gas rationing and other ber of selected snags per acre were being left to pro- restrictions ended. Visits rose from 18 million in vide habitat for cavity-nesting birds and wildlife. 1946 to 46 million in 1955 and 132 million in 1964 Prescribed fires were being used in carefully selec- (fig. 7). In 1965, Federal agencies adopted a uniform ted situations to improve forage production, timber unit for measuring recreation activity on Federal crops, and wildlife habitat on about 300,000 acres lands the recreation visitor day (RVD), 1 2 hours per year. of onsite use by one or more persons. Recreation use continued to rise, to 173 million RVD's in 1970 Initiation of Fuel Management an average increase of 2.7 percent per year com-- In the 1960's, national forest managers began to pared with a population growth rate of 1 .1 percent recognize that controlling forest fires to protect (fig. 8). resources, regeneration investments, and other improvements, and to reduce risks to users, was Human populations shifting to the West and South- leading to another problem the buildup of woody west accelerated use pressures on western national forest debris, which created a potential for major forest lands and resources, particularly on forests fires in certain forests, particularly during drought near highly urbanizing areas and growing cities. years. In the past, periodic wildfires under natural Increasing affluence, leisure time, and high-tech conditions and fires started by Native Americans in equipment, and the use of offroad vehicles and presettlement times had been nature's way of avoid- boats, dramatically influenced the way Americans ing woody debris accumulations. Prescribed fires recreated. Although the CCC had effectively controlled burns set at times and under conditions equipped many national forests with good-quality that ensured slow, low-intensity burns that would recreation facilities, the burgeoning use soon out- consume the accumulated fuels with minimum dam- grew the 20-year-old public facilities andpressed age to the forest itself became one remedy. The into the less-developed lands and resources that earliest reference to prescribed burning as a forest were made accessible to recreation visitors bythe fuel management tool on national forests appeared expanding road system. The road system grew from in the Quincy, California, Feather River Bulletin. It 100,000 miles in 1945 to nearly 200,000 miles in related to conditions on the Plumas National Forest 1970 and opened up access to new opportunities for in 1918: recreation experiences.

56 Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands: 1 945 to 1970

The rapid rebound of recreation visits after World War II made recreation management a race to 400 catch up and keep abreast of the growing use. Although recreation visits had declined by 50 per- 350 cent during the war, many areas near population centers had been used continuously. In the absence 300

250

200 200

150 150 1965 1975 1985 1995 Year 100 Figure 8. Outdoor recreation visitor use of national 50 forests, 1965-1994 Source: USDA Forest Service.

1925 1935 1945 1955 1965 Year source of winter sports expansion. From 1952 to 1959, the number of recreation visits to national Figure 7. Outdoor recreation visitor use of national forest winter sports facilities more than doubled, forests, 1 9 25-1 964 growing from 1 .9 million to 4.2 million. The Source: USDA Forest Service. exploding participation in winter sports also required national forests to find ways to ensure the safety of large numbers of people in high-country winter of maintenance during the war years, many facilities conditions. Avalanche control to protect winter and areas had deteriorated and needed sports enthusiasts became an important need and rehabilitation. Thus, restoring impacted recreation difficult challenge on many forests. environments and upgrading, repairing, and rebuilding latrines, water systems, fireplaces, A 5-year issue over developing a part of the San shelters, bathhouses, parking areas, and other Gorgonio Primitive Area on Southern California's facilities became an immediate priority after the war San Bernardino National Forest as a ski area illus- trates the pressure for winter sports development on All national forests were planning new recreation national forests. In 1947, following public hearings, areas or expanding existing facilities to relieve over- national forest managers decided that the San use at many sites and to serve the rapid growth of Gorgonlo watershed's values were best protected by recreation use. New recreation areas and sites were keeping the proposed ski area in permanent wilder- often planned and located where the buildup of ness, but it would be open for backcountry skiing recreation activities in accessible but unimproved (USDA Forest Service 1947-1 948). and undeveloped areas threatened to impact resource conditions, recreationists' safety, or the Recreation use in the 1950's continued to grow quality of the site itself. A great increase in the strongly on national forests and everywhere else in popularity of winter sports created demand for more the United States. Congress established the Outdoor winter sports areas, skilifts, winter resorts, and more Recreation Resource Review Commission (ORRRC) challenging skiing terrain. Ninety percent of the in 1958 to focus national policy attention on long- terrain available for public skiing was located on term outdoor recreation needs. The Commission's the western national forests, and it became a major task was to inventory and evaluate outdoor recrea-

57 Chapter 3

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Winter sports on the Arapaho National Forest, Colorado. Jumping Skiing on the Coconino National Forest, Arizona, 1957. This is hill at Winter Park during NCAA tournament, March 1956. the advanced slope at Snow Bowl. tion resources and estimate the amount and type of areas and facilities to relieve the continuing crowd- recreation facilities that would be needed by 1976 ing and accommodate the 66 million visits projected and 2000. It completed its report in 1961. for 1962. They employed professional landscape architects and recreation planners to review, update, The Forest Service, anticipating participation in the and revise plans to modernize 4,700 campgrounds ORRRC studies, initiated its own survey on national and picnic areas and prepare designs for new ones. forests in 1 957. In that, the forests launched a 5-year By 1962, 22,000 family camps and picnic units were initiative called Operation Outdoors to improve the renovated and 1 7,000 new units were constructed. quality of existing facilities and add new recreation In addition, national forests developed or expanded

I -- I 1 I I:.

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Cross-country skiers and snowmobiles on Trillium Lake Basin snow Bridger Bowl Ski Area, Gallatin National Forest, Montana, 1961. trail, Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon, 1961. Skiers waiting (or ski tow to slopes in the background.

58 Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands:1945to1970

30winter sports areas,59swimming sites, several boating sites, scenic outlooks, and other areas. Although this progress was significant, it achieved only about half of the targeted objectives, while recreation visits rose to11 3million in1962 twice the level projected by Operation Outdoors (USDA Forest Service1 945-1 970).

The national forests learned from the Operation Outdoors experience and the ORRRC studies that their1957growth projections greatly underesti- mated growth trends. Undismayed, the Forest I; Service incorporated higher targets for expanding -y recreation areas, facilities, and services to meet ,. higher projections of recreation visits in its 10-Year Development Program, which President Kennedy transmitted to Congress in1 961(USDA Forest Forest visitors enjoy lunch at the CL. Graham Wangan picnic Service1 961a). This program also included con- ground, White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire, 1966. struction of more multiple-purpose roads and trails to serve the expected higher levels of recreation use lion to5.3million. Swimming visits rose from 1mil- in addition to increased timber harvests. Landscape, lion to more than3million. Other visits, for boating, travel, and recreation zones were also being identi waterskiing, resort use, gathering forest products, fied in management plans and on the ground to summer home use, and nature study, rose from further integrate recreation use, management, and 1 .3million to6.7million (USDA Forest Service development with other national forest uses. 1945-1970). As visits to national forests rose from27million in During the balance of the1960's,recreation man- 1950to113million in1962,the greatest increase agement focused increasingly on raising the quality came in the number of people just seeking genera' enjoyment of the forest environment. Automobile visits increased greatly (U.S. automobile registrations rose from30million in1945to75million in1962). Driving for pleasure and picnicking were among the most popular onsite activities, growing from14mil- lion in1950to61million in1962.Hunting and fishing visits increased from7million to26million. Visits for hiking and horseback riding rose from 600,000to2.5million. All of these uses were helped by the expanding road system and existing 1. trails (USDA Forest Service1945-1 970).Because the new roads often took the place of former trails built 4m - .;- t primarily for forest fire protection, the total miles of ..': : trails maintained by the national forests declined - steadily, from144,000miles in1945to105,000in 1962(Wells Associates, Inc.,1985). 1

' -.-. - _ .4_ -_1 Other, more site-specific activities also grew rapidly. Girl Scouts having lunch and visiting with forester during the 1960 Camping increased from1.5 1950 million visits in to Girl Scout All-State Encampment at Todd Lake, Deschutes 8.0million in1962,and winter sports from1.5mil- National Forest, Oregon.

59 Chapter3

of the recreational - (.4,,IIt. experience, improving i, services, and continuing expansion of the total capacity of developed sites \' and facilities. Landscape management was expanded as a new multiple-use discipline. Landscape areas and scenic vistas began to receive equal expert management consideration with other uses and values sought by national forest users. For example, the number of observation sites for enjoying scenic vistas increased from242in1962 444in1970,and their to - capacity for people at one S time (PAOT) grew from 12,000to26,000 an Visitors at the "Cradle of Forestry in America" Visitor Information Center, Pisgah National Forest increase of117percent. North Carolina, listening to recorded message about the "Things to Come" exhibit, 1967. The Visitor Information Service (VIS) was introduced in1963to help the sports areas. Total capacity at organization camps, public understand and interpret the national forests' hotels, lodges and resorts, and recreation residences historical and natural resources. The VIS provided remained about the same. road and trailside exhibits and signs, nature trails, personal contacts, and visitor centers at the most Concessionaire operation of developed sites was heavily visited attractions. In1963,three centers introduced in1951at well-improved areas where were open to visitors: the Mendenhall Glacier user charges could be readily justified. Sites oper- Center on Alaska's Tongass National Forest near ated by concessionaires rose to148by1970,more Juneau, the Missoula Smokejumper Center in than 10 percent of the publicly developed PAOT Montana, and the Redfish Lake Center on Idaho's capacity at developed recreation sites. Concession- Sawtooth National Forest. By1970, 36such centers aire operation of recreation and visitor sites freed had a PAOT capacity of7,305visitors. The number national forest managers to give more attention to of interpretive sites and trails, including those the strategic and development aspects of national designed to serve persons with disabilities, reached forest recreation management. 240 and they could serve more than20,000 visitors at one time. In1 970,the RVD's spent at Almost40percent of all visitor use occurred at information sites exceeded2million. developed sites. The dispersed use of the national forest environment constituted1 05million RVD's Between1 962and1 970,the PAOT capacity at more than60percent of the total173million RVD's developed sites areas grew more than52percent, in1970.Driving for pleasure over forest roads made to1.3million. The greatest percentage increases in up 38million of the dispersed RVD use, and hunt- capacity occurred at boating, swimming, observa- ing, fishing, hiking, and horseback riding contributed tion, and information sites. There also were huge another38million RVD's. increases in campsites, picnic sites, and winter 61 and of Shasta- for the use lodges was 16,000. They Two more NRA's were Two more NRA's the established in 1966: Whiskeytown Trinity NRA on California's Shasta-Trinity National Forest and the Mount Rogers NRA on Virginia's Forest. Jefferson National capacity at Their total PAOT as developed sites such campsites, picnic areas, boating sites, motels, and could also accommodate tens of thousands of RVD's in dispersed-use activities such as hunting, fishing, driving, hiking, and scenic enjoyment. In 1967, visitor use at each of the initial three NRA's reached a million RVD's. The Flaming Gorge NRA, the fourth such area, was designated in October 1968 as a part of I : with the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act Designation of Wild and Scenic Rivers ii Utah and the Ashley National Forest in northeastern 200,000 acres of southwestern Wyoming. It included numerous outstanding scenic country and the Flaming Gorge recreation facilities surrounding the of the Reservoir constructed by the Department Interior's Bureau of Reclamation in 1964. and National Trails In October 1 968, Congress extended its authority for designating Federal lands and resources to the preservation of wild, scenic, and recreational rivers national scenic, historic, and recreational trails with the National Trails System Act and enjoyment of present and future generations. These Acts responded to ORRRC report recommendations. They reflected a growing concern that continuing national growth and development would encroach upon and preempt the recreation and aesthetic opportunities remaining in underdeveloped and newly developing areas on Federal lands and an ' Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands: 1945 to 1970 Demands: 1945 to National the Face of Unprecedented Multiple Uses in Managing

% Seneca Rocks on West Virginia's a ubiquitous situation now. Each NRA is Tennessee, over an attractive forest road to South Holston Reservoir, 1962. Tennessee, over an attractive forest road National Recreation Areas were an early National Recreation Areas (NRA's) the quality and Federal effort to improve and ensure close to supply of outdoor recreation opportunities and growth cen- areas of population concentration (greater than 20,000 acres) and located where there radius Multiple use: wood is hauled out as recreationists drive into the Cherokee National Forest, Multiple use: wood is hauled out as recreationists Monongahela National Forest. Spruce Knob was the 1 00,000 acres of a unique scenic and recreation by the 1970's and conservation of scenic, scientific, ters. The establishment of NRA's was generally limited to areas with high recreation-carrying capacity were 30 million or more people within a 250-mile authorized by a separate individual act of Congress. The first national forest NRA was established in 1965 at Spruce Knob State's highest mountain and the central attraction in area. Its development plan included facilities to accommodate a million recreation visitors per year and historic sites. The plan permitted timber cutting, grazing, and mineral development with adaptations as needed to sustain the priority uses. Chapter 3

urgency to ensure an adequate supply of such progress of national forest evaluation and classifica- opportunities for future generations. tion of primitive areas as wilderness or wild also progressed. The 1947 decision to retain the San Congress initially designated eight wild and scenic Gorgonio Primitive Area as permanent wilderness rivers. Four of these rivers and a major part of a fifth, exemplifies an early post-World War II step in such totaling almost 500 miles, were mainly on national evaluation. forest lands and were to be managed by the Forest Service. The Act designated 27 other rivers for In1 947, there were 77 wilderness, wild, and prim i- detailed study; the Forest Service was responsible for tive area setasides on national forests, with a total nine of these. The rivers and their immediate envi- area of more than 14 million acres. The National ronments were to be evaluated for their outstanding Forest System goal was to preserve, for all time, scenic, recreation, geologic, fish and wildlife, his- representative examples of the variety of American toric, and cultural resources. Designated wild and wilderness conditions. Areas selected for evaluation scenic rivers were to be preserved in their free- were kept in a substantially primitive, unmodified flowing condition and their immediate environments condition. Neither road construction nor commer- protected for the benefit and enjoyment of present cial timbering was allowed. However, since most of and future generations. Public listening sessions the areas were in high country with little commercial were scheduled as studies developed management timber, their withdrawal from timber cutting had plans and options that could be presented to the little effect on the available timber inventory or public. allowable cuts. Access inside wilderness areas was limited to trails or waterways. Regulated livestock Congress also designated two national scenic trails grazing was allowed in places where it had been the Appalachian Scenic Trail and the Pacific Crest long established. Many areas provided big game Scenic Trail and named 11 other scenic trails and habitat. The national forest criteria for classification 29 historic trails for study. In the West, the Pacific were very strict pristine, primitive conditions and Crest Trail extended 1,599 miles through national absence of any significant evidence of previous forests in Washington, Oregon, and California and human activity such as logging, roads, residences, or was to be administered by the Forest Service. The other development. Wilderness areas were seen as Appalachian Trail extended 2,000 miles from Maine the last remnants of pristine conditions in America. to Georgia. The Forest Service would cooperate with They were being selected to provide genuine wilder- the Department of the Interior to administer the 840 ness recreation opportunities for those who wished miles that passed through eight eastern national to "rough it," as well as for those who yearned for forests and participate in other studies where trails solitude and a reflective, awe-inspiring experience traversed national forest lands. Congress recognized (USDA Forest Service 1947-1 948). the contributions that volunteers and private, nonprofit trail groups had made to the development and The pristine goals for wilderness gave national forest maintenance of the Nation's trails and encouraged managers the policy direction to provide the finest their continued participation in the planning, devel- wilderness conditions and experience to be found opment, and management of national recreation within the National Forest System, while balancing trails. the lands and resources available to respond to the demands for more intensive uses. This approach Wilderness Preservation and Management worked well through the 1940's and into the 1950's Wilderness use in the immediate postwar years and had the support of industry, conservation represented less than 1 percent of the total visits to groups, wilderness interests, and communities. national forests. In 1947, wilderness areas those Conservation group interest in the preservation and areas classified as wilderness, wild, and primitive management of wilderness areas grew during these were visited by 144,000 people who spent 406,000 years. All areas were located in the westernnational days in them (USDA Forest Service 1947-1 948). As forests except the 7,610-acre Linville Gorge Wild the number of visits grew steadily, though slowly, the Area established in 1953 on North Carolina's Pisgah

62 4r - .; :-'- - . $ IIIL k L.

- 'tM,.- r:' - - - - k'.. 4 patibility of logging with recreation and wilderness patibility of logging with recreation Uncertainty emerged among wilderness interest management philosophy with wilderness preserva- They sought to provide statutory authority for wilderness designation; to withdraw Forest Service authority to declassify or reduce the size of wilderness-type areas; to protect wilderness against mining and water project developments; and to extend wilderness preservation to other Federal lands (Roth 1 984b). - :c:- - .t..1 % ./_ A4ki!II&. about the com- areas increasingly raised questions versus recreation designation (Roth 1984a). Logging users began came to be a source of friction. Some commodity pro- questioning the balance between national forest. duction and the aesthetic values of groups over the compatibility of the multiple-use tion. Here and there, the withdrawal of commercial timberland from areas earlier classified as potentially suitable for wilderness designation aggravated these concerns. Wilderness leaders and advocates lost confidence in the Forest Service's administrative discretion to designate commercial timber lands as wilderness, where such areas were also valuable for wilderness. In 1956, they initiated a prolonged effort to develop and obtain passage of Federal legislation. Field foresters checking watershed conditions on Hamilton mesa, Pecos Wilderness area, Santa Field foresters checking watershed conditions Fe National Forest, New Mexico, 1954. I Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands: 1 945 to 1 970 Demands: 1 945 to National Face of Unprecedented Multiple Uses in the Managing the Great Gulf Area, with 5,4C still less than 1 percent of all national national forest roads and timbering into unroaded New Hampshire's White Mountain National Forest By 1960, the number of wilderness visits rose to 765,000 movement for wilderness designation advanced (Roth 1 984a; USDA Forest Service 1 945-62). As the 1950's unfolded, the steady extension of National Forest. Another early reservation in the of 1 950's was the closing roadless areas, which the banned flying over reserved area that Boundary Waters Canoe on national forests rose to 83 in 1961. As some lands, often those with commercial timber, were consideration as evaluation progressed, others were added, so the total area remained fairly close to 14 million acres. In 1961, 15 including the areas greater than 1 00,000 acres, classified as Boundary Waters Canoe Area, were to 100,000 acres wilderness and 30 areas of 5,000 represented 40 were classified as wild areas. These wilderness set- percent of the total national forest a second aside of 14.7 million acres and included eastern wild area rugged acres on the slopes of Mt. Washington on (USDA Forest Service 1945-1 962). forest recreation visits. Thus, it was apparent that wilderness was being valued more as a symbol and setting for human experiences than as a resource whose physical use would increase rapidly. The idea or mental image of wilderness and its symbolism captured America's imagination as the national The number of areas being significant national forest significant national the the airspace over Forest Superior National the eventually became Area. considered for wilderness withdrawn from wilderness Chapter 3

The Multiple.-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1 960 was process often led to compromise rather than con- passed in this changing environment. Even though sistent selection. The Wilderness Act similarly set the Act implicitly recognized the compatibility of no goals or guidelines for the ultimate size of the wilderness preservation with the multiple-use man- National Wilderness Preservation System. Stewart agement philosophy, it mobilized wilderness advo- Brandborg, Executive Director of the Wilderness cates to seek passage of legislation that ultimately Society, argued on behalf of the advocates that the became the National Wilderness Preservation Act of political process should be allowed to decide the 1 964. Under this Act, Congress delegated to itself ultimate size of the wilderness system (Roth 1 984a). the power to designate areas of the National Forest System and other Federal lands as parts of a new During the 1 960's, the Forest Service realized that National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS), Congress would likely include more than the classi- reducing the national forest managers' role from fied primitive areas in the NWPS. In 1 967, the Chief designating wilderness areas to identifying and went beyond the Wilderness Act study requirements evaluating candidate areas, recommending their and directed regional foresters to complete an inven- classification, and managing the congressionally tory and review of all remaining unclassified designated wilderness areas roadless areas larger than 5000 acres. In 1 971, this initiative became the Roadless Area Review and The Wilderness Act designated all of the Forest Evaluation (RARE) the second comprehensive Service's previously classified wilderness or wild national forest assessment of roadless lands for areas and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area as the wilderness designation. The initial inventory had initial components of the NWPS. These initial desig- been undertaken in1 926 to identify primitive areas. nations included 54 areas totaling 9.1 million acres that had been designated since 1924. The Act also Between 1 964, when the Wilderness Act was directed that the remaining 5.5 million acres of passed, and 1 969, Congress designated seven new national forest primitive areas be reviewed within wilderness areas totaling 793,000 acres. Wilderness 10 years to determine their suitability for wilderness. RVD's in 1969 exceeded 5 million and made up The findings were to be reported to the President, about 3 percent of the total recreation visitor use. who would then recommend wilderness designation These RVD numbers substantially exceeded the or other reclassification (Roth 1 984a, 1 984b; Steen number of previously counted "visits" or single 1976). entries because wilderness recreation typically involved 4 to 5 days per visit. The Forest Service moved consciously to even more rigorous wilderness standards as it developed its pro- Reservation of Research Natural Areas cedures for classifying the remaining national forest National forests continued to reserve research primitive areas. The review was designed to ensure natural areas (RNA's) after World War II and by 1970 consistent national application of pristine standards had added 33 RNA's covering 41,288 acres, bringing for wilderness, even though the Wilderness Act pro- their total to 72 and their area to 86,608 acres. The vided only general definitions of wilderness and no RNA's ranged from 1 8 acres to 9,1 02 acres, with a guidelines on how to reconcile wilderness preserva- mean area of 1 ,202 acres almost 2 square miles. tion with other national forest uses and resources. RNA efforts continued to focus on establishing repre- Under these circumstances, the classification pro- sentative natural areas of major forest types and their cess was quickly burdened by the ambiguities scientific study and educational use to obtain and between the preferences of wilderness advocates share information about natural system components and the Forest Service's rigorouscriteria. Advocates and processes to distinguish differences between participating in evaluation of primitive areas con- RNA development and that of representative man- sistently pressed for inclusion of substantial acreages aged ecosystems (USDA Forest Service 1 992b). that did not meet the Forest Service's pristine standards. The Wilderness Act's broad guidelines left In 1947, for example, on the Thornton M. Munger wide room for discretion. Thus, the participative RNA at the Wind River Experimental Forest in Wash- 65 1970 to Wash- 1945 including road building and recreation increasingly became the most and recreation increasingly became logical trends of subalpine vegetation under various logical trends of subalpine management guidelines to keep the goshawk off management guidelines was established in 1957 on The Elk Knoll RNA National Forest to maintain an Utah's Manti-!aSal vegetation, trees, and shrubs in a area of subalpine free from domestic livestock protected condition as a baseline for evaluating eco- grazing. It served and in time helped to calibrate an grazing regimes, range evaluation scale to assess the Manti-LaSal's conditions. Condition Proteding and Managing Watershed conditions contin- Maintaining favorable watershed con- ued to be a prime national forest management cern as timber harvesting 1945. Reliable widespread national forest uses after not only to flows of good-quality water were needed provide quality sustain wildlife and fisheries habitats, other national recreation opportunities, and serve supplies for forest needs, but also to ensure water and industries. downstream communities, farms, major water National forest watersheds were the Hundreds of source for 1,800 cities and towns. of rural resi- smaller communities and thousands supply from dents received all or part of their water the national forests. National forest water yield was particularly impor- ington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, New runoff. More than 600 hydroelectric power developments and thousands of industrial plants depended locale and sites for many reservoirs that provided East of the Great Plains, national forests were fewer in the total water supply picture. But in the Ozarks and the Appalachians and some other critical east- the endangered species list. the endangered species tant in the 11 contiguous Western States S - - Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, where national forests made up 21 percent of the land area and yielded 53 percent of the total on water supplies from these forests. National forest watersheds were also the major water supply sources for agricultural irrigation in the West and the water storage and regulated waterf lows. and more widely dispersed and did not loom large ern watershed areas, they often played an important ;. N Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands: National the Face of Unprecedented Multiple Uses in Managing

1k',' I,- I j I 1947. In 1950, the G.A. Pearson RNA was established on ington's Gifford Pinchot National Forest, a long-term study of old-growth Douglas-fir and western hemlock was initiated to evaivate growth and mortaiity, position in Douglas-fir and western hemlock old- Thornton T. Munger Research Natural Area, representing old- Thornton T. Munger Research Natural Area, in the stand since mortality have been periodically measured Arizona's Coconino National Forest to maintain in its natural state a representative stand of pure ponderosa pine typical of the commercial old-growth stands on the Coconino Plateau. In the 1990's, the Pearson RNA would provide data on goshawk habitat preferences for less-dense stands and crown class development, and species succession. This study, 36 years later, provided dramatic data on the dynamics of stand structure and species com- growth and the static nature of old-growth total stand volumes as annual mortality offset annual growth. ' 1952. Growth and growth Douglas-fir and western hemlock, 6,200 miles of impaired 1959). (USDA Forest Service Restoration of damaged 1960's. Rehabilitation projects treated about land; stabilized several hundred miles of stream channels, and more stream channels, Ii1.L:' :t of gullies than 20,000 miles watersheds and emergency burned treatment of newly the areas continued through 40,000 acres of eroding streambanks, shorelines, and gullies by planting trees and grasses; and controlled erosion on about 2,000 miles of abandoned, but eroding, old trails and roads each year. The following case examples illustrate the range and performance of watershed management range and performance of watershed California's and protection activities. In 1947, with the Soil Angeles National Forest, in cooperation its forest fire Conservation Service, strengthened of highly control capabilities and the protection erosive slopes flammable mountain brush on steep, In areas with by installing water storage facilities. "worthless" brush on areas with high watershed benefit (USDA Forest Service 1947-1 948). They also installed stream improvements in certain parts of In 1 949, two extensively burned areas on California's Los Padres and Cleveland National Forests received hazardous for fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters were growing water needs, the protection of the value was viewed as more important than a stand of choice timber on areas of low watershed use and steep mountain channels to better control streamflow, stabilize stream channels and banks, and reduce streamflow damage. emergency rehabilitation treatments. Fixed-wing aircraft quickly reseeded thousands of acres of denuded lands to grass. Where the terrain was too used. In 1950, the entire North Fork of the Swift Creek watershed on Wyoming's Bridger National / Young rangers at Rocky Mountain Region training camp receiving field instruction on analyzing Young rangers at Rocky Mountain Region Chapter 3 By the end of the 1 9 50's, there were up to 90 active Following World War II, the national forests renewec Following World War II, the national role in local and regional water supplies and flood role in local and regional water supplies watershed conditions, Pike National Forest, Colorado, 1952. watershed conditions, Pike National Forest, watershed rehabilitation and stabilization projects per year on damaged lands and waterways on about 80 national forests. Although the multiple uses were managed in ways that protected the soil and provided adequate vegetative cover, there were still some areas where cover was inadequate due to extreme past abuse and forest fires. In 1958, these areas constituted 3.5 million acres of eroding slopes, some 43,000 acres of slides and unstable dunes, their efforts to prepare management plans for impor- their efforts to prepare management basic soil and tant watersheds. These plans provided management. In water information for land use and time, such watershed plans included quantified data on actual and potential water yields, conditions, and current and potential water requirements. This effort advanced slowly. Most watershed management concentrated on projects to rehabilitate watersheds already damaged by forest fires, overgrazing, and other causes of damage. control. Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands: 1 945 to 1 970

Forest was withdrawn from grazing with full cooperation from local ranchers. Heavy grazing in past years Lvi: had so depleted the ____ 4, watershed's forage cover that runoff from rains was a 4 ,,, source of critical flooding to the downstream town of :;:.;i. Afton. Erosion and sediment \ were also causing widespread damage, especially to the town's water distribution system - F)' and even to plumbing ,, fixtures in homes and to irrigation facilities in the f;-- , surrounding area. This 1 rehabilitation effort F continued for a full decade. w In 1958, the Siuslaw Job Corps enrollees building gabions for stream improvement and watershed protection on the National Forest on the Middle Fork of the Red River, Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky. Oregon coast was engaged 4 in stabilizing coastal sand / dunes to protect roads, campgrounds, small lakes, lished and a soils handbook was prepared and pub- and streams from dune encroachment. On New lished. National forest managers needed to know Hampshire's White Mountain National Forest, four more about soil capabilities and limitations and how municipal watersheds were being rehabilitated to they related to national forest management activities stabilize soils in ways that would steadily improve and uses. By 1970, detailed soil surveys had been the quality and yield for domestic water supplies. conducted on more than 20 million acres of National Forest System lands. With the advice of Watershed foresters monitored the performance of soil scientists, soil and water management problems their projects. For example, after the completion of a were being minimized on more than 500 projects 3-year rehabilitation project on the Castle Creek per year. Similarly, data from hydrologic and geo- watershed of Colorado's San Isabel National Forest, logic surveys were used to improve national forest they reported that surface runoff had been slowed to resource use and management. a point where Castle Creek no longer carried silt. Meadow-type vegetation was returning to bottom- Water Storage Development lands where the water table had been restored by National growth and development after World War II gully stabilization and contour trenches. Castle unleashed an unprecedented rate of dam construc- Creek, which used to flow after each rain and then tion in the United States. More than 35,000 dams dry up, was slowly returning to a yearlong live were completed between 1945 and 1969. Many stream supporting fish and wildlife. served multiple purposes such as irrigation, flood control, water supply, recreation, and hydroelectric Soil Surveys Initiated power (Frederick 1991). Although some water stor- In 1960, all national forest regions initiated system- age facilities were built on eastern national forests, atic soil surveys after they had pilot tested the most much of this construction spilled over to western cost-effective way to carry them out (USDA Forest national forest lands, where many sites had been Service 1 961 b). Soils training schools were estab- identified as power sites available for public or

67 Chapter3

private development.By 1951,large, multiple- to mitigate resource damage that occurred during purpose dam projects such as the Hungry Horse dam construction (USDA Forest Service1 945-1 970). project on Montana's Flathead River and the Detroit Dam on Oregon's North Santiam River created huge Barometer Watershed Projects reservoirs, often flooding national forest lands and To Increase Stream flow being filled, in part, by runoff from nonflooded In the late1 950's,research demonstrated that water- national forest lands. Often, national forests were shed streamflows could be increased by reducing or given the responsibility for managing the recreation changing the density of forest cover. To determine sites and uses around such large reservoirs. whether watersheds could be managed in ways that would increase waterflows, the Forest Service in the Local communities were also reaching into national early1 960'sestablished a series of barometer forests for additional water supplies. Private power (gauged) sample watersheds in areas where water companies were constructing large reservoirs and supplies were scarce. Such projects were established power-generating plants. Farmers and ranchers on50,000-to 1 00,000-acre watersheds on40 continued to build many small irrigation and stock- national forests. Streamflow gauges determined watering reservoirs on national forests. In Alaska, baseline and altered waterflows before and after a also in the1950's,the more accessible of the200 variety of management practices were implemented. available power sites were being studied as water Such practices included snow fencing or timber cut- and power sources for pulp mills. ting in patterns to increase snow depth and subsequent snowmelt runoff, conversion of brush cover to Although other agencies were constructing these grass, identifying pollution sources and methods to water developments and were responsible for man- reduce pollution, and developing rehabilitation aging them, national forest managers were faced plans for eroding areas. Twenty-one barometer with the impact of these developments. Some of the watersheds had been designated by1965.When larger reservoirs were submerging thousands of timber-producing acres, which required national forest managers to conduct impact studies and surveys to coordinate the various other forest resource uses with the dam-building projects. Twenty-nine such surveys were completed on - - national forests in1 961, and work was advancing on an additional35more. This number doubled by1962 and continued to increase to more than400by1970. During this period, such

studies were renamed ,. impact surveys and expanded to include all water-development - construction projects. The District ranger and the mayor of Ely, Nevada, examining 1958-59 contour trenching and crested surveys provided nfo rma- wheatgrass seeding project done at Ward Mountain, Humboldt National Forest, to stop erosion tion on adaptive measures and the repeated flooding of the town of Ely. Photo taken in 1965. Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands: 1945 to 1970

1948). By 1945, their numbers exceeded 2 million, nearly quadruple the 1921 estimate when the first big game population survey was done on the National Forest System (Thomas et al. 1988). They included deer, elk, moose, antelope, bear, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats and i . constituted a third of the Nation's big game t population (USDA Forest Service 1947-1 948). Between 1945 and 1960, national forest deer populations increased by more than a million and elk I rose from 1 60,000 to Santa Fe Canyon Reservoir, Santa Fe National Forest, NewMexico, 1947, with city of Santa Fe 296,000 in the nine in the background. Watershed protection was the highest priority usefor the land, and it was Western States closed to all other uses. Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, they were fully instrumented, they would sample the and New Mexico. Increases in other big game effects of resource management and development populations were smaller. Bighorn sheep numbers practices on water quality and yield. had declined to a low of about 9,500 in 1940, but in 1960 they numbered 12,000 (Thomas et al. 1988). Throughout the 25-year postwar period, most soil and watershed activities were carried out in coord- National forests also supported a wide variety of inating other uses. At the end of the 1960's, of the small game and birds such as squirrels, ruffed grouse, 360 soil and water FTE's, 310 were engaged in coor- and wild turkey. Furbearers were widespread. As a dinating soil and water protection and management result of protection and restoration efforts, beaver with other uses or in conducting inventories to pro- were increasing rapidly in some locales. There were vide basic information on soil and water resources more than 80,000 miles of fishable streams some and conditions. Only 50 FTE's were involved in of the best trout waters in the country. Game fish implementing soil and watershed management prac- were common in the waters of 1 .5 million acres of tices directly on national forest land (USDA Forest natural lakes or impoundments. Because national Service 1 992a). forests provided unrestricted access for hunting and fishing and were located in almost every State, the Wildlife and Fish Management Forest Service predicted public demand for hunting and fishing on the national forests would grow rap- The 1945 to 1960 Period idly after World War II (USDA Forest Service 1945). At the end of World War II, big game populations on national forests had generally risen to their highest The number of hunter and angler visits to national levels in the 20th century twice as great as those forests rose from 3 million in 1945 to more than 22 on other ownerships (USDA Forest Service 1947 million by 1 960 an average growth of more than 1 3 percent per year (USDA Forest Service 1 945-1 970). Chapter3

oWhe-tailed Deer Black-tailed Mule Deer

800 5 (a) Elk (b) Deer

600 Ui

400 0 200

0 jiTIHI 19301940 19501960 19701980 1987 1992 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1987 1992 Year Year

30 (c) Bighom Sheep 70

60 C o 20 c,) f50 0) D C C 2 40

0 30 I- 20 I- 10

0 0 930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1987 1992 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1987 Year Year

40 (e) Mountain Goats 125 (f) Black Bear 30 100 0 0 m 20

10 25

s1 0 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1987 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1987 Year Year

Figure 9. Selected trends in national forest big game populations, 1930-1992 Source: Thomas et al. 1988. Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands: 1945 to 1970

Between 1945 and 1960, fishing visits outnumbered tats including making habitat condition surveys. hunting visits by two to one. In 1950, big game But because habitat management had clear implica- hunters outnumbered small game hunters by about tions for wildlife and fish populations, the province two to one. Hunting visits to national forests of the States, national forest managers purposefully between 1947 and 1958 increased nationwide at sought working agreements with State fish and game 10 times the rate of State hunting license sales. Fish- commissions and agencies. ing visits increased at 3.5 times the rate of State fishing license sales nationwide (USDA Forest Service National forest managers restored and improved 1959). Thus, national forests were becoming the fre- domestic livestock and wildlife forage in many quent and preferred hunting and fishing locales for places. Wildlife habitats were improved by timber an increasing number of American sportsmen and cutting. The annual extension of timber harvests to sportswomen. This trend was influenced not only by more and more areas created large amounts of open the quality of national forest hunting and fishing spaces and forest "edge" where choice game browse opportunities, but also by the spread of urbanization plants grew. National forest managers cooperated and industrial development and other changes in with State wildlife managers to restock game and land use; by improved ease and speed of transporta- other animals, such as beaver and birds, where their tion; and by increased posting of private lands. The populations had been seriously depleted or lost. number of big game animals taken each year rose Wildlife populations were also improved by States' from less than 300,000 before 1 950 to more than establishment of management areas and refuges in 650,000 in 1960. During the same years, big game cooperation with national forests. populations nearly doubled from 2.2 million to 4.2 million. Turkeys also increased, and their harvest The buildup in game populations to 1945 and there- rose from negligible numbers in 1945 to 10,000 in after brought full stocking to many western deer and 1960. By 1960, the acreage of lakes that supported elk ranges, and overstocking to others. Where big sport fish rose to 2.5 million acres as national forest game ranges were overstocked, the natural food impoundments increased. Sport-fishing stream supplies were bound to be reduced and deer and elk mileage remained more or less stable at about numbers could be decimated by starvation and 80,000 miles (USDA Forest Service 1945-1970). disease. Wildlife overstocking, much like livestock overstocking, damaged range and forest vegetation Several important factors during the preceding 40 and sods. In some areas and situations, competition years influenced the buildup in national forest game with livestock for forage became a serious problem, populations until 1945 (particularly deer and elk, but even though deer and elk tended to frequent the other species as well). The gradual strengthening of rougher country and more timbered range while the State game-protection laws was perhaps the most livestock favored the grasslands. Severe winter important. Game populations increased each year as weather conditions caused competition for the food the laws limiting the taking of game were effectively supply where both shared the same rangeland and enforced. The management of game populations and their total numbers were out of balance with regulations governing hunting and trapping on available forage. Deer and elk faced the threat of national forests and other lands were strictly the starvation and decimation while livestock weights province of the individual State governments. were reduced. Where the number of permitted Although these were zealously guarded State rights, livestock needed to be reduced, the grazing industry States often deputized national forest officers as State was understandably dissatisfied. game wardens to aid in the enforcing State game laws on national forests. National forest officers, on During the war years, most national forest wildlife the other hand, often kept track of wildlife popula- specialists either had entered the military or had tion trends, and State authorities often consulted been assigned to more urgent wartime duties, cur- them on proper hunting, fishing, and trapping sea- tailing many wildlife maintenance projects and sons and bag limits. The national forest managers' much of the management work. By 1 945, there was role was limited to managing wildlife and fish habi- an accumulated workload for stream and lake sur-

71 Chapter 3

veys, game inventories, and wildlife habitat studies. Escalating hunting and fishing use and accelerating timber harvests further magnified wildlife management demands. To address * this growing workload, the Ij recruiting and staffing of wildlife specialists in the regional offices and on many national forests became a prime priority. '1V National forest and State game managers saw controlling game numbers as a solution to excess game populations. Their principal control tools were planned hunting seasons and managed hunts to reduce wildlife numbers to the capacity of their habitats Wild turkey feeding at a foodpatch in deep snow, Manistee National Forest, Michigan, 1959. and compatibility with Turkeys were introduced in 1957 by the Michigan Department of Conservation. other uses. Public opinion was slow to accept such an The number of new cooperative wildlife habitat approach after several decades of public support for management projects with States on national forests building up game populations. State officials, on this expanded between1945and1960,while estab- account, frequently delayed applying such lished cooperative projects such as protecting the population-control measures. National forest nesting sites of the endangered California condor managers, nevertheless, cooperated with State and the joint study and management of livestock and officials to reduce problem herd populations. In deer with the State of Arizona on the Grand Canyon 1 949,for example, the national forests of Utah, National Game Preserve of the Kaibab National Nevada, southern Idaho, and western Wyoming Forest continued. The cooperative beaver restocking cooperated with State wildlife authorities to plan and efforts on West Virginia's Monongahela National carry out95special hunts on overpopulated big Forest, begun in the1 92 0's,led to the first beaver game ranges. Reducing excess game populations trapping season in1948.Earlier cooperative wild continued to be a high priority through the1 945to turkey restocking in Colorado national forests led to 1 960period. Where there was competition between the first open hunting season in1 950. big game and domestic livestock, stockowners became important participants in finding mutually In the1950's,national forest and State cooperative acceptable solutions. In such situations, national wildlife and fish management areas in Florida, forest managers generally worked with the stockmen Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, and and sportsmen as well as the States to find a Virginia provided good hunting and fishing where mutually acceptable balance among such uses and game and fish had previously been absent or very users (USDA Forest Service1945-1 970). scarce. These areas received intensive management. The States usually collected fees from hunters and

72 Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands: 1 945 to 1 970

anglers and, in turn, shared those fees with the Wildlife Habitat Management and Staffing: national forests to improve and maintain fish and 1945-1959 game habitats. This form of cooperative supple- Wildlife habitat management plans had been com- mental State financing was first initiated in the West pleted on two-thirds of the national forests by 1 957, in 1950 on the Three Bar Quail Management Area of and the balance were scheduled for completion by Arizona's Tonto National Forest, where management the end of 1959. In response to the rising timber provided numerous small water developments for harvest levels, many national forests had developed quail, fencing to exclude livestock, and access roads or upgraded coordination guidelines andincreased for hunters to reach previously inaccessible quail staffing to better integrate wildlife and timber man- habitats. agement. In the Southeast, for example, prescriptions for timber stand improvement included wildlife In the 1950's, State fish and game departments and habitat protection and improvement measures. By many other organizations stepped up their 1959, all regions had two or more full-time wildlife participation in direct habitat improvement work on or fisheries management specialists, and somehad national forests. By 1959, for example, States were assigned full- or part-time wildlife specialists to helping with new fish and wildlife habitat improve- individual or groups of forests that had heavy wild- ment projects on 69,450 acres of national forest and life and fisheries workloads. Such staffing improved assisting in constructing 199 small water develop- technical direction of wildlife management projects ments on 92 miles of fishing streams. In addition, and coordination of fish and wildlife objectives with States and national forests were jointly maintaining other resource uses. existing fish and wildlife habitat improvements on about 1 60,000 acres of national forest land and 1 50 Strengthening of Wildlife Management miles of fishing streams, nearly 900 established small in the1960's water developments, about 1 ,000 acres of human- The MUSY Act in1 960 established legislatively, for made lakes, and more than 300 study enclosures. the first time, that wildlife and fish habitat man- Cooperative work included wildlife openings, food agement were valid purposes for designating and and cover plantings, water developments, browse administering national forests. In enacting this regeneration, stream improvement structures, bank legislation, however, Congress made it clear that the stabilization, new fishing lakes, and access roads established division of responsibilities between the and trails. States and the Federal Government for managing wildlife and fish populations and habitats on Federal In the West, States cooperated with national forest lands, respectively, would remain unchanged. managers on efforts and projects focused on timber harvest planning, assessing critical deer and elk The MUSY Act reinforced the traditional understand- winter habitat needs, and studying the relationship ing that national forest wildlife priorities would con- between logging and fish and game habitat in tinue to reflect State priorities, which placed heavy Colorado and Oregon. In the East, cooperative emphasis on game and sportfish management. efforts focused on habitat improvements for deer and Within the National Forest System, however, the small game. On North Carolina's Pisgah National MUSY Act recognized wildlife and fish resources as Forest, studies found that selection cutting or clear- coequal with other renewable natural resources, but cutting of limited areas in hardwood forests pro- did not provide any guidelines for integrating wild- duced abundant deer browse compatible with life and fish habitat management with the other timber management. On Wisconsin and northern resources, except for requiring sustained yields of Michigan national forests, extensive openings were these resources (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985). being left unplanted to provide sharptail grouse During the 1960's, this improved status strengthened range. On Pennsylvania's Allegheny National Forest, the role of wildlife and fish management within the cooperative projects provided openings in dense National Forest System and contributed to both forests for small game such as rabbits and grouse. funding and staffing improvements. Funding rose Chapter 3

timber-wildlife habitat management coordination techniques. These specialists, in turn, conducted t:on-the-ground training for resource management personnel on their own forests and districts.

During the 1960's, national forest managers and wildlife and fish specialists, in cooperation with State managers and experts, renewed their emphasis on developing and updating wildlife and fish habitat management plans. These plans provided intensified guidelines for on-the-ground management activities - that coordinated wildlife and fishery requirements with timber management, grazing, and watershed :. improvement. By 1 976, more than 1 ,200 such habitat management plans were providing continuity 4 in managing wildlife and fish and their habitats. Direct wildlife habitat improvement work increased steadily, from 69,000 acres per year in 1959 to 230,000 in 1 970. During the late 1 960's, State cooperation and support expanded accordingly and the States' share of financing rose to an average of 50 percent of project costs. Improvements included permanent openings for forage production, prescribed burns, seeding and planting of food and cover plants, releasing forage plants, and fencing key Wildlife guzzler furnishes a steady supply of water for wild birds game areas. Nearly 2 million acres of direct habitat and animals. Installed on the Rita Blanca National Grasslands, improvements were installed during the 1960's. Texas, by the Texas Game and Fish Commission, 1963. National forest wildlife and fishery managers and slowly, to more than $12 million (constant 1991 staff experts annually installed fishable stream dollars) by 1969, and staffing rose to nearly 300 habitat improvements where needed throughout FTE's. Wildlife support and coordination activities the 1945 to 1970 period. These included installing with other resource management activities accoun- channel structures, improving spawnbeds, removing ted for more than 70 percent of the funding and stream barriers, fencing stream channels, and more than half of the staffing (USDA Forest Service removing rough fish. Nearly 5,000 acres of new 1 992a). lakes were also constructed in this period adding to the million or so acres of human-made reservoirs All national forest regions intensified wildlife and supporting cold and warm freshwater fisheries. Lake fish management training for staff specialists and improvement activities included stabilizing water district rangers. Its primary focus was on more levels and banks, controlling aquatic plants, devel- effective integration of wildlife and fish habitat man- oping fish shelters, removing debris, and removing agement with other resource uses and management, nongame fish that had little or no direct economic or particularly with range and timber. Some range and recreational use value. wildlife management specialists received field training at interregional schools on coordinated National forests also placed more attention on im- game-livestock range analysis. Some timber manage- proving waterfowl habitats. Minnesota's Chippewa ment specialists similarly participated with wildlife National Forest and Michigan's Hiawatha National management specialists in field training schools on Forest, in cooperation with State conservation agen-

74 Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands:1945to1970

des and national resource associations and the cooperating with the Oregon State Game Department of the Interior's Bureau of Sports Fish- Commission, the Department of Fish and Wildhfe, eries and Wildlife, initiated special wetland improve- and the Department of the Interior's Bureau of ment projects. Waterfowl habitat improvements on Reclamation, established an osprey management national forest wetlands rose from less than200 area at the Crane Prairie Reservoir to develop habitat acres in1962to4,000acres in1969.During the and nesting sites for osprey probably the first of 1960's,the cooperative effort improved more than such osprey habitat management in the country 30,000acres of wetland habitats (USDA Forest (USDA Forest Service 1970).California's Los Padres Service1945-1970). National Forest continued to maintain the53,000- acre Sespe Condor Sanctuary to protect the nesting National forest wildlife managers and biologists, areas of the40surviving California condors the likewise, gave growing management attention to largest birds in North America. nongame species, particularly rare, endangered, and unique species. In1963,a special4,010-acre By1970,before the enactment of the Endangered Kirtland's warbler management area was set aside Species Act, national forests had classified47wild- on northern Michigan's Huron National Forest to life and fish species as rare or endangered, and68 preserve this "bird of fire" (Radtke et al.1983). others had been identified as unique to national Successful forest fire control had progressively forests. Endangered wildlife included the Puerto reduced the Kirtland's warbler nesting habitat in Rican parrot, gray wolf, red wolf, grizzly bear, black- young jack pine stands. After fires, jack pine (a footed ferret, and southern bald eagle. Fish species pioneer species) reseeded readily on sandy soils. included the little Colorado spinedace and the Although500pairs were counted in the1951and

1961censuses, it was clear T r i that the Kirtland's warbler , ' : I nesting habitat was disappearing. In1964,the Huron began a systematic schedule of prescribed burns, almost a full square - mile (about640acres) in that year, to create and sustain future habitats. This joint effort with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources set aside 7,630acres of State lands to manage as Kirtland's - - warbler habitat.

Throughout the1 960's, national forests cooperated with the Audubon Society to provide ways and means to protect dwindling populations of bald eagles and osprey. In1969,central District ranger checks dam and spiliway at Nicholson Creek Green Tree Reserve, Witherbee Oregon's Deschutes Ranger District, Francis Marion National forest, South Carolina, where duck habitat has been National Forest, improved for hunting. :1.

75 Chapter 3

Paiute, greenback, and Gila cutthroat trout. Among user day (WFLID) to better measure the actual the rare species were the Kaibab squirrel, glacier amount of use. The user-day equivalent of 30 million bear, California bighorn, lesser prairie chicken, and visits became 24 million WFUD's, which were about Arctic grayling. Special management or management equally divided between hunting and fishing. A plans had been developed for 30 of these species, hunting visit was just about equal to a full WFUD, and plans were being considered for 56 others. and a fishing visit to half a WFUD. In 1969, hunting use reached 14.9 million WFUD's. The estimated In Alaska on March 27, 1964, a catastrophic earth- annual harvest of big game stabilized at around quake the most powerful ever recorded on the 660,000 animals. Given the continued increase in North American continent damaged coastal and hunter use, this harvest rate represented a decline some inland areas of the Chugach National Forest in hunter success per WFUD. Many small game on Alaska's coast south and east of Anchorage. Some species, upland game birds, and waterfowl were of the impacted areas sank up to 8 feet, drowning harvested in much greater numbers than big game. shoreline vegetation and trees and flooding seawater Fishery use rose to 14.1 million WFUD's. The total onto dry-land big game ranges and freshwater use of 29.0 million WFUD's by hunters and anglers spawning areas at the mouths of streams. Other represented a 3.5-percent annual growth rate since areas were raised several feet, causing some water- 1960, substantially more than the U.S. population fowl habitat to become high and dry and destroying growth rate (USDA Forest Service 1 945-1 970). many nesting sites. Earth movements also caused sedimentation damage to salmon spawning gravels The nonconsumptive use of wildlife became and blocked salmon access to their former spawning increasingly important and began to be reported streams throughout Prince William Sound, jeopar- in the 1960's. Nonconsumptive uses included bird- dizing commercial fisheries. National forest man- watching, wildlife observation, photography, and agers promptly evaluated the resource impacts of the related activities and were estimated at 10.1 million earthquake. In cooperation with the Alaska Depart- WFUD's by the end of the 1960's. The aesthetic ment of Fish and Game, management activities for appreciation of wildlife, though not included among the next few years rehabilitated spawning habitats in the nonconsumptive uses, was assuming greater several damaged streams, including installation of importance to the camper, the hiker, and the boater, fish ladders where land movements had caused who considered encounters with wildlife as valuable stream obstructions. In the Copper River Delta, parts of their recreation experience. Total WFUD's, nesting sites lost to landlift were replaced with new including nonconsumptive use, reached nearly 40 waterfowl nesting sites on some of the land inun- million in 1969, almost 25 percent of the total RVD dated by the seawater (USDA Forest Service 1 964- use on national forests (USDA Forest Service 1970). 1965; USDA Forest Service 1983). Emergence of a National Policy for The quality and diversity of national forest wildlife and fisheries habitat management grew in all dimen- the Environment in 1970 sions in the 1 960's. By the end of the decade, even though there was much room for further improve- The growing environmental movement of the 1 960's ment, the Public Land Law Review Commission culminated when President Nixon signed the cited national forest wildlife management as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) into law most active Federal effort in wildlife habitat im- on January 1, 1970. The new legislation opened the provement. (Public Land Law Review Commission way for more formalized and widespread public par- 1969). ticipation in national forest planning and management and required preparation of fuller and more 1960's Trends in Wildlife and Fisheries Use vigorous explanations of management alternatives as Hunting and fishing visits continued to increase, to a way to avoid or reduce adverse effects of manage- 30 million by 1965. In that year, however, the units ment activities on the environment. NEPA declared of use changed to the 12-hours-on-site wildlife/fish that it was national policy to encourage production

76 Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands:1945to1970

and enjoyable harmony between people and their multiregional attention and opened major timber environment; to promote efforts to protect or elim- and multiple-use management issues. Four are inate damage to the environment and the ecological reviewed here as a setting for national policy issues systems and to stimulate human health and welfare; that emerged in the1970'sand are addressed in and to enrich the understanding of ecological sys- Chapter4. Twoof the events were resolved in the tems and natural resources. It also established the short run through adaptive management and Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). research initiatives. Two others became the focal points of prolonged national debate and major The action-forcing part of NEPA was section policy changes. 1 02(2)(c),which required responsible officials to prepare detailed environmental impact statements Timber Management and Fish Habitat (EIS's) for every recommendation or report on pro- In the winter of1964and1965on the Payette and posals for legislation or other major Federal actions Boise National Forests in west central Idaho, heavy that significantly affected the quality of the human rain on snow resulted in massive water-caused environment. Henceforth, responsible officials were erosion from logged areas and from logging and to consult with and obtain the comments of any access roads on steep, stream-cut sideslopes of Federal agency with jurisdiction by law or expertise the South Fork of the Salmon River drainage. The over any reported environmental impacts. Copies of massive erosion washed prodigious amounts of sedi- such statements and the comments and views of the ment, estimated at1 .5million cubic yards, into the appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies auth- South Fork and its tributaries. This sediment severely orized to develop and enforce environmental stan- degraded prime spawning gravel and rearing habi- dards were to be made available to the CEQ and tats for one of the largest remaining and nationally public. important populations of Columbia River Basin summer Chinook salmon. Other species were also Insofar as National Forest System activities were affected. The watershed area covered more than concerned, the Forest Service, at the time, saw NEPA 1,000 square miles, an area slightly larger than the as an extension of the MUSY Act of1 960and the State of Rhode Island, with elevations ranging from Organic Act of1 897(USDA Forest Service1 972). 2,700to9,280feet. The soils in the South Fork NEPA made environmental considerations a full drainage were shallow and coarse textured and, partner with economic and technical forest manage- therefore, highly erodible when disturbed, partic- ment matters. Even though economic and social ularly on steep, stream-cut sideslopes. factors were to be considered, they were not NEPA's main thrust. Its primary focus was on environmental The massive landslide was the culmination of sev- considerations and informing the public about envi- eral decades of accumulating degrading influences ronmental effects. The Forest Service set about from a variety of land management activities. Before designing procedures to implement NEPA's require- 1940,the same watershed had been damaged exten- ments for full public disclosure of the environmental sively by uncontrolled dredge, placer, and hydraulic consequences of significant Federal actions. The mining and by domestic grazing activities. In the NEPA document prepared on the Monongahela mid-i940's, 350miles of road were built in the National Forest's clearcutting issue became one of drainage, with little attention to the erosion hazard. the Forest Service's first ElS's. From the mid-i940'sto the mid-i960's, 800addi- tional miles of road had been built many across the very steep and fragile slopes to log some325 The 1960's Open Major Issues for Timber million board feet of timber on about7percent of and Multiple-Use Management the drainage area. As roads rose to higher elevations, they undercut erosive slopes repeatedly, making Several major events in the1 960's,associated with them highly susceptible to severe slippage and slides both planned activities and natural phenomena, when soils became oversaturated (Payette National brought national forest management national and Forest et al.1989;Plattsi97i).

77 Chapter 3

As a result of the massive erosion, the Payette and forest managers on the Monongahela and all other Boise National Forests imposed a moratorium on eastern national forests managing hardwood timber logging and road construction in the upper South stands to study the research on the ground at the Fork drainage. Small-scale erosion control efforts Vinton Furnace Experimental Forest in Ohio and to began immediately. These efforts focused on reduc- participate in even-aged management field training ing the massive road-failure potential, particularly of sessions. Later, national direction established even- logging roads, on steep slopes. During the latter aged management as the primary system of hard- 1960'sand early1970's,more than500miles of log- wood management across the eastern United States, ging roads, almost half the total road system, were even though some biologists raised questions about closed and revegetated. Main access roads were also its implementation, though not its credibility as an revegetated and their drainage systems were im- effective system for timber-stand regeneration and proved. These control measures, together with the timber production. In updating its timber manage- stream's natural sediment flushing action and later ment plan, the Monongahela National Forest management actions to control or mitigate any aggressively endorsed this strong central direction unexpected acceleration of erosion, were designed and readily received approval for its plan from the to significantly reduce, in time, the amount of sedi- Washington Office (Weitzman1977). ment in the South Fork and its tributaries and, therefore, to reclaim fish habitat (Payette National Forest The real user concerns were not so much with even- et al.1989). aged management as a silvicultural system or clearcutting as a regeneration practice, but how the clearcuts were being applied their large size, Clearcutting: Hardwoods and Wildlife the concentration of clearcut areas, their impact on on the Monongahela National Forest squirrel and turkey high forest habitats, and their In the eastern United States in1964,local interests impairment of hunting opportunities and experience. on West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest, There were also concerns about the visual effects primarily squirrel and turkey hunters, began to raise and watershed impacts of large clearcut areas. questions about the clearcutting of central hard- Despite the complaints, the Monongahela National woods, primarily oak-hickory forests, as the Monon- Forest continued to implement even-aged manage- gahela implemented its new timber management ment as a technically sound and practical system for plan. The plan defined even-aged management as harvesting and regenerating hardwoods, including the "primary" system for managing all of the Forest's several large clearcut timber sales in close proximity CFL 750,000out of860,000acres. The decision to each other. These actions responded, in part, to to favor even-aged management, and particularly continuing strong demands for timber sales and clearcutting, emerged from a growing awareness mounting pressures from Congress and the public to among foresters that selection cutting, the favored meet housing needs (Weitzman1977).Such sales silvicultural practice for managing hardwood stands were also planned to take advantage of existing in the eastern United States before1964,was often roads to avoid the costs and environmental effects of not reproducing high-value, shade-intolerant species building more extensive road systems. Sale area such as yellow poplar, cherry, red oak, and others. sizes were often designed to increase the efficiency Research findings, documented in Timber Manage- of the logging opportunity. ment Guide for Upland Central Hardwoods (Central States Forest Experiment Station and North Central In1964,the West Virginia House of Delegates Region,1962)in the early1960's,had also estab- assembled a committee of natural resource profes- lished scientifically that even-aged management, sionals from the West Virginia University College of including clearcutti ng, regenerated shade-intolerant Forestry and the State Department of Natural Re- hardwoods more effectively than selection cutting. sources and asked them to study the new even-aged These convincing results received the strong support management practices. After studying national forest of the Forest Service's Washington Office timber management objectives and reviewing the selected management staff, who in turn directed national cutover areas on the Monongahela, the committee

78 Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands:1945to1970

concluded that "there appears to be no reason to be committee and its recommendations to the Monon- critical of the present practices" (Weitzman1977). gahela National Forest with direction to take correc- But this review had only included sales from an area tive action. However, the Monongahela's managers where the clearcuts were small enough and their could only make "limited progress because (as the nature technically sufficient to be generally accep- report indicated) the limitations in staffing, funding, table to forestry professionals. In1967,the West and policy were beyond local control" (Weitzman Virginia Legislature called for a second committee, 1977;USDA Forest Service1972). this time made up of legislators only, five each from the House and Senate, to evaluate the Mononga- Despite repeated efforts to reconcile the clearcutting hela's management practices. Their report was criti- question, the controversy continued and became cal of national forest timber management practices polarized and highly controversial during the1970's, and asked that the Forest "cease and desist from the resulting in a major Federal court suit and an appeal clearcut practices" and "that the selection cutting that eventually led to new legislation for the man- practices be re-employed" (Weitzman1 977). agement of national forests in1976the National Neither the Monongahela National Forest nor the Forest Management Act (NFMA). 1 968West Virginia Legislature took any follow-up action on this report. Ik - Timber Management Conflids Before1960,big elk managers in the Rocky Moun- In early1970,the West Virginia Legislature, respond- tains perceived that elk populations were often too ing to continuing citizen complaints, passed a third large for the carrying capacity of the available winter resolution, this time appointing a Forest Manage- range and, therefore, a major problem. In such situ- ment Practices Commission to study the effects of ations, hunting seasons were long and often allowed clearcutting on national forest lands. The Commis- hunters to harvest more than one animal. Logging sion included both legislators and citizen members was usually seen as beneficial where new forage knowledgeable in conservation and forestry. The areas were created, and logging roads often pro- Chief of the Forest Service, in turn, named a special vided hunters access to areas with low elk harvests in-service review committee to examine and report and large elk populations. During the1960's,how- on the Commission's study of the Monongahela's ever, hunters and wildlife biologists began to suspect timber harvesting practices. Because of the impor- possible adverse effects on elk related to logging, tance of even-aged management to National Forest road access, and loss of tree cover. Little was known System management and its controversial nature, the about elk response to timber harvests and roads, but Forest Service prepared a draft [IS based on the re- strong views emerged in many parts of the West view committee's assessment, filed it with the CEQ, about the reductions in local deer and elk herds and circulated it to other agencies and the public. despite improved forage supplies in newly roaded The Forest, the Eastern Region, and the Washington areas. Some concerned observers suggested that elk Office carefully studied comments from the State moved to adjacent undisturbed areas. Others Commission and other sources. The Final [IS, expressed concerns that increased access and elk released in December1970,suggested the need for hunting efficiency would lead to shorter seasons, a several changes in current practices which the State lower quality of hunting experience, and even herd Commission's report had also suggested. The Forest reductions (Lyon et al.1985). Service's [IS specifically concurred with the State Commission's recommendation that individual clear- In1970,a proposed timber sale that would have cuts normally be less than25acres and agreed to modified elk summer habitat in the Little Belt Moun- follow it.It further declared that high-quality forest tains on Montana's Lewis and Clark National Forest culture required a variety of cutting methods, includ- led to a meeting of concerned State, national forest, ing clearcutting, to produce different timber stands and private resource managers and biologists to for a variety of wildlife associated with different discuss the potential impact of elk winter concen- timber-stand structures and conditions. The Wash- trations on State-owned and private lands. That ington Office transmitted the report of the review meeting led directly to the design and initiation of a

79 Chapter 3

concerns was a perception that the rate of timber r4: harvest was too high and V that the forest was being overcut (BoIle1989; a Popovich1975). Si: .1 A In1967,these concerns drew the attention of Mon- tana's Senator Lee Metcalf, 't 5 -y. a Bitterroot Valley resident He explored the problem with the University of

I Montana forestry facu ty and, in1968,in preference ;'1

i_ to a full congressional investigation, he encour- 1_t I. aged the University to look into it at the local level. In ;:j J.'

- 1969, ,, the spring of the t - .- ., regional forester, acting -f

: jointly with the director of the Intermountain Forest Elk herd on spring range, Upper Galla tin River near the northern boundary of Yellowstone and Range Experiment National Park, Gallatin National Forest, Montana. Station, responded to a written critique by a coalition of Bitterroot Valley long-term Montana Cooperative Elk-Logging Study conservationists and to criticisms in the local press in1970,with seven different study areas located by appointing a task force to assess the problem throughout western Montana. Ultimately, the internally. It was a thorough, comprehensive exam- research was highly successful in analyzing elk ination addressing specific charges that clearcutting behavior and habitat needs in managed timber areas and terracing on steep mountain slopes were injur- and led to improved timber management and road- ious to water quality, physically unappealing, and ing practices on a broad landscape management unnecessary; that roads were improperly construc- scale to favor elk habitat. ted; that much of the Bitterroot Valley forest should not be logged; and that the allowable cut was higher The Emergence of the Bitterroot Controversy than could be sustained. During the1960's,the timber management practices on Montana's Bitterroot National Forest became the About the same time, Senator Metcalf saw no reason focus of unrelenting criticism from a growing num- for the University committee, chaired by Dean ber of Bitterroot Valley residents. Their concerns Arnold Bolle, to hold off on its independent investi- centered on the visual effects of an increasing gation. The University committee, tentatively set up number of clearcuts on the steep slopes surrounding in1968,had spent some time evaluating the prob- the valley. Other concerns included soil erosion, lem and the information role it could perform. The water runoff, wildlife habitat damage, and reduced Senator respected the Forest Service study and had property values. Farmers feared for their irrigation encouraged it. However, he felt the preponderance water supplies. Real-estate people were troubled of local criticism was a strong reason for the Univer- with the effect of highly visible clearcuts on scenic sity committee to give another point of view and per- landscapes and property values. At the core of these haps some corroboration to the work of the national Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands: 1945 to 1970

forest task force. In December 1969, he formally USDA For. Serv. Res. Paper PNW-1 1, Pacific Northwest requested the University committee to study "the Forest and Range Experiment Station, Portland, OR. long-range effects of clearcutting, and the dominant 63 pp. role of timber production in the Forest Service Fed kiw, John 1981. Memo dated November 1, 1981, to policy"(Bolle 1989; Wilkinson and Anderson 1985; Douglas W. MacCleery, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Popovich 1975). Natural Resources and the Environment, USDA, Washington, D.C. The Bitterroot National Forest report was released in Fed kiw, John. 1993. Natural Resources: Federal Spending April 1970, well before the "Bolle Report," as the and Resource Performance. Office of Budget and Program Analysis, U.S. Department of Agriculture, University committee's report came to be known. Washington, DC. 32 pp. The national forest report concluded that the Bitter- root Forest had exceeded its allowable cut and rec- Frederick, Kenneth D. 1991. "Water Resources: Increasing Demand and Scarce Supplies." In: America's ommended greater control over timber management Renewable Resources: Historical Trends and through land-use planning. Although there were Challenges. Edited by Kenneth D. Frederick and R. A. some dissenters, the Bitterroot report was praised Sedjo. Resources for the Future, Inc., Washington, DC. both by national forest supporters and critics. The pp. 2 3-80. Bitterroot report had addressed the concerns primar- Leonard, George W. 1 995. Review notes to author dated ily as a specific resource management problem. The September 14, 1995. Washington, D.C. Bolle Report, issued 6 months later in November Lyon, L. Jack, T.N. Lonner, H.P. Wegand, C.L. Marcum, 1 970, shaped its findings and recommendations W.D. Edge, J.D. Jones, D.W. MacCleary, and L.L. Hicks. from apolicyviewpoint as Senator Metcalf's request 1 985. Coordinating Elk and Timber Management. suggested. rhis approach was instrumental in ele- USDA Forest Service Intermountain Forest and Range vating clearcutting practices on national forests to a Experiment Station; Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks; University of Montana Forestry major national policy issue in 1971 and later years School; USD1 Bureau of Land Management; and Plum (Bolle 1989; Wilkinson and Anderson 1985; Creek Timber Company, Inc., Missoula, MT. 53 pp. Popovich 1 975). The national aspects of the Monon- McLean, Herbert F. 1993. "The Wildfire Fiasco." American gahela and Bitterroot National Forest clearcutting Forests 99:5-6:15 (May/June 1993). issues are discussed further in Chapter 4. Payette National Forest, Boise National Forest, and the Intermountain Forest Experiment Station. 1989. South References Fork of the Salmon River Restoration Strategy. 43-0261 9-0265. Prepared for USDA Forest Service by Chinook Benedict, Warren B. 1981. History of White Pine Blister Rust Northwest, Inc., Eagle, ID. 19 pp. ControlA Personal Account. FS-355. USDA Forest Peterson, R. Max. 1983. The Evolution of Minerals Service, Washington, DC. 47 pp. Management on the National Forest System: New Bolle, Arnold W. 1989. "The Bitterroot Revisited: A Challenges, Recognitions, and Needs. Remarks to University Re-View of the Forest Service." The Public Advanced Minerals Management Course, Marana, AZ, Land Law Review 10:1-18. University of Oregon, December 9, 1 983. USDA Forest Service, Washington Eugene. DC. 1 7 pp. copy.

Central States Forest Experiment Station and North Central Plans, William 5. 1971. 'The Effects of Logging and Road Region. 1962. Timber Management Guide for Upland Construction on the Aquatic Habitat of the South Fork Central Hardwoods. USDA Forest Service, Columbus, Salmon River, Idaho." In: "Clear Cutting" Practices on OH. 33 pp. National Timberlands. Hearing before the Subcommittee on Public Lands of the Committee on Interior and Clary, David A. 1 986. Timber and the Forest Service. Insular Affairs, U.S. Senate. 92nd Congress, First Session. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS. 252 pp. p. 113. Cliff, Edward P. No date. Oral history on file with Forest Popovich, Luke. 1975. "The Bitterroot Remembrances of Service History Unit. USDA Forest Service, Washington Things Past." Journal of Forestry 73:1 2:791 -793. DC. Powell, Douglas S., J.L. Faulkner, D.R. Darr, Z. Zhu, and Fedkiw, John 1 964. Forest Industry Capacity, Production, D.W. MacC leery. 1992. Forest Resources in the United and Available Log Supplies in the Douglas-fir Subregion. States. Gen. Tech. Report RM-234. Rocky Mountain

[a Chapter 3

Forest and Range Experiment Station, USDA Forest USDA Forest Service. 1947-1948. ReportoftheChief of Service, Fort Collins, CO. 132 pp. the Forest Service for Fiscal Years1947 and 1948. Washington, DC. Public Land Law Review Commission. 1969. "Fish and Wildlife Management Programs on Federal and USDA Forest Service. 1 949. ReportoftheChief ofthe State-owned Lands" Chapter XII (Vol. II). OneThird Forest Service for Fiscal Year1949.Washington, DC. oftheNation's Land:AReport tothe Presidentand USDA Forest Service. 1951-1952. ReportoftheChief of the Congress. Public Land Law Review Commission, the Forest Service for Fiscal Years1951 and 1952. Washington DC. pp. 267-291. Washington, DC. Radtke, Robert E., J. Byelick, and G. lnoue. 1983. USDA Forest Service. 1953. ReportoftheChief ofthe "Endangered Bird of Fire the Kirtland's Warbler." Forest Service for Fiscal Year1953.Washington, DC. Using Our Natural Resources:1983 Yearbook of Agriculture. U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA Forest Service. 1 959. ReportoftheChief ofthe Washington DC. pp. 1 74-1 81. Forest Service for Fiscal Year1958.Washington, DC. Roth, Dennis M. 1984a. The WildernessMovement and USDA Forest Service. 1 956-i 968. ReportoftheChief of theNationalForests:1964-1980.FS-391. USDA the Forest Service for Fiscal Years1955-1967. Forest Service, Washington, DC. 70 pp. Washington, DC. Roth, Dennis M. 1 984b. "The National Forests and the USDA Forest Service.1 961 a.DevelopmentProgram for Campaign for Wilderness Legislation." Journalof NationalForests. Misc. Pub. 896. Washington, DC. Forest History. 28:3. pp. 112-1 25. 26 pp. oftheChief ofthe Row, Clark. 1962.RegionalCompetition for Softwood USDA Forest Service. 1 961 b. Report 1960.Washington, DC. Lumber.Southern Forest Experiment Station, USDA Forest Service for Fiscal Year Forest Service, New Orleans, LA. 10 pp. USDA Forest Service. 1 963-1 964. ReportoftheChief of Rowley, William D. 1985. U.S. Forest Service Grazing the Forest Service for Fiscal Years1962-1963. Washington, DC. and Rangelands:A History. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, TX. 270 pp. USDA Forest Service. 1 964-1 965. ReportoftheChief of the Forest Service for Fiscal Years1963 and 1964. Steen, Harold K. 1976. The U.S. ForestService:A History. Washington, DC. University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA. 356 pp. USDA Forest Service. 1 968-1 970. ReportoftheChief of Thomas, Jack Ward, J. Verner, L.R. Jahn, R.D. Sparrow, D.E. the Forest Service for Fiscal Years1967-1969. Toweill, M. Bender, and T. Quigley. 1988. Statusand Washington, DC. Trends ofU.S.RenewableResources: Wildlife. From tabulations of elk trends presented to the National USDA Forest Service. 1 970. ReportoftheChief ofthe Conference on Natural Resources for the 21st Centur) Forest Service for Fiscal Year1969.Washington, DC. November 1988, under the sponsorship of the American USDA Forest Service. 1972. ReportoftheChief ofthe Forest Forestry Association, Washington, DC. Service for Fiscal Years1970-1971.Washington, DC. Ulrich, Alice H. 1989. U.S. TimberProduction,Trade, USDA Forest Service. 1 980.PersonnelRequirementsof Consumption and 1950-87. Price Statistics Misc. the Forest Service, Fiscal Year1982.Program Pub. No. 1471. USDA Forest Service, Washington, Development and Budget Division, Washington, DC. 77 pp. DC. 5 pp. USDA Forest Service. 1 945. ReportoftheChief ofthe USDA Forest Service.1 983. Chugach National Forest Forest Service for Fiscal Year1945.Washington, DC. map and brochure. Anchorage, Alaska. USDA Forest Service. 1945-1 950. ReportoftheChief of USDA Forest Service. 1984.AnnualAllowable Harvest the Forest Service for Fiscal Years1945-1950. Potential Yield byRegion andFiscal Year,1940- Washington, DC. 1984.Tabulation provided by Timber Management Staff, Washington, DC. USDA Forest Service. 1945-1 962. ReportoftheChief of the Forest Service for Fiscal Years1945-1 961. USDA Forest Service. 1 992a. Historical Data Base forForest Washington, DC. Service Programs,1963 to 1991.Washington, DC.

USDA Forest Service. 1 945-1 970. ReportoftheChief of USDA Forest Service.1 992b. Preparing for the Future: the Forest Service for Fiscal Years1945-1 969. Forest ServiceResearchNatural Areas. FS-503. Washington, DC. Produced in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy. Washington, DC. 10 pp.

82 Managing Multiple Uses in the Face of Unprecedented National Demands: 1945 to 1970

USDA Forest Service 1993. Timber Sold/Harvested Wilkinson, Charles F., and H.M. Anderson. 1985. "Land Report for 1950-1992. Timber Management Staff, and Resources Planning in the National Forests." Washington, DC. Oregon Law Review 64:1-2. University of Oregon, Eugene. 373 pp. Weitzman, Sidney. 1 977. Lessons of the Monongahela Experience: An In-Service Analysis of the USDA Wilson, Carl N. 1967. Decision Making and Multiple Forest Service. Washington, DC. 62 PP. Use Management in the United States Forest Wells Associates, Inc. 1985. National Forest Trails: Service. Master's thesis. University of Montana, Neglected and Disappearing. Bainbridge Island, Missoula, MT. 90 pp. WA. 14 pp. Wilson, Carl N. 1978. "Land Management Planning West, Terry.1 992. Mini-histories of the Forest Service Processes of the Forest Service." Environmental Law Centennial. USDA Forest Service. Washington, DC. 8:46 1 -477. 72 PP. Worrall, Allison. 1994. "Pest Management: A Glimpse Wheeler, Philip. 1969. The South's Third Forest. Southern into the Past." History Line. Winter 1994. . USDA Forest Experiment Station, USDA Forest Service, Forest Service, Washington DC. pp. 7-9. New Orleans, LA.

Chapter 4 Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the 1970's

The National Setting opportunity for both the housing and timber industries. Rising lumber and plywood prices increased National demands for timber, energy, water and housing costs and were seen as a threat to achieving water quality, beef, wildlife and fish, and opportu- these goals. nities for outdoor recreation and wilderness experience continued to increase dramatically during the The controversy over clearcutting on national forests 1 970's.National awareness of environmental was elevated to a national policy issue. In order to systems their composition, structure, and func- raise and maintain the allowable cut, the timber tions and the public interest in the need to sustain industry sought legislation to increase funding to them for the needs of future generations likewise manage national forest timber resources more increased as the environmental movement contin- intensively. Wilderness interests and environmen- ued to advance. These burgeoning demands and the talists opposed national forest timber harvest growing public awareness of environmental con- increases and turned to litigation under NEPA and cerns intensified pressures on all the uses of national related legislation to achieve their national forest forest lands and resources as well as the calls for management and wilderness designation goals. preservation and management adjustments to keep their environmental systems healthy, diverse, and The Forest Service, in an effort to overcome a grow- productive. ing uncertainty about the management ofdefacto wilderness areas, particularly as it related to timber In this setting, conflicts over the use and manage- harvest planning, initiated the Roadless Area Review ment of national forests opened up national policy and Evaluation (RARE) process to speed up the des- issues and debates that burdened and challenged the ignation of wilderness areas and release nondesig- Forest Service throughout the1970's.At the field nated roadless areas for multiple-use management. level, national forest managers struggled to respond A court challenge aborted the RARE process. Wilder- to the rising demands for use and, as well as they ness planning was slowed to a snail's pace. Roadless could, to the national policy issues and growing areas could not be entered without NEPA-based management challenges. This chapter addresses environmental analysis. As a result, timber harvest- the major policy issues and debates of the1970's. ing was increasingly concentrated on already roaded Chapter5reviews the actual performance of timber lands. This contributed fuel to the issues of national forest land and resource management at clearcutting and the general adequacy of national the field level. forest management.

Huge increases in lumber and plywood prices begin- Wilderness, environmental, and conservation ning in the late1960'sand continuing throughout interest groups became polarized against commodity the1 970'sraised the concern and efforts of the producers over the proper use and management of Administration and Congress to expand timber sup- the national forests. The issue was exacerbated by plies from national forests. Controlling this inflation acknowledged shortfalls in the implementation of became a priority because lumber and plywood clearcutting on some national forests. The Forest prices were adding disproportionately to the national Service estimated that the1970national forest inflation problem. In1968,President Johnson pro- allowable cut,12.9bbf, could, with more intensive posed the construction of an additional26million management, be increased by7bbf by1 978.It also housing units in the next decade fully a million firmly believed that the increase could be realized more units per year, than those built annually with greater funding and guarantees that those in- between1 950and1 968.The housing goals not only creases would remain available in future years. As called for a decent home for every family; the low- NEPA's environmental quality implications became income housing target became an important com- clear, the potential allowable cut was further qual- ponent of the Administration's national poverty ified as the most timber that could be made avail- program. Such goals, in turn, were seen as a growth able without unacceptable environmental impacts.

85 Chapter4

The year1970introduced a decade of new direction This legislation was extraordinary in two ways. It and guidelines for managing multiple uses on na- established national housing goals in quantitative tional forests; it became a decade of adaptation by terms for a fixed time period an unprecedented national forest managers. Court suits over national approach in national policy. It also required forest planning and management multiplied. Con- monitoring public and private performance in gressional efforts at substantive legislation to resolve meeting scheduled annual targets and revision of the polarization between commodity and amenity plans and targets in the event of a shortfall. values failed. However, consensus emerged on procedural legislation and guidelines for long-term Increasing the Nation's housing inventory by26mil- national planning for the National Forest System, lion units was an ambitious initiative; it responded to research, and State and private forestry programs the need to replace aging housing and meet housing the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources needs of the maturing postwar Baby Boomers. At Planning Act of1974(RPA) and for the planning spring1968congressional hearings, officials of the and management of the individual national forests Department of Housing and Urban Development the National Forest Management Act of1976 (HUD) testified on the feasibility and economic (NFMA). effects of the Administration's proposed housing goal. They felt that there was no reason that This chapter reviews the management conflicts over industries supplying major building materials, such and the emergence of new national policy for the as lumber and plywood, could not supply the addi- use and management of national forests and how tional requirements to meet the President's goal. that policy changed procedures and guidelines for planning and managing multiple uses. It also reviews USDA also participated in the development of the the performance of the Forest Service's hierarchical President's housing proposal. After the proposal was organization and decentralized management in sent to Congress, the Secretary of Agriculture's plan- addressing these issues. ning, evaluation, and programming staff evaluated the timber supply and demand impacts of the pro- Administration and Congressional Efforts posed increased housing construction. It determined To Expand National Forest Timber Supplies that the increase would double1965-67timber prices and increase lumber and plywood prices by about6percent per year (USDA1968).It reported Housing Goals, Timber Demands, that increases in softwood timber harvest from and Price Responses Federal lands were the most effective way for the The enactment of the Housing and Urban Develop- Federal Government to increase timber supplies and ment Act of1 968increased the concerns of Con- dampen lumber and plywood price inflation, and gress and the Administration about expanding timber that rapid increases in Federal timber harvests would supplies from national forests and other sources. It raise issues with public groups interested in natural reaffirmed the Housing Act of1949'sgoal "The beauty and wilderness objectives. realization as soon as feasible of the goal of a decent home and a suitable living environment for every The Secretary of Agriculture transmitted the special American family." Congress determined that the study findings and his timber program recommenda- Johnson Administration's goal of26million housing tions for the President's fiscal year1970budget to units could be substantially achieved. The1968 the President's Office of Management and Budget housing legislation directed the President to present (0MB) in September1 968.The recommendations a 10-year detailed plan and schedule to achieve his proposed modest increases in national forest timber goal and to report on its progress annually. If per- sales, reforestation, and timber stand improvement formance failed to meet scheduled targets, the and restoration of the forest road construction pro- President's report was to explain why housing targets gram that had been sharply reduced in FY1969as could not be met and what steps needed to be taken an anti-inflation measure; increased funding for to achieve rescheduled targets in subsequent years. recreation, with smaller increases in other nontimber Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the 1970's

resource areas; small increases in all Forest Service research program areas; and technical assistance to 170 encourage greater timber harvesting on nonindustrial private lands. The President's FY 1970 budget 150 retained the pattern of proposed increases, but C) reduced their amount due to other national priorities 130 and tight budget ceilings designed to contain general 110 inflation. - 90 In the meantime, housing construction rose steadily from an annual rate of 1 .4 million units in January 70 1968 to 1 .7 million units in thefirst quarter of 1969 50 (fig. 10). During the same period, the relative price 1960 1970 1980 1990 of softwood lumber rose similarly, but more rapidly Year (fig. 11). By March 1969, it was 50 percent higher than the average, largely stable lumber price level Figure 11. Wholesale price trend for softwood lumber, between 1950 and 1968. But U.S. lumber 1960-1988 production did not rise it stayed at the average Index = average current market price of all softwood wood lumber divided by the producer price index for all communities. annual level of the previous 1 7 years, 29 bbf. Source: USDA Forest Service 1990.

Softwood plywood relative prices were at their historically lowest level in 1967. They had declined steadily since 1950, by 45 percent, while plywood enclosure in housing construction. The plywood production had risen each year to almost 5 times the itself was more costly, but it cost less to install. By 1950 production largely as a result of plywood March 1969, plywood relative prices had risen to substitution for the softwood lumber boards trad- 1 00 percent above 1 967 levels, but plywood pro- itionally used for sheathing, subflooring, and roof duction had risen only 15 percent.

The timber industry quickly interpreted these sharp rises in lumber and plywood prices without corresponding rises in lumber and plywood production as a critical short-term softwood sawtimber shortage. Price 0 increases on national forest I timber were much greater, and, in part, reflected some speculative bidding in the timber industry. Timber and housing industry officials quickly informed the 1950-54 1955-59 1960-64 1965-69 1970-74 1975-79 1 980-84 1985-89 1990-94 Administration and Year Congress of the timber supply shortage, rising Figure 10. Average new housing units constructed annually per 5-year period, timber prices, increasing 1950-1994 (includes new housing starts and mobile home shipments) lumber and plywood costs, Source: USDA Forest Service; U.S. Bureau of the Census. and the increasing cost of Chapter 4

housing construction (American Enterprise Institute 1974; Le Master 1984).

0U) The Administration's Initial Response to U) 0 Rising Timber Demands and Prices National elections brought a new Republican 10 Administration in January 1969, with a new set of policy officials. By early March 1969, the new Director of the Budget, responding to USDA's special study and the lumber and plywood price market signals, and to evaluate possible policy and 1963 1968 1973 1978 1983 1988 1993 program changes for FY 1971 and subsequent Year budgets, requested the USDA to prepare a careful analysis of timber supply alternatives and their Figure 12. Trend of new home mortgage interest rates, budgetary and social implications. At the same time, 1963-1994 the new Cabinet Committee on Economic Policy Source: Economic Report of the President 1995. appointed the Interagency Task Force on Softwood Lumber and Plywood under the Budget Director to study the price, demand, and supply situation and The planned FY 1969 public timber sale increases recommend appropriate short-term actions to were not realized. Actually, national forest saw- ameliorate the price pressures. timber sold in FY 1970 dropped 1 .2 bbf below the 1 968 sales level of 10.8 bbf a decrease caused by The task force analysis for the short term was quickly the extremely high appraised prices generated for completed and its recommendations approved by national forest timber by the rising housing construc- the President all within 2 weeks. It called for tion and lumber and plywood prices in 1968 and easing short-term transportation bottlenecks in early 1969 and the low timber demand following the lumber and plywood shipments; increasing FY 1969 sudden drop in housing construction and lumber Federal timber sales by a billion board feet, mainly and plywood prices in the balance of 1 969 and from national forests, but also 10 percent from BLM 1 970. The timber industry appealed the situation to lands; closely supervising defense wood products the Secretary of Agriculture, and almost all of the procurement; and negotiating with Japan to reduce planned but unsold FY 1 969 national forest timber log exports from the West Coast. sale offerings were reoffered in FY 1970. To reduce any future lags between national forest timber sale In the early spring of 1969, due to mortgage credit price appraisals and a rapid decline in lumber and shortages and rapidly escalating interest rates plywood prices, the Forest Service adjusted its (fig. 12), there was a sudden, unexpected decline in housing construction, which caused lumber and method of updating appraisal prices to reflect the current timber market. With these adjustments, tim- plywood prices to fall sharply. The lumber and plywood shortage and price problem promptly dissi- ber sold on national forests rose to 12.3 bbf in 1970. The planned sale volume for FY 1970 was 12.7 bbf pated for the rest of 1969 and remained dormant through the 1970 general economic recession and (USDA 1972). reduced housing construction. The task force, nevertheless, believed that timber supplies and prices Congressional Response and the would be a continuing problem for national housing Timber Supply Ad of 1969 goals and directed the Forest Service and the BLM to In the spring of 1969, both houses of the 91st Con- analyze possible timber sale increases on their lands gress held hearings on lumber price increases, rising giving equal weight to ensuring environmental housing costs, and the problems of lumber produc- quality. tion. They focused on the adequacy of the Pres- ident's proposed actions, the need for additional Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the 1970's

forest roads, and the long-term alternatives for Annual appropriations for forest management were expanding timber supplies. The more than 40 typically viewed as postponable because the return witnesses included representatives from HUD, the on timber investments was seen as occurring only in housing industry, and a cross-section of timber pro- the long term. Congress readily justified such post- duct manufacturers as well as "government and pri- ponements using inflation control and other short- vate witnesses," all of whom Senator John Sparkman term financial budget pressures as a rationale. of Alabama, chairman of the Senate hearing, said Nevertheless, the timber industry proposal was "hold the solution to the problem." The latter favorably received by several members of Congress. included representatives of the Forest Service, the It was introduced under the common title of the BLM, and nonindustrial forest owners and wilder- National Timber Supply Act of 1969 in both the ness, recreation, and wildlife advocates. Senate and House in April 1969 and the House Subcommittee on Forests scheduled hearings on the There was little disagreement about the issue. It was House version (H.R. 10344) for May 1969. There succinctly defined by the question raised by the was widespread, bipartisan support for this bill, President of the National Homebuilders Association: which was cosponsored by 56 Congressmen. How is the housing industry going to get the lumber and plywood to construct an average of 2.6 million The hearings on H.R. 10344 drew testimony from units per year to 1978, the goal of the 1968 Housing 63 witnesses, including representatives of 1 0 envi- Act, when the industry can not get enough timber ronmental, conservation, and wilderness interest and wood products to produce 1.5 million units in groups. All 10 opposed or called for substantial 1969? The Senate hearing concluded that national modification of the bill's strong timber orientation. forest timber harvests, with 50 percent of the The timber industry supported the bill vigorously. Nation's softwood sawtimber inventory, were much The Administration generally opposed establishing below their potential. The Senate's report on the a permanent trust fund because such funds reduced hearings emphasized that national forest timber future budget flexibility. As the hearings drew to a production could be substantially increased and close, however, the USDA proposed minor funding assure future supplies if "the necessary investment revisions and amendments to ensure funding in- was made in intensive forest management on a creases for managing the nontimber multiple uses continuing basis" (U.S. Senate 1 969). and resources that would be affected when timber sale levels were increased. Shortly after the hearings, the timber industry, to substantially increase annual national forest timber Conservation groups saw H.R. 10344 as a threat to production, drafted a legislative proposal to establish future wilderness designation and the development a fund from national forest timber receipts to finance of recreational and other nontimber national forest silvicultural practices. The proposal reflected the resources and a hazard to the best allocation of findings of the Forest Service's Douglas-fir supply available funds among national forest uses and ser- study on alternatives for increasing timber supplies vices. The executive director of the National Wildlife on national forest lands in the Douglas-fir region of Federation submitted testimony that made it clear western Washington and Oregon and northern that the Federation would use all its energy and California (USDA Forest Service 1969b). The find- resources to "go to the people" if the timber industry ings showed that the allowable cut could be sub- persisted in its efforts to increase Federal timber har- stantially increased if guaranteed sustained annual vests where it would be "unwise" from the point of investments could be made for reforestation, timber view of all land values (Le Master 1984). stand improvement, thinnings, and other practices to increase the intensity of timber management, and for The Sierra Club said it supported more intensive adequate road access to accomplish them. Chief management on certain national forest lands, but Edward Cliff enunciated this finding. The principal only under the following conditions: sound, ecolo- emphasis of the industry's proposal was on increased gical forest principles would be followed rather than sustained annual investment (Le Master 1984). the maximum production of timber in the shortest Chapter 4

time; strict provisions would be made to ensure pro- recreation areas." They also initiated a grassroots tection of all multiple-use values, even where timber campaign to encourage their members to send letters was the main objective; intensive management and telegrams to Congress (Le Master 1 984). would occur only on lands that everybody plainly agreed should be managed for timber; and areas Final debate and House action on H.R. 1 2025 were having outstanding scenic and wilderness values, scheduled for late February 1970. The resolution to long identified and stated by conservation groups debate the measure was defeated by a vote of locally and across the country, would be excluded 225 to 1 50 with 52 abstentions. Opposition from from H.R. 10344 policy direction. conservation, environmental, and wilderness interests contributed importantly to this defeat. The bill The environmental, conservation, and wilderness died without a discussion of its merits on the House interests thus saw the Timber Supply Act as giving floor. Other contributing factors were the return of timber dominance over other resources that were to lumber and plywood prices to 1967 levels, restora- be given equal consideration under the MUSY Act of tion of adequate timber supplies in early 1 970, and a 1960. Both the Sierra Club and the Wilderness Soci- first cresting of popularity of the new environmental ety saw H.R. 10344 as foreclosing designation of movement. The expressed opposition of Wayne de facto wilderness areas, largely road less areas that Aspinall of Colorado, Chairman of the House Com- a national forest had defined as capable of growing mittee on Interior and Insular Affairs and Chairman commercial timber products and providing other of the Public Land Law Review Commission (PLLRC) multiple uses (Le Master 1984). authorized by the House Committee in 1964, was also a critical factor. He agreed with the motives for Responding to the hearings, the House Forests Sub- the introduction and support of H.R. 12025, but committee extensively revised H.R. 1 0344 to address considered any action on the legislation at that time the objections of conservation, environmental, and to be untimely. He favored a more balanced solution wilderness interests while maintaining its key of the timber supply problem based on the PLLRC feature: a "high timber yield fund" based on "all the report, which was to be released shortly and was not unallocated receipts from the saie of timber and yet available to Congress. Aspinall's approach other forest products, to sustain intensive timber favored classification of national forest lands by management practices on national forests." The dominant uses, including commercial timber pro- revised bill was replaced by a "clean" bill, H.R. duction, as opposed to the multiple-use approach. 12025. After the Subcommittee and full Committee But this idea never made any policy headway. The adopted additional amendments, including a PLLRC report was largely ignored. Its recommenda- broader title the National Forest Conservation and tions were commodity oriented and out of step with Management Act it was favorably reported by the environmental concerns and NEPA policy direction Subcommittee in September 1 969 by a vote of 23 to 1 (Le Master 1 984). (Le Master 1 984). Emergence of the Forest and Rangeland Although much of the bill's interest and urgency was Renewable Resources Planning Act in 1974 lost with the collapse of lumber and plywood prices In 1 971 and 1 972, housing construction rose to new in the spring of 1969, the timber industry saw it as a peaks, 2.6 million and 3.0 million units, respectively, victory (AEI 1974). In December 1969, however, the then dipped back to 2.6 million units in 1973. Lumber Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, the lzaak Walton relative prices rose by 50 percent; plywood prices by League, the National Rifle Association, the Wildlife 40 percent. They contributed disproportionately Management Institute, Trout Unlimited, Friends of several times their weight in the wholesale price the Earth, and the Committee on Natural Resources index to the general inflation that the President's sent out telegrams and letters warning that H.R. Economic Stabilization Program was trying to con- 1 2025 "threatens America's national forests, scuttles trol. The program's credibility was being affected historic multiple-use practices, and undermines by the magnitude of lumber and plywood price prospective parks, wilderness, open space, and increases (Fig.1 3) and by reported irregularities and Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the 1970's

distortions in the industry's response to price-control the same time, Oregon's Senator Mark Hatfield efforts. At the same time, the Government was seen introduced the American Forestry Act, 5. 350. It as a major contributor to both the demand problem would have authorized a forestry incentives program (through the housing goals) and the supply problem to encourage forest development on nonindustrial (through inflexible national forest timber supplies). private and State-owned lands; a forest land management fund for Federal lands based on timber sale In March 1973, more than 2,000 members of the receipts, similar to that in the Timber Supply Act of National Association of Homebuilders and the 1969; and an American Forestry Policy Board to National Lumber and Building Materials Association counsel the Secretaries of Agriculture and the staged a mass meeting in Washington, D.C. They Interior on forest land policy. Senator Lee Metcalf were strongly supported by the National Forest of Montana introduced the Forest Lands Restoration Products Association. They "marched" on congres- and Protection Act, 5. 1 734, as an environmental sional and Federal agency offices to dramatize the analog to Senator Hatfield's bill, and Congressman seriousness of the lumber and plywood supply John Dingell of Michigan introduced the same act as problem for homebuilders, who were increasingly H.R. 7383 in the House. The latter bills focused on unable to get framing materials a problem that the establishing rigorous regulatory requirements for President of the Homebuilders Association said was both private and public forest lands, including the intensified by the failure of the national forests to licensing of foresters and requiring that licensed make the full allowable cut available. foresters prepare mandatory harvest plans for private lands. "Sound forestry practices" were spelled out in Between 1971 and 1973, a period of rising limber detail for Federal lands, including the use of long and plywood demands and prices, there were re- rotations and the 11even-flow principle" defined as peated efforts to pass legislation to increase present "perpetual yield of approximately equal annual timber supplies by intensifying the management of amounts ... in quantities which do not decline and national forest timber. In 1971, Congressman which may increase." Charles Griffin of Mississippi introduced a bill, H.R. 156, essentially identical to the Timber Supply In 1973, during the 93rd Congress, Senator Sparkman Act of 1969, but it failed to get a hearing. At about introduced the Wood Supply and National Lands

(a) National forest stumpage for selected softwood species (b)Allsoftwood lumber, plywood, and wholesale commodities

Douglas-fir AllSoftwood Lumber

Western hemkx

AllSoftwood P'ywood Ponderosa pine

AllCommodities Southern pine

0 100 200 300 400 0 50 100 150 Price in Dollars PrIce Index(1982-100) Figure 13. Price increases for softwood lumber, 1970-1 979 Source: Ulrich 1990.

91 Chapter4

Investment Act,5.1 775,an updated version of the Friends of the Earth, the Audubon Society, the Timber Supply Act. Senator Hatfield introduced a National Wildlife Federation, the Wilderness Society, revised version of the American Forestry Act as and the American Forestry Association likewise 5. 1996.Both were referred to the Senate Committee opposed both bills for their own reasons. on Agriculture and Forestry, which was deeply involved with a bill for a forestry incentives program Instead of pursuing the highly polarized conser- for private nonindustrial lands and another bill ban- vation vs. timber industry timber supply bills, the ning log exports from Federal and non-Federal lands Committee on Agriculture and Forestry turned to a in the Pacific Northwest. The forestry incentives bill new proposal 5. 2296,the National Forest had wide support among most interest groups, and Environmental Management Act, which eventually this consensus contributed largely to its eventual became the Forest and Rangeland Renewable enactment. It authorized annual appropriations of Resources Planning Act of1974(RPA). The bill was $25million to share forestry practice costs on non- written as a procedural measure rather than policy industrial private woodlands of500acres or less. direction. Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota introduced it as an amendment to the1973Farm The export of softwood logs from the West Coast to Bill. His purpose was to provide a participative, Japan became a public issue in the late1960's,when long-term planning approach to national forest man- softwood log exports threatened to rise above2bbf agement that would reduce the extreme differences per year. Although almost all the export volume between the timber industry and the environmental, came from non-Federal lands, the Secretaries of conservation, and wilderness interests and the dis- Agriculture and the Interior in April1968issued trust of the Forest Service that had emerged in both joint orders restricting the volume of unprocessed groups in the preceding decade. He also wanted the timber that could be harvested and exported from process to circumvent the conventional short-run national forests and BLM timberlands to350million fiscal expediency in OMB's approach to Forest board feet. No restriction was placed on the amount Service appropriations. Thus,5. 2296did not specify of "processed" timber that could be exported. The any substantive policy or program goals for man- Secretaries' export quota was legislated and became aging national forests; instead; it provided a process effective January1,1 969,and expired on December to develop management goals and a means to fulfill 31, 1973(Hines1987). them using a modified budget process. Based on the President's commitment to support these manage- The proposal to ban log exports was seen as ment goals, this process could potentially ensure addressing symptoms rather than causes and was sustained and sufficient funding (Le Master1984). not considered a cure for the timber supply issue it addressed. It paved the way for other nations to The Committee found5. 2296too complicated and retaliate. Even so, when the log export quota on comprehensive to be added as an amendment to the Federal land expired in1 973,a provision attached already complex1973Farm Bill and proposed intro- to the Department of the Interior and Related ducing a separate bill to explore the interest and Agencies Appropriations Act in1974and each year support it would attract. Senator Humphrey agreed, thereafter continued to prohibit the export of but advised the Committee staff that the bill would "unprocessed" timber harvested from Federal lands need to have clear evidence of broad support. (Hines1987). Responding to this guidance, the Committee staff, under the leadership of James Giltmier, invited con- The timber industry strongly supported both timber cerned interest groups, including the timber industry, supply bills(5. 1775andS. 1996).USDA supported trade associations, conservation and environmental neither. Reflecting the traditional position of 0MB organizations, and the Forest Service, to define areas on the uncontrollable aspects of permanent trust of agreement on the management of national forest funds, USDA insisted that it did not need a special lands. The groups included the American Forestry fund based on national forest receipts to increase Association, the American Plywood Association, the Federal forest management funding. The Sierra Club, Citizens Committee on Natural Resources, the Indus-

92 Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the1970's

trial Forestry Association, the National Forest Prod- Congress, for its purposes, apparently considered ucts Association, the National Wildlife Federation, 5 years the useful life of the RPA program, as they the Sierra Club, the Society of American Foresters, requested that it be updated every 5 years. Congress Trout Unlimited, the Western Timber Association, also required the President to submit a detailed and the Wildlife Management Institute. Participation statement of policy, intended to be used in framing was voluntary, informal, and free of any procedural Forest Service budget requests a document that requirement, and soon was down to reviewing and Congress could revise or modify. Congress has cho- discussing5. 2296line by line. In the process, the sen to change this statement of policy only once, in Forest Service disposition toward the bill shifted 1980. from "cooperative skepticism" to "enthusiastic support." Groups often characterized as preservationists, Sections 5 and6of the RPA specified three requ ire- who were not originally included on this committee, ments for national forest lands and resources: A con- later became major contributors (Le Master1 984). tinuing, comprehensive inventory; the integration of national forest management plans with the national Encouraged by the wide participation in the5. 2296 RPA program and coordination with corresponding revision, Senator Humphrey introduced it in Novem- State and local plans and those of other Federal ber1973.The forestry community of interest widely agencies; and the use of a systematic interdisciplin- endorsed and supported it. The title of the bill be- ary approach to integrate physical, biological, eco- came the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re- nomic, and other considerations into national forest sources Planning Act (RPA). It was literally the first planning. n this way, the RPA linked, for the first legislative act to come before President Ford at a time, national program planning directly to national time when there was extreme tension between Con- forest land and resource management. gress and the Administration (Hirt1994;Le Master 1 984).0MB had sent a letter recommending that he The RPA legislation did not explicitly provide for veto it. The Secretary of Agriculture urged that he public participation, but Senator Humphrey called sign it, and he did so on August1 7, 1 974. for a goals-oriented, open, participative planning approach to RPA. On September1 9, 1974,he met To assist in long-range planning, the RPA required with the interested citizens who had helped develop the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a compre- the Act and encouraged them and their organiza- hensive inventory and prepare an assessment of the tions to participate in and support its implementa- Nation's forest and rangeland renewable resources tion. To those present, he pointed out: every 1 0 years. The assessment was to summarize the inventory and analyze current and future de- The Act gives you the means to set goals for the mands and supplies for renewable resources from all long-term and the short-term. This gives us the mechanism for sound planning.... The budget forest and rangeland ownerships and describe Forest process is going to give us the muscle to reach Service programs and responsibilities and discuss our aspirations.... The President is entirely free to important policy considerations, laws, and regula- exercise his discretion, and I expect him to do tions influencing forest and rangeland management. just that. Likewise, Congress can do the same.... In addition, the RPA required the Secretary to pre- We are bringing program formulation to the people, and itwillbe up to them to embrace it.... pare and transmit to Congress, by way of the Presi- We called this meeting to let you know you dent, a recommended renewable resource program count; in order to make sure your ideas count; every 5 years that provided for the protection, man- and to open the door for continued cooperation agement, and development of the National Forest (Humphrey 1974). System, cooperative forestry assistance, and forestry research. The RPA was received with euphoria in forestry circles and viewed by some as a panacea for the The program included specific needs and opportu- forest resource issues that had been repeatedly ana- nities for investments, outputs and benefits, and lyzed and hotly debated for more than 5 years. The management goals over a 50-year planning period. long-term planning it provided could have been, and Chapter 4

had been, carried out under previously existing auth- which wood product prices would rise substantially orities, with one difference: the RPA provided for above 1 962 to 1 967 levels. The Forest Service felt congressional endorsement of and interest in the that national forest allowable cut increases beyond policy analysis, program planning, and budget pro- an additional 7 bbf above the 1970 level would posals the Forest Service developed under the RPA. seriously threaten multiple-use and environmental objectives. The RPA, in effect, was the solution the Forest Service sought to the ineffectiveness of its national President Nixon directed the Secretaries of Agricul- program planning which was submitted directly to ture and the Interior to work with CEQ to prepare Congress in 1 959, and its updated version, which plans for increasing the timber supply while meeting was sent to Congress with a Presidential transmittal sustained-yield, multiple-use, and environmental in 1962. Richard E. McArdle, Chief of the Forest quality objectives. He directed 0MB to review any Service from 1 952 to 1 962, who led the preparation additional funding for such increases for consistency of those early long-range program plans, strongly with overall national budget priorities. He further endorsed the RPA legislation in a Senate hearing in recommended that annual Federal timber sales be February 1974 (American Enterprise Institute 1974). flexible and responsive to swings in demand; that USDA press ahead with programs to increase timber Administration Efforts To Increase supplies from State and private lands; and that the Timber Supplies: 1970-1979 Departments of Housing and Urban Development, While Congress struggled with various legislative Commerce, and Agriculture accelerate efficiency proposals to help national forest management re- gains in wood product utilization. President Nixon spond to the Nation's needs, the timber and housing also directed the naming of an advisory panel of industry interests, and the environmental and conser- outstanding citizens to study the entire range of vation concerns, the Administration continued its problems to ensure that inadequate timber supplies own efforts to increase national forest timber did not preempt achieving national housing goals supplies. In late 1969, the White House Interagency (Nixon 1970). Task Force on Softwood Timber and Plywood completed its analyses of long-term alternatives for Responding to the President's direction, as a first step increasing timber supplies. But the White House, toward achieving the 7-bbf potential increase the responding to the enactment of NEPA in January Forest Service and the Task Force had reported 1970, directed the Task Force to delay its report and attainable on national forests, the Forest Service pre- work with the newly created Council on Environ- pared, and USDA proposed to 0MB, a supplemental mental Quality (CEQ) in the Executive Office of the appropriation for FY 1971 to initiate a national forest President to give appropriate emphasis to environ- investment program to increase softwood sawtimber mental matters and work for legislation to increase harvests. This proposal was not approved. The 1970 timber supplies in ways that protected the environ- timber demands had fallen to previously normal ment. As a result of the polarization during the levels as a result of interest-rate increases and a debate on the Timber Supply Act of 1 969, the Task decline in housing construction. OMB's review, Force and Council judged that it would be next to obviously, reflected a very short-term view. In impossible to obtain legislation. They felt the exist- FY 1 972, competing national priorities for the avail- ing law was sufficient if it could be adequately able Federal budget and constraints on budget out- funded and if the Forest Service and other Federal lay ceilings to reduce general inflation precluded resource agencies could address the environment. any proposals for an accelerated national forest investment program. Although timber sales were President Nixon endorsed and released the Task programmed at the 1 971 level, Congress approved Force's final report in June 1970. The report found additional funding to supervise the industry's accel- that the housing goals would require substantial erated harvest of previously bought, but uncut, increases in softwood timber supplies, without national forest timber.

94 Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the 1970's

In 1971, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Policy and increase its timber sales. National forest timber reconvened the Task Force on Softwood Lumber and sales and harvests remained at FY 1 972 levels during Plywood as housing construction and lumber and FY 1973, but the Secretary of Agriculture and the plywood prices rose to record levels in 1971 and Director of the Cost-of-Living Council announced 1 972. President Nixon finally appointed his Advisory plans to increase timber sales by a billion board feet Panel on Timber and the Environment. This time the by FY 1974. After a delay, Congress finally approved Administration viewed rising lumber and plywood this proposal and the Administration requested a prices as policy problems that affected the credibility $15 million supplemental appropriation to fund it. of the President's Economic Stabilization Program. The Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club, and the Wilderness Society responded with a Because raw materials such as timber were not sub- suit to enjoin the Forest Service from increasing ject to price controls and could be reflected in end- FY 1974 timber sales, and in February 1974 a Fed- product prices as production costs, lumber and eral Court ruled that the congressionally approved plywood prices were particularly difficult to regu- billion-board-feet sales increase was illegal without late. For example, softwood prices for standing an EIS. timber (stumpage) rose about 50 percent on national forests and 50 percent on private lands in the South The President's FY 1975 budget included the pro- while lumber and plywood prices rose only 12 and posed billion-board-feet increase that Congress had 16 percent, respectively. During the same period, funded. In April 1974, the same environmental and the wholesale prices for all commodities increased wilderness groups, plus the National Parks and Con- by only 4 percent. Wood product prices continued servation Association, filed suit against the increase. their strong increases in 1973 and reached their They asked for a declaratory judgment that the entire highest levels in 1 978 and 1 979, years when timber FY 1 975 Forest Service RPA national forest program stumpage prices and speculation were also at their beginning on July 1, 1974, violated NEPA by failing highest, new household formations were nearly to file an ElS. The National Forest Products Associa- 2 million per year, and construction of new housing tion, sensing the suit would shut down or delay tim- units exceeded 2 million per year. ber harvests, became an intervener in the suit. The Association denied that the proposed FY 1 975 bud- Despite its earlier analyses of housing goals and the get was a legislative proposal or other Federal action timber supply issue, the President's recommenda- that would significantly affect the environment under tions, and the Administration and Forest Service NEPA. The suit was settled when all parties agreed responses, the reconvened Task Force found that that the 1 975 RPA assessment and program would none of the President's recommendations had been serve the purposes of an EN. implemented except his appointment of an Advisory Panel on Timber and the Environment. Thus, the Report of the President's Advisory Panel Task Force quickly concluded that further analyses President Nixon endorsed the Advisory Panel's would add little to the assessment of the timber sup- report in September 1973. The report supported ply issue or to its proposed solution. It recognized increased timber harvests from national forests, but that funding was the key to short- and long-term tim- only with assured sustained financing for the inten- ber supply increases from Federal lands and urged sified management needed to achieve higher timber the Director of the Cost-of-Living Council, which harvest levels. It recommended a generous with- was administering the President's Economic Stabili- drawal of roadless areas qualified for wilderness zation Program, to make every effort to find a solu- preservation as well as withdrawing lands with tion to the inflating lumber and plywood prices and fragile soils and steep, erodible slopes from the tim- the timber supply issue. ber harvest land base. It supported expanding recreation areas and protecting water supplies, wildlife, For the FY 1973 programs, budget constraints to and rare and endangered species. The Panel asked contain inflation again squelched any chance that that commercial forest lands (CFL) not set aside for the Forest Service could intensify its management wilderness or other uses be designated for timber

95 Chapter4

production and recommended a National Forest The name of the gameisfunding. It does little Policy Board to advise the President, the Congress, good to get new forestry programs authorized and the Nation. unless the money is provided.... Somewhere in the wave of new environmental enthusiasm traditional forestry and wildlife conservation The American press widely interpreted the Panel's programs have not kept pace in the struggle for report and the President's endorsement as recom- tax dollars. New [environmental] projects ... have mendations to increase national forest timber drained off available funds. These efforts are all harvests. The timber industry praised the report; good and deserve our attention, but we cannot environmentalists severely criticized it. The New continue to slight fundamental forestry and wildlife activities..., If money is the name of the game, York Times, like the Sierra Club and other environ- then let's get our signals straight for the opening mental groups, viewed the allowable cut on national kickoff (Towell1973). forests as already too high and, therefore, saw the President's endorsement of a harvest increase as An Independent Effort for Consensus "reckless" policy. The environmental interests took In the foregoing setting, Marion Clawson, a member sharp exception to the Panel's support of clearcutting of the President's Panel and author of its report, con- and designating CFL not withdrawn for wilderness or tinued his pursuit of a successful resolution to the other uses for timber production. The American timber supply and funding issue. In May1 974,he Forestry Association and the Forest Service likewise organized the Resources for the Future Forum on opposed designation of nonwithdrawn lands for "Forest Policy for the Future: Conflict, Compromise, timber production and the proposal for a National Consensus" (Resources for the Future1 974).Forum Forestry Policy Board as well. The Ford Administra- organizers were convinced that a substantial consen- tion, reporting the Panel's recommendations and sus on forest policy was both desirable and possible follow-up actions to Congress in1974,also opposed and would be advanced by an exchange of views the Policy Board. Because the RPA process involved among concerned persons and interest groups the public, the Executive Branch, and the Congress through an open, mutually shared search for a con- and provided a framework for a systematic, orderly structive forest policy. Resources for the Future in- analysis of an array of complex issues, the Ford vited more than 200 participants from Congress, the Administration viewed it as a sufficient opportunity Executive Branch, the timber and building industries, for review and development of forest policy. labor unions, universities, and environmental, conservation, and wilderness organizations. Some of the press viewed the Advisory Panel's qualification that national forest harvests be accelerated The Forum did not define policy issues in advance. only if more Federal funds and staff were provided Instead, it addressed the future demand for forest as a stumbling block to both the Administration and products and services and conflicts and strategies in the Congress (Washington Star-News1973;Science forest land management in the first two sessions. A 1 973).The American Forestry Association (AFA) was third session addressed the administration and more sanguine: financing of forestry programs. The final session was "A Search for Consensus." The biggest needs of the national forests... are adequate funding and a long-range plan...and while recommendation nineteen proposes an The former president of Resources for the Future and increased annual Federal expenditure for forest U.S. Congressman from Virginia, Joseph L. Fisher, development... of$200million, AFA believes defined consensus as "not a perfect agreement on it should be reaffirmed in each of the other figures or statements, but rather a shared under- 19recommendations in words that the White standing of what the issues are, pros and cons of the House, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Congress could clearly understand.... solutions proposed, and the directions in which to (American Forests1973) go" (Fisher1974).He identified the question of how much forest land for wilderness versus how much William E. Towell, Executive Vice-President for the land for timber production as the principal issue on AFA, wrote elsewhere: which consensus was lacking. In dealing with this Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the 1970's

issue, he thought the country was on the right track, pation. The USDA would review it and approve it.It but moving ahead with much backing and filling would then be reviewed by 0MB and the President, and grinding of gears. He attributed this difficulty to who would transmit it to Congress along with his a lack of confidence and trust among antagonists; it statement of policy for its implementation. All Forum would not be dispelled easily. participants would have the opportunity to participate in the RPA process. The closing session centered on areas of present and potential agreement and those where agreements did The Performance of Timber Supplies and not seem possible. William Towell proposed that the Housing Goals in the 1970's interest groups concentrate their efforts on areas of During the 1970's, national forest timber sales aver- present agreement and avoid areas of major differ- aged 11 .0 bbf per year a reduction of 300 million ences. He recommended expansion of program board feet from the average annual sales volume of funding for national forest programs as the highest the 1 960's - and did not vary much from year to priority issue on the basis of widespread agreement year (fig. 14) Thus, when housing construction was among forest conservation groups that these pro- at record levels, averaging 2.15 million units, and grams were underfinanced and out of balance with total timber product consumption rose 30 percent, each other and total funding needs. A representative national forest timber sales did not contribute to any of wilderness interests suggested that the area of increase in timber supplies. concentration be on issues where differences were the greatest. Wilderness did not require major bud- The average annual timber industry harvest of get expansions; thus, in his view, funding was not an national forest timber in the 1 970's was 11 .4 bbf per area for a common effort. The Sierra Club could not year 400 million board feet more than the aver- go along with the AFA's long-range planning and age annual sales volume. The industry achieved this funding goals unti' the wilderness issues were high average annual harvest level by accelerating resolved. The wilderness representative said, "you harvests of national forest timber it had bought and cannot get agreement with environmentalists for had not yet cut in the first half if the 1970's. In the more funding if it represents a threat to wilderness latter half of the decade, however, the timber indus- and old-growth forests" (Fisher 1974). try reduced its harvest to an average of 1 0.6 bbf per year 400 million board feet less than the average The consensus discussion ended without agreement annual timber sales volume for the decade even following a strong statement from William P. though housing construction in the 1977 to 1979 Hagenstein, Executive Vice President for the Indus- period was near peak levels. trial Forestry Association and former president of the Society of American Foresters. He felt the Nation Although much of the pressure to expand national already had plenty of good forest policies, and he forest timber supplies had come from the western cited many. He concluded that the principal need forest timber products industries, the West did not was to give the Forest Service the tools it needed to share equally with southern or Canadian producers get the job done. This appeared to be an endorse- in the expanded softwood lumber and plywood mar- ment for greater Forest Service funding for all kets. As the U.S. timber and construction industries resource purposes including designating new wilder- geared up to meet the national housing goals of the ness areas, intensifying forest management, and 1970's, total annual softwood lumber and plywood expanding the Federal timber harvest. consumption in the United States increased by 18.3 bbf, or 34 percent, from 38.6 bbf in 1 969 to 51 .9 bbf The RPA's enactment a few months later effectively in 1978. Softwood lumber net imports, primarily shifted the approach to resolving the national forest from Canada, supplied 42 percent of the increase, management and funding issues. The Forest Service or 5.6 bbf. Southern softwood lumber and plywood would conduct the RPA assessment and program production provided 5.7 bbf of the increase, or planning process and prepare a national forest pro- 43 percent. The balance of the increase in consump- gram and the accompanying ElS with public partici- tion, just 2 bbf, or 1 5 percent came from the western Chapter4

(a) Pacific Coast (Forest Service Regions 5, 6, and 10) (b) Rocky Mountains (Forest Service Regions 1, 2, 3, and 4)

6 6

U- U- -D -D

0 0

2 2

0 0 1950's 1960's 1970's 1980s 1990-94 1950's 1960's 1970's 1980's 1990-94 Year Year

8 8i

6 6

U- U- -D

0 02 - - - - - 1950s 1960's 1970's 0 - - - 1980's 1990-94 1950's 1960's 1970's 1980's 1990-94 Year Year Figure 14. Average annual national forest harvest by decade for major U.S. regions,1950-1 9941 First half of the 1990 decade only. Source: USDA Forest Service.

regions. In the Western States, both industry and available to the western timber industry. However, other private landowner softwood timber inventories national forest timber sales for the 1970's actually were generally declining, which limited their capac- remained slightly below those for the 1 960's. ity to expand their timber supplies. Log exports, mainly to Japan, increased from 2.7 bbf in 1970 to More than 21 million new housing units, including 3.8 bbf in 1979, which also limited the expansion of mobile homes, were added to the national housing domestic supplies from western mills. Thus, in the inventory between 1969 and 1978 a substantial 1970's, western national forests became a potential fulfillment (more than 82 percent) of the 26 million source of increased timber suppUes that could, with unit goal of the 1968 Housing Act. A record number a higher intensity of timber management, be made of families obtained new housing during this period. Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the 1970's

Housing contractors built more homes than ever. 1960's, the opposition to clearcutting became more Residential construction jobs expanded and workers widespread over the National Forest System and were fully employed. Realtors sold more new homes more intensified in certain regions and on certain than in any previous decade. Financial institutions national forests. In 1970, clearcutting became a made a record number of new housing loans. Forest national issue with four focal points of sharp con- industries had no complaint about profits. Lumber troversy: West Virginia's Monongahela National dealers sold record amounts of lumber and plywood Forest, Montana's Bitterroot, the Bridger and several National forest timber harvests were slightly reduced other forests in Wyoming, and Alaska's Tongass. from the 1 960's, the number and area of designated wildernesses were expanded, andde factowilder- Most of the opposition came from local citizens and ness and roadless areas were being protected by a variety of local use and interest groups, who often NEPA requirement for an EIS. National recreation had the support of local and State conservation, rec- areas, national trails, and wild and scenic rivers reation, and wildlife, and related interest organiza- were expanded in number and area. tions. By 1970, however, the clearcutting issue had engaged the attention and activities of national The Clearcutting Issue Leads to New environmental and conservation groups as well as Guidelines for Managing Multiple Uses Representatives and Senators who represented the local interests. Clearcutting had become a controversial public issue on a number of national forests during the late Critics' objections were wideranging. They argued 1960's and reached national proportions in 1970. that clearcutting destroyed wildlife habitat and Congressional hearings in1 971 produced new caused erosion that damaged fisheries and degraded administrative guidelines for clearcutting on national soil and water; produced unsightly landscapes and forests, and these were first applied in 1972. How- degraded scenic values; destroyed plant and animal ever, a court suit in 1973 to enjoin clearcutting on diversity; threatened irrigation water supplies; West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest led to involved overcutting in violation of the sustained- a ruling that clearcutting practices were inconsistent yield principle; and impaired various recreation uses with a literal interpretation of the 1 897 Organic Act's and experiences. Critics also felt that national forest timber harvesting guidance. The result was an managers were slow in responding or unresponsive injunction in the Fourth Circuit Court against such to their concerns and seldom consulted with them cutting, which applied to all national forests in before implementing clearcuts. In 1965, the growing Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, opposition led the Forest Service to mount a pro- and South Carolina. If this injunction had been ex- gram to explain to the public its view of clearcutting tended to all national forests, it would have reduced as an effective tool of the even-aged silvicultural timber availability from western national forests by management method for wood production, forest 50 percent. A search for legislative solutions to the regeneration, and resource management. This effort clearcutting issue eventually resulted in the passage attempted to clarify apparent public misperceptions of the National Forest Management Act of 1976 about clearcutting. The Forest Service misread its (NFMA). The process of resolving the clearcutting audience, because citizens believed clearcutting was issue is reviewed here. a real problem for other reasons. In fact, the effort polarized some of its critics (Weitzman 1977; Early National Forest System Response to Cubbage et al. 1993). In many ways, the rising Clearcutting Critiques: 1970 controversy suggested that national forest management was losing its way in heeding the guidance of Opposition to clearcutting on national forests Gifford Pinchot (1907): emerged in the late 1 940's and 1 95 0's as harvest levels steadily rose and clearcutting as a method for There are many great interests on the national harvesting and regenerating commercial timber forests which sometimes conflict a little. They stands became more widely used. During the must all be made to fit into one another so that Chapter 4

the machine runs smoothly as a whole. It is often occupation with timber management objectives has necessary for one man to give way a little here, resulted in clearing and planting on some areas that another a little there. But by giving way a little at should not have been clearcut" (USDA Forest present they both profit by it a great deal in the end. Service1970).The Monongahela Task Force reported that emphasis on timber management National forests exist today because the people was leading to an imbalance among its resource want them. To make them accomplish the most good the people themselves must make clear programs (Weitzman1 977).The Wyoming National how they want them run. Forests Task Force reported similarly:

In-Service Evaluation of the Clearcutting We found much evidence of good management, but we also found indications of serious short- Issue on Selected National Forests comings. There was some evident damage to As the controversy over clearcutting intensified on wildlife habitat and to soil stability. More the Monongahela, Bitterroot, and four national frequently, a potential for such damage was forests in Wyoming, the Forest Service appointed clear,.. Damage to the scenic quality of the landscape, however, was unmistakable. special task forces to review the clearcutting critics' charges and evaluate the applied management prac- The report further elaborated: tices and their effects. These evaluations were com- missioned by the regional forester for the Northern The conflict between timber and other values is Region for the Bitterroot; jointly by the regional for- evident. These operations, carried out some esters for the Rocky Mountain Region and the Inter- years ago, have been roundly criticized, not only mountain Region for the Bridger, Teton, Bighorn, and by the public but also by members of the timber Shoshone National Forests in Wyoming; and by the industry and the Forest Service.... We believe there have been inadequacies in planning, in Chief of the Forest Service for the Monongahela in execution, and in evaluation of management West Virginia. No study was undertaken on Alaska's actions on all four of the Wyoming Forests.... Tongass National Forest, where the Sierra Club (USDA Forest Service 1971 a). sought an injunction against the long-term timber sale contract 8.75bbf in a single long-term sale All of the reports found shortcomings in multiple-use and a declaration that the Tongass had violated planning. The Bitterroot Task Force reported: the MUSY Act by administering its lands predominantly for timber production. The basic harvesting Multiple-use planning ... has not advanced far method was clearcutting. enough to provide firm management direction necessary to insure quality land management and, at the same time, to provide all segments of The Forest Service staffed each of these studies with the public with a clear picture of long-range experts who had not been involved with the clear- objectives. (USDA Forest Service 1970) cutting in question or the public issue. The experts represented a range of resource management activ- The task forces recognized and reported that man- ities. They were directed to provide an impartial, but agement shortcomings affirmed many of the local thorough, analysis. As they initiated their investiga- citizens' concerns about clearcutting. They made tions, they consulted with national forest managers straightforward recommendations to remedy these responsible for each forest and with local citizens shortcomings and avoid them in the future. But they critical of clearcutting. They also received written also acknowledged that much of the management responses and statements from the citizen critics. they observed on the study forests was quite adequate. The task forces found and reported evidence of substantial shortcomings in the way clearcutting The task forces looked for deficiencies in manage- was applied. For example, the Bitterroot Task Force ment planning and implementation. They found thai reported, "Clearcutting has been overused in recent the emphasis on achieving short-term production years. In many cases esthetics have received too targets often took precedence over longer-term land little consideration. It is apparent to us that a pre- management. The Bitterroot Task Force report stated

I, Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the 1970's

commitments evidence of pressure from above to meet timber targets although at the time such production control was normal in most well- managed business enterprises. Other factors contributing to shortfalls in forest resource management were related to lack of basic resource information; lack of specialized skills at the forest level in important disciplines such as landscape management, wildlife biology, soils, and : :Tii: hydrology; and shortfalls in quality control (no or insufficient monitoring of management activities). In a search for deeper causes, L the task forces identified underlying problems of heavy workloads; shortages and frequent transfers of professional staff; youthful, Timber regeneration harvest, Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington, 1970. Immediate less-experienced staff; and foreground shows excellent reproduction of Douglas-fir, western red cedar, and noble fir following i n sufficient fin an ci n 1952 clearcut. Background shows more recent clearcuts logged with high-lead cable systems. Intermediate ground shows a shelterwood harvest. The Wyoming Task Force found that foresters with it this way: "there is an implicit attitude among many inadequate training and experience in silviculture people on the staff of the Bitterroot National Forest and multiple-use coordination were making field that resource production goals come first and that on-sale layout and harvesting decisions because land management considerations take second place." senior foresters were burdened with too many other The Bitterroot report found that such emphasis was essential duties, including NEPA compliance not unique to the Bitterroot and that it did not origi- appeals, to give detailed assistance to these field nate at the national forest level. It attributed this tasks. Heavy current workloads limited opportunities emphasis to "rather subtle pressures and attitudes to evaluate and monitor the effects of past manage- coming from above" (USDA Forest Service 1 970). ment. The Task Force found this deficiency most obvious in assessing regeneration success, which The task forces saw that the pressure to sell the was often found wanting. full allowable cut each year to make more timber available and ease the housing materials shortage The Bitterroot Task Force's check on the depth of was most insistent. The Washington Office required experience and strength of the Forest's land manage- weekly timber sale accomplishment reports to keep ment capability found that the average length of the Secretary of Agriculture, Congress, and outside service of professional employees was 11 .5 years groups informed of progress in meeting timber cut within the Forest Service, but only 3 years and s ;1I I./ -w - ip 0 Iiii _i -- -.---- _,71 -I rw '- i:.]

4 Harvest removes enough trees 1i*i.. be harvested when seedlings are 1970.

b I- will 'H; -1F

---1--- .1 I am convinced that with an ecosystem approach to multiple-use management, our forests and rangeands can contribute to a better living for present and future generations by providing security and stability to regional economies and rural communities. It can also provide a high-quality environment, recreation opportunities, fish, wildlife, water, forage, and lesser organisms. But the use of the resources must be balanced with the constraints of stewardship responsibility for we are dealing (USDA Forest Service 1970). timber, and be in harmony with the needs of with a limited land and natural resource base National Forest, Oregon, : ,-' - - it Chief Ed Cliff managed and the need for change. effective highlighted the challenge for more in this way, multiple-use and resource management and station when he spoke to the regional foresters quoted in the directors on January 19, 1970, as Bitterroot National Forest Task Force Report: In June 1970, the Deputy Chief of the Forest Service, M.M. "Red" Nelson, wrote to regional foresters, advising them to help improve the ecological skills Hood J

L to provide a seed source and shade to regenerate itself and leaves enough trees i. j w1 Douglas-fir She Iterwood harvest, Mt. for Overstory to protect seedlings from frost damage. established. a transitional and revealed that the National had ade- Forest System and Forest Service research difficult chal- use coordination after the fact. The and lenge was to correct the different practices experience was associated 1 960's rapid growth in the unavoidable problem. However, the district on the ranger's short tenure forest was also associated practice of frequent Broad experience was important for managerial but frequent transfers also 2 months on the Bitterroot. 2 months on the The shortness of this Chapter 4 Chapter 102 Ecosystem Approach and Training The task force reports recognize and quate knowledge and capability to and multiple- evaluate poor management practices coordination procedures and avoid such shortcomings in the future. The Forest Service Washing- ton Office directed the regions and forests to take corrective action at the local level. But the speed and thoroughness of this local action was limited by staffing, funding, and policy that were beyond local control (Weitzman 1 977). From this perspective, the Congress, the Administration, USDA, and the Forest Service's Washington Office were part of the problem (as well as part of its solution). with the Forest Service's with the Forest Service's transfers to broaden and accelerate the development of its foresters as managers. strength in senior positions, contributed to less depth of experience for executing on-the-ground fieldwork. Chief Cliff Gives Emphasis to the By 1970, the Forest Service hierarchy was well aware of the growing public concern and the rising number of open conflicts over how the national forest resources, especially timber, should be used and Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the 1970's

of national forest professionals and suggesting some endorse this approach to increased professional first steps to do so: competence and agency leadership. The book by Kormondy is attached for your use (Cravens 1970). Much is happening in ecology. The ecosystem concept is being dusted off. It now forms a popular and conceptually sound basis for manage- A Nationwide Field Evaluation of ment planning. Energy flows in the ecosystem National Forest Timber Management give us one way to look at and predict the impacts of management actions. Functional eco- During 1970, Chief Cliff directed a team of Forest logy is now being emphasized above descriptive Service experts representing water, timber, wildlife, ecology in our better universities. In the face of and landscape (and other recreation resources) to this dynamic situation, we need to examine how prepare a nationwide field evaluation of timber well-honed our ecological skills are. management practices and related national forest activities. The team's report was to highlight problem Another vehicle we are testing is taped briefs of research that we should be aware of. The task of situations and pave the way for responsive actions achieving agency leadership in ecology has got that would attain and maintain a high level of timber to include personal commitment by each Forest productivity and environmental quality. Nothing less Service professional. Each of us has got to do would be acceptable. In October 1970, when the what he can do to update our own professional team was evaluating timber management practices competence. One way is by selected reading on national forests, the Chief wrote in an interoffice (Nelson 1970). memorandum to all Forest Service employees: The readings included the six up-to-date references Our programs are out of balance to meet public on ecology, ecosystems, and resource management: needs for the environmental 1970's and we are Readings in, ConservationEcology, edited by George receiving mounting criticism from all sides. Our W. Cox, 1 969; PerspectivesinEcological Theory, by direction must be and is being changed.... The Raymond Margalef, 1 969;Environmental Conserva- Forest Service is seeking a balanced program tion,by Raymond P. Dasmann, 1 968; The Ecosystem with full concern for the quality of the environment (Cliff 1970). Concept in Natural ResourceManagement,edited by George M. Van Dyne, 1 969; Concepts of Ecology, The report,NationalForest Management in a Qua I- by Edward J. Kormondy, 1 969; ityEnvironment:Timber and EcologyandResource Productivity, was completed and Management:A Quantitative delivered to the U.S. Senate in Approach, by Kenneth E.F. Watt, April 1971, as the Subcommittee 1 968. Regional foresters passed on Public Lands was holding this guidance on to national forest hearings on management supervisors: c;,, -' practices on public lands. The The ecosystem has always report identified 30 problem formed a sound basis for natural situations where national forest resource management planning. clearcutting practices were being Energy flows in an ecosystem are misapplied or producing analogous to cost-benefit flows in undesirable adverse effects that an economy. There is plenty of economic conscience in the needed to be responded to. Cliff Forest Service. Our ecology advised the Subcommittee that conscience could stand the Forest Service was ready to improving. The Washington make the changes in policy and Office is distributing the new practices the study recommended book by Dr. Edward J. Kormondy (Cliff 1971). Making these entitled Concepts of Ecology to help us relate this subject to our changes, however, would require responsibilities. We heartily Edward P. Cliff. Chief of the Forest more detailed information on Service, 1962-1972.

103 Chapter 4

what had to be done in each of the 30 problem the congressional policy of multiple use as defined situations. (Cliff 1971; USDA Forest Service 1971b) in the MUSY Act. The Select Committee's report charged that "Multiple use management, in fact, Congressional HearingsIevate Clearcutting to does not exist as the governing principle on the a National Issue: 1971 Bitterroot National Forest" (U.S. Senate 1 970). National forest managers, however, were not to have The Select Committee found that the Bitterroot's the time to define and develop the changes Chief terracing and planting practices following clearcuts Cliff had identified. The clearcutting controversy was on low-productivity fragile mountain slopes, the suddenly elevated to a "full blown" national issue in specific target of much of the Bitterroot Valley resi- late 1970 and early 1971 and became the subject of dents' criticisms, to be uneconomical and therefore, hearings by the U.S. Senate Interior and Insular unjustified, even though they were usually effective Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Public Lands, for regeneration. In place of this extreme and costly chaired by Senator Frank Church of Idaho. An event practice, the Select Committee recommended that contributed to the national escalation of this "timber mining" the harvesting of the commer- issue was the completion of a report on the manage- cially valuable timber and suspension of any pur- ment of the Bitterroot National Forest prepared by poseful regeneration efforts altogether. The Forest the Select Committee of the University of Montana Service unrelentingly rebutted this recommendation. Faculty ("A University View of the Forest Service," It was also questioned by many foresters and Bitter- November 18, 1970) and the Subcommittee's wide root Valley residents, who saw "timber mining" as distribution (20,000 copies) of that report (U.S. an absolutely alien approach to forestry (Popovich Senate 1970). Montana Senator Lee Metcalf, a 1975). member of the Subcommittee and a resident of the Bitterroot Valley, had requested the report. He felt The Select Committee found that clearcuts were too the University study would give an appropriate large and often used where other silvicultural sys- external review of the Bitterroot Valley citizens' tems were more suitable. The Committee found that complaints about the Bitterroot's timber manage- congressional appropriations were inadequate for ment practices and serve as a useful complement to balanced resource management and insufficient to the largely technical internal Forest Service study. remedy the problem. It saw a need to add economists and other resource specialists to the Bitterroot The study objective was defined in this way: "to management staff, the need to openly solicit public determine what the Forest Service ought to be doing, participation and become more responsive to it, and what it was doing, and whether its actions indeed a need to find ways to reward and retain competent departed from what it ought to be doing" (Bolle timber sales supervision and other field operations 1989). The University of Montana Select Committee employees as opposed to promoting them to office elevated its analysis and report to a policy evalua- jobs removed from field activity. tion of the actual management practices against the management of multiple uses as defined in the The release of the University report in late 1970 at a MUSY Act. The University report used the Bitterroot national press conference brought startling results. Task Force report as a starting point for its factual Virtually overnight the earnest concerns of the Bitter- findings. While it acclaimed the Task Force critique root Valley residents were flashed coast to coast. Not of timber management practices, it felt the Task only did stories appear in the national press, but Force gave "short shrift" to related range, watershed, seemingly in every newspaper in the Nation and wildlife, and recreation issues (Bolle 1989) and cited some in Europe and Africa (Bolle 1989). The report the "psychological impossibility of objectively findings became startling nationwide news and con- criticizing one's own efforts" (Popovich 1975). The tributed to escalating the clearcutting controversy to Select Committee saw the real problem as timber a national issue. National attention was focused on primacy dominating and controlling Forest Service both national forest management and the Forest activity. It interpreted this as a clear departure from Service as a natural resource managing agency.

104 Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the1970's :. .

1tJ-" 1 \'L I 1 1. - certain species. Some ft )J ;.Q\ ) tI $ F clearcutting critics proposed ir * a permanent moratorium on y

I all clearcutting on Federal

fj1 Li lands. clearcutting

.r ' supporters felt no -:,- / , I --i- congressional action was . I f

. needed to restrict its use - TV I : '-- 4 (U.S. Senate1971).Despite I

T------this polarity, clearcutting as -' - a useful regeneration - - - -- practice was acknowledged -

;_ by almost all witnesses. Its "S --..-- "misuse," however was condemned universally

-14t - (Bolle1989).

- The Senate Subcommittee - summed up the weight of the testimony as it reflected on national forest manage- Selection forest with uneven-aged structure being formed by periodic partial harvests in a northern ment, the performance of hard wood stand, Nicolet National Forest, Wisconsin, 1970. Next planned ha rvest was scheduled national forest managers, for 1985. - the role ot Congress in funding national forest The Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands sched- programs, and the need for new direction in imple- uled hearings on clearcutting for 5 days during1971 menting clearcutting practices. It accepted testimony (U.S. Senate1971).More than90witnesses were that indicated that timber production had become a heard; many more provided written statements. The priority in Federal forest land management. It recog- Subcommittee also received thousands of letters nized that some critics viewed this emphasis as from all parts of the country expressing interest in inconsistent with the spirit and intent, if not the the future of the Nation's forests. Witnesses included letter, of the MUSY Act and N EPA. It also accepted Members of Congress, environmentalists, State that some critics saw national forest managers as officials, professional foresters and other scientists, relatively slow and unresponsive to the awakening timber and housing industry representatives, the national concern about timber harvest impacts on Forest Service, BLM, and HUD. environmental quality. Others, however, had testi fied that national forest managers had been very The Subcommittee's attention was directed primarily progressive in considering multiple values and to clearcutting practices on national forests, espe- benefits. The Subcommittee, nevertheless, felt that cially the examples in Montana, West Virginia, national forest responses to environmental pressures Wyoming, and Alaska because of the concentration were somewhat defensive and less than enthusiastic of complaints about national forest practices in those and aggressive. It also reported that national forest States. The testimony included descriptions of per- managers were having difficulties on that account in ceived adverse effects of clearcutting from more than communicating with environmental critics and that 40 national forests, mainly in the West. Environmen- the Forest Service's image was suffering as a result talists vehemently attacked clearcutting practices. (U.S. Senate1972). But the Forest Service, the timber industry, and the Society of American Foresters strongly defended the The Subcommittee acknowledged that the critics silvicultural practice of clearcutting to regenerate were rightly critical of "government's" failure to

105 Chapter 4

14 ized between the increasing _,a t. 4

-' demands of wilderness

- interests and environ- ' ,.ê4. '.' mentalists and the unre- I lenting demands for more S ".iac ', timber products (U.S. fij ,s_ -.'... . - jt a Senate 1 972). The ' Subcommittee gave the

. Forest Service credit for its repeated efforts to make the a-. case for a balanced - -5- : - 1 - program but recognized, as -

t_____ evidenced by much of the - . _ hearing testimony, that funding for a balanced - program had been - inadequate and not fully --

- responsive to the MUSY

jt and NEPA statutes. The Subcommittee found p I -ii 1 that the tendency of Congress to key national forest appropriations to timber receipts influenced the Forest Service to gravi- tate toward timber activities. The Commercial thinning in young Douglas-fir stand, Siuslaw National Forest, 1970. Commercial Subcommittee encouraged thinning removes excess commercial trees to reduce losses to natural rnortalityin overlydense the Forest Service to stands. Growth of remaining trees will accelerate. complete and submit the EnvironmentalProgram for consult with the interested and affected public be- theFuture, which was still being developed, to fore, rather than after, timber management decisions provide a basis for balanced funding between were made. It reported that the "government" commodity and noncommodity programs and uses needed to become more attentive to increased and for achieving sound environmental objectives public interests and concerns about the use and (U.S. Senate 1 972). management of the public's natural resources. This included awareness that the "government" was not Church's Clearcutting Guidelines: 1973 the owner, but the responsible manager of a public The summary of the Subcommittee report suggested trust. The Subcommittee cited similar recommenda- policy guidelines, which became known as the tions by the Forest Service itself from its 1 971 report, "Church Guidelines," for implementing clearcutting ForestManagementin Wyoming (USDA Forest practices and determining allowable cuts which it Service 1971 a). hoped would be quickly adopted and implemented. The Subcommittee's concerns focused on preventing The Subcommittee also recognized that the Forest land and related resource damage and on ensuring Service was not a free agent and was obligated to early regeneration of cutover areas. The guidelines carry out policy and direction from the Administra- identified four types of situations where clearcutting tion and Congress. The Forest Service had been should not occur: highly scenic areas; areas with pressured by such direction and had become polar- fragile soil, steep slopes, or other conditions subject

I. Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the 1970's

to major injury; areas that could not be adequately "unnecessary and undesirable" because steps were restocked within 5 years after timber harvest; and already being taken to limit clearcutting to situations areas where clearcutting was preferred only because where it was the most effective, though not neces- it would give the greatest dollar return or unit output. sarily the least-cost silvicultural treatment. The Forest They provided that clearcutting be used only where it Service cited its national report on the 30 problem was silviculturally essential to achieve management situations and the Forest Service's recommended objectives; that clearcut size be kept to the minimum solutions for them. The classification and withdrawal needed to achieve multiple-use and silvicultural of areas unsuitable for timber production was objectives; that a multidisciplinary review of poten- already underway. An action plan responding to the tial adverse effects be made before implementing 30 problem situations and solutions was completed clearcutting practices; and that clearcut areas be and published 3 months after the Subcommittee blended into the natural terrain. report and the Church Guidelines on clearcutting were published. The guidelines also provided that allowable cuts be reviewed to ensure that the lands on which they In 1 972, the CEQ considered recommending that were based were available and suitable for timber President Nixon issue an Executive Order that would production consistent with the clearcutting guide- have required the Secretary of Agriculture to regulate lines; that any increases in the allowable cut attribu- timber harvesting on areas prone to serious erosion, ted to more intensive practices be made only where lack of prompt regeneration, or harm to scenic, the funding for such practices was assured and ade- recreational, and wildlife values. It based its proposal quate to carry them out on schedule; and that when on the findings and recommendations of a national planned practices were not adequately funded, forest clea rcutti ng investigation contracted with five allowable cuts were to be reduced accordingly. forestry schools by the Senate Subcommittee on Timber sale contracts were to specify all actions that Public Lands and other interests (Wilkinson and needed to be. taken to minimize or avoid the adverse Anderson 1985). CEQ, however, withdrew its pro- environmental impacts of timber harvesting. Although posal at USDA's request and in response to intensive the Church Guidelines did not have the force of law, timber industry lobbying that an Executive Order the members of the Subcommittee on Public Lands had the force of law and would result in lawsuits to unanimously urged the Forest Service to administra- stop timber harvests. tively adopt these guidelines for the national forests. Chief Cliff agreed to do so (Le Master 1984). The In adopting the Church Guidelines, the Forest Service guidelines were later incorporated into the National was able to maintain its administrative freedom to Forest Management Act of 1 976. internally redirect national forest timber harvesting practices and clearcutting guidelines. This brought Other responses to the clearcutting issue had been an apparent, but temporary, truce to the clearcutting considered but not implemented. For example, the controversy. C learcutti ng opponents, however, Senate and House introduced several bills to ban remained firm and uncompromising. In1 973, they clearcutting for 2 years while a congressional successfully brought suit against the Forest Service for commission conducted a study. Senator Metcalf violating Organic Act of 1 897 provisions which, they introduced a separate bill that would have required argued, literally and effectively precluded even-aged national forests to prepare "timber harvesting and timber management and, therefore, clearcutting land management plans" and, before deciding to (Le Master 1 984). clearcut, to assess its effects on all other resource values, its compatibility with maintaining and Emergence of the National Forest enhancing the environment, and the long-term Management Ad of 1976 effectiveness of alternatives to clearcutting In May 1973, barely a year after the Church Guide- (Wilkinson and Anderson 1 985). The Forest Service lines had been published, a court suit to enjoin three and USDA opposed this bill. They argued that planned timber sales that proposed clearcutting on legislative restrictions on timber harvesting were the Monongahela National Forest dramatically

107 Chapter 4

reopened the clearcutting issue. The 1 973 court suit, attorneys had argued that changing silvicultural filed in Federal district court by the West Virginia requirements and national timber demands required division of the Izaak Walton League, charged that an unrestricted definition of "matured," as used in the proposed Monongahela timber sales were in the Organic Act. The Forest Service view of violation of the Organic Act of 1 897's authority for "matured" hinged on a flexible, economic interpre- selling and harvesting timber. The 1 897 Act auth- tation. The district court, however, saw the original orized the Secretary of Agriculture to designate and usage in a physiological context and also advised appraise "dead, matured or large growth of trees" on that if modern times required the Organic Act to be national forests and sell them providing that "such changed, Congress should do it (Clary 1986; timber, before being sold shall be marked and desig- Cubbage et al. 1993). nated and shall be cut and removed." The plaintiffs argued that the trees in the proposed sales were not The Forest Service decided to appeal the district dead, physiologically mature, or of large growth; court's decision in the Court of Appeals for the would not be individually marked prior to cutting; Fourth Circuit. It also asked Senator Humphrey to and would not be completely removed after cutting amend the Organic Act by providing corrective (Le Master 1 984). language in the draft RPA bill. Senator Humphrey referred the Forest Service to Senator Talmadge, The court suit was not just a local complaint. It was who responded that the Forest Service had requested a joint effort of the Natural Resource Defense Coun- that such language be removed from the draft RPA cil (NRDC), the Sierra Club, and the lzaak Walton bill and would have to live with that decision League (Sweetland 1978). The NRDC examined a (Sweetland 1978). In August 1975, the court of number of forests, including the Bitterroot, before appeals affirmed the West Virginia district court's focusing on the Monongahela National Forest for the decision (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985). purposes of the suit (Bolle 1989). The plaintiffs' purpose in this suit was broader than just stopping The fourth circuit decision immediately raised two clearcutting. They wanted to focus the attention of dilemmas for the Forest Service: (1) how extensively Congress on timber management and sought a strict the decision would eventually be applied and (2) interpretation of the law with respect to clearcutting whether to appeal the decision to the Supreme (Sweetland 1978). Court. The district court decision created a real threat of mill closures in areas dependent on The Forest Service was confident of a favorable national forest timber primarily the West. In the outcome. Its attorneys did not contest the findings fourth circuit's five-State jurisdiction Maryland, of fact, but argued the case on issues of law. On the West Virginia, Virginia, and North and South day the suit was filed, the District Court for the Carolina - the Forest Service quickly found that Northern District of West Virginia issued a restrain- most national forest timber harvest practices were ing order against sales involving clearcutting on the in violation of the court order, compelling the Forest Monongahela Forest. Because a district court ruling Service to reduce its timber sales for the balance of favorable to the plaintiffs seemed likely, Senator FY 1 976 to 20 million board feet in the five-State Humphrey and Senator Herman Talmadge of area. Harvesting would be limited primarily to Georgia, while awaiting the ruling, accepted a staff salvage of dead and dying trees. This reduction, proposal to clarify the legal language of the Organic however, did not involve a large impact on mills and Act with an amendment to the draft RPA bill. The employment in these States because national forests Forest Service and the timber industry both objected were only a small part of the timber supply to introducing such correcting language in the draft (Sweetland 1978; Le Master 1 984). RPA bill, so the proposal was dropped (Sweetland 1978). Because western national forests made up 34 percent of the western timber supply, an extension of In November 1 973, the district court issued an the decision to the West would have caused many opinion in favor of the plaintiffs. The Government more serious impacts. Application of the Mononga- Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the 1970's

hela decision to the West could have reduced the of Congress who wished to use it. The staff modified national forest share of western timber supplies by and combined the Forest Service draft proposal with 50 percent. This would have led to significant mill materials it had previously prepared for Senator closures and unemployment and resulted in an in- Humphrey, who then introduced the unified draft as crease of more than 15 percent in long-term whole- 5. 3091. sale lumber prices and even greater inflation in wholesale plywood prices. Short-term price impacts Senator Humphrey had asked his staff for a bill that would be even more severe. A soJution became would permit professional forest land managers suf- urgent. The Federal District Court for Alaska adopted ficient flexibility to manage the national forests and, the Monongahela decision in ruling on a second at the same time, support the principles of multiple court suit on the Tongass National Forest, filed by use and sustained yield. As first introduced,the Zieske, to enjoin clearcutting on one of the ongoing Humphrey bill had five sections. Its principal com- long-term timber sales. This clearcutting restriction ponent was section 3 an amendment to section 5 on timber that had been sold went beyond the of the RPA, on land management planning. It pro- Monongahela decision, which had enjoined only posed that the Secretary of Agriculture provide for planned sales (Sweetland 1978; Le Master 1984). public participation in the preparation and review of individual national forest land management plans. It The Forest Service initially pursued a Supreme Court also directed that the Secretary promulgate a number appeal of the Monongahela decision. The Forest of regulations, including guidelines for national Service also weighed other legislative options. An forest land management plans relating to suitability appropriations bill rider to correct the Organic Act's of lands for resource management, including timber language was rejected. The proposal for a separate harvesting; using the system or systems of silvicul- bill to do the same was likewise dropped. A legislature for growing and harvesting trees and products, tive 2-year moratorium on implementing the court protecting the forest, and managing water, soil, fish decision was prepared and considered, but it was and wildlife, range, esthetic and recreational seen as a "quick-fix" approach and not acceptable to resources, including wilderness; special or unique Congress. Amending the Organic Act or RPA legisla- requirements for coordinating the multiple uses and tion to go beyond revising the Organic Act's lan- protecting all resources; ensuring sustained yield of guage and provide national forest timber harvesting the various resources; and preparing and revising guidelines received more extended consideration. In resource plans using an interdisciplinary review. the end, the Forest Service decided to amend the RPA legislation. Sweetland 1978). The authors of the Humphrey bill believed that conflicts over the use and management of the national The Forest Service and the Administration worked forests could be resolved or avoided through proper on a draft amendment to RPA for several months in land management planning with active public late 1975 and early 1976. Participants in addition to participation (Sweetland 1978; Le Master 1984). A the Forest Service and USDA included the CEQ, the counterpart to the Humphrey bill was introduced in Council of Iconomic Advisors, the Domestic Policy the House as H.R. 12503. Members of Congress Council, and 0MB. There was continual difficulty in introduced a total of 10 additional bills to respond to obtaining agreement, particularly from 0MB. As the the fourth circuit court's decision on clearcutting: time for hearings on other bills introduced by mem- seven in the House and three in the Senate. The bers of Congress neared, the Administration agreed hearings, however, focused on just two Senate bills, to cease seeking agreement and instead to report on 5. 3091, sponsored by Senator Humphrey, and the legislation that would be proposed by Congress. 5. 2926, sponsored by Senator Jennings Randolph It also agreed, at the request of Forest Service Chief of West Virginia. John McGuire, that the Forest Service would prepare a draft paper on the appropriate content of such The Randolph bill was a comprehensive reform pro- legislation and share it with the Senate Committee posal with numerous specific prescriptive standards on Agriculture and Forestry and any other members for timber management. Unlike the Humphrey bill,

I. Chapter 4

which was drafted by the Senate Committee staff Conservation Commissioners. Witnesses who sup- with considerable Forest Service input, the Randolph ported the Randolph bill included representatives of bill was written by a citizens' committee with Senate the lzaak Walton League, the National Audubon Committee staff support. Senator Randolph believed Society, the Sierra Club, and the Coalition to Save that Congress "must set standards and procedures Our National Forests. The testimony of the panel that will insure the preservation and productivity of representing the International Association of Game, our forests." He felt this responsibility should not be Fish, and Conservation Commissioners was particu- left to the discretion of the Secretary of Agriculture larly damaging to the Randolph bill. Its five panelists or bureaucrats and technocrats who "already rule each testified that enactment of 5. 2926 would "tie and regulate too much." It was the duty of Congress the hands" of professional land managers. In the to set standards, outline procedures, put curbs on the Senate, all but two of the senators testifying support- Secretary's discretion, and make goals clear and pro- ed the Humphrey bill. In the House, all congressmen hibitions certain. The citizen members of the com- giving testimony on the proposed bill, other than mittee who wrote the bill included Arnold Bolle, Senator Randolph, supported the Johnson bill, the chairman of the Select Committee that had written House counterpart to Humphrey's bill (Sweetland the University of Montana report on the Bitterroot 1978; Le Master 1984). National Forest for Senator Metcalf in 1970; Ralph Smoot, a Forest Service retiree; Dr. Leon Minckler, a The Senate passed the Humphrey bill after making silviculturist and an advocate of the uneven-aged extensive revisions, most of which reflected some hardwood timber management with the State aspect of the Randolph bill, but with less specificity. University of New York College of Environment and For example, the Randolph bill specified a maxi- Forestry; representatives of the Sierra Club's Legal mum size of clearcuts. The amended Humphrey bill Defense Fund and the lzaak Walton League of did not, although the Senate Committee made it very America; and the private attorney who represented clear that they expected the Secretary of Agriculture the plaintiffs from the Izaak Walton League in the to write specific guidelines on clearcut size in the West Virginia district court suit. The bill proposed legislation's implementing regulations. The House legislative standards and limitations on determining approved a generally less restrictive bill. Since the lands from which timber could be sold; estimating House and Senate had passed somewhat different sustained yield; using even-aged and uneven-aged bills, they had to go to conference for reconciliation. management; clearcutting; harvesting immature timber; marking and designating timber for sale; Three issues made reconciliation challenging: the supervising timber harvests; converting tree species; form of congressional guidance for managing length of timber sale contracts; protecting soil, fish, national forests, timber harvesting from lands not and wildlife resources; preparing and controlling suited for timber production, and constraints on the forest management plans; and accounting methods amount of timber national forests could sell each for timber sales (Sweetland 1978; Le Master 1984). year the nondeclining flow provision.

The Forest Service opposed Randolph's bill and The first issue was resolved by adopting the supported Humphrey's, which tracked closely with approach and many of the planning guidelines from many of the provisions the Forest Service had sug- the Senate bill. The regulations for implementing the gested in its draft statement of content for approp- guidelines were to be promulgated by the Secretary riate legislation. The Forest Service also worked of Agriculture and would include the Church closely with Senator Humphrey's staff during the Guidelines (Le Master 1984). hearings, markup, and conference actions on 5. 3091. Other supporters of S. 3091 included the The issue of harvesting on lands unsuited for timber timber industry, SAF, AFA, the National Wildlife production was resolved by making it clear that such Federation, the Wildlife Management Institute, the lands would not be identified solely on the basis National Association of State Foresters, and the economic criteria but "take account of physical, International Association of Game, Fish and economic, and other pertinent factors to the extent

110 Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the1 970's

feasible." There would be no timber harvesting on managed under existing plans. The development, lands unsuited for timber production for 10 years, review, and revision NFMA plans provided for and except where harvesting was needed to meet other fostered public participation. The Secretary of Agri- resource objectives or salvage. After 1 0 years, such culture appointed a committee of scientists from lands could be reviewed for timber harvest suita- outside the Forest Service to provide scientific and bility and, if found suitable, could be returned to technical advice and counsel in promulgating the timber production (Le Master1984). NFMA's implementing regulations and to ensure the use of an effective interdisciplinary approach. The The issue about the nondeclining flow provision Forest Service was given 2 years to promulgate these related to its inflexibility. Washington State Con- regulations. The final regulations were actually gressman Tom Foley made a strong point that, unless issued 3 years later and went into effect in more flexibility was provided, there would be November1979. powerful political opposition to wilderness designation on national forests. A basic understanding that a NFMA plans were to determine forest management strict nondeclining flow policy would reduce the systems and harvesting or use levels and procedures possibility of offsetting an allowable cut reduction for all the uses identified in the MUSY Act and be on one forest due to wilderness designation with an consistent with its definitions for "multiple use" and increase on another led to an agreement to modify "sustained yield" as well as with the availability and the Senate's version. suitability of lands and resources for the various multiple uses. The regulations would spell out guidelines The National Forest Management Act (NFMA) was for identifying the suitability of land for the various signed into law by President Ford on October 22, uses and the appropriate direction for resource 1976(Le Master1984).NFMA reaffirmed the policy management; obtaining resource inventory data; objectives of the MUSY Act and explicitly added developing methods of identifying special situations wilderness to the multiple-use purposes of national involving hazards to resources such as riparian forests (Le Master1 984). areas, unstable lands, or endangered species; ensuring that both the economic and the environmental NFMA brought the persistent clearcutting issue to a aspects of alternative resource management systems new climax and a new, but transient, truce for the be considered; providing for a diversity of plant and balance of the1 970's.The Act also transformed the animal communities; ensuring evaluation of the administrative Church Guidelines into national forest effects of each management system through contin- management legislative direction and added several uous monitoring and assessment in the field and more guidelines for managing multiple uses. In related research on those potential adverse effects to theory, NFMA provided the first set of national, avoid substantial or permanent impairment of land comprehensive written standards and guidelines for productivity; and permitting timber harvest increases planning and managing multiple uses on national where they were supported by intensified manage- forests. Although it was the concerns and issues ment practices. Timber harvests, however, were raised by environmental interests and many local subject to the Church Guidelines, which were spe- users of national forests that led to the enactment of cifically spelled out (with minor changes) in NFMA. N FMA, national forest managers, nevertheless, remained important participants and contributors to NFMA also endorsed the nondeclining flow policy writing its guidelines. National forest managers that had emerged from the1969Douglas-fir study made an important initial contribution by develop- findings. The nondeclining flow policy permitted ing and administering the Church Guidelines and national forest harvest increases only where such subsequently in developing NFMA's implementation increases could be sustained in the long term with- standards and guidelines, which were to be incorp- out any decreases. However, NFMA allowed temp- orated into forest plans as soon as possible. Until orary harvest increases in the nondeclining flow such forest plans were completed, approved, and policy, where they were needed to meet "overall implemented, national forest lands continued to be multiple-use objectives." Such departures had to be

111 Chapter4

consistent with the multiple-use management objec- primitive areas and the restriction of wilderness des- tives of each forest plan. The ceiling for nondeclin- ignation to lands meeting the Forest Service's pristine ing flow harvests was the quantity of timber that criteria for wilderness. For example, in1 992,when could be harvested in perpetuity on a sustained- Colorado's White River National Forest proposed to yield basis. The long-term sustained-yield level extend logging to East Meadow Creek, a largely would be determined by the average annual growth undeveloped area directly west of the Gore Range that the next tree crop would produce with the cur- Eagles Nest Primitive Area, it was strongly protested rent management intensity. Rotation age would be by wilderness proponents. The area had been based on the culmination of mean annual increment accessed by a truck trail for bark beetle control and (the age at which the average annual cubic volume therefore did not meet the Forest Service's pristine growth of a timber stand reaches its maximum level) wilderness criteria. The regional forester sought The basic requirements for national forest multiple- compromise solutions, but they were not accepted. use planning were now written in law. The plans Eventually, in1 969,the Sierra Club,1 2citizens of emerging from them would be legal documents and Vail, and several conservation organizations filed a their implementation would be subject to appeal court suit for a preliminary injunction against the and judicial review. Forest Service. The plaintiffs argued that the Wilder- ness Act provided that "nothing herein contained The NFMA requirements reflected much of what shall limit the President in ... recommending the national forest managers had been trying to achieve addition of any contiguous area of national forest in repeated revisions of the multiple-use planning lands predominately of wilderness value." The process during the1970's(as discussed in the next district court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in1970 chapter). The ultimate test of these new multiple-use and the Tenth Circuit Court upheld the ruling in planning and national forest management standards 1971.The Supreme Court declined to hear a further and guidelines lay in the future, in the way NFMA appeal (Roth1984). guidelines worked out on the ground, and in whether the public would perceive the benefits they provided Similar controversy over the development of the as generally worthwhile. Lincoln Back Country on Montana's Helena National Forest emerged in1960and continued into Wilderness Planning and Designation the early1 970's.When residents of the town of Lincoln and people who used the area for hunting, By1970,the national forest component of the fishing, hiking, and camping got wind of the Forest's National Wilderness Preservation System included plans to develop areas for timber and general recre- 61wilderness units totaling9.9million acres and ation, they repeatedly and successfully opposed 27primitive areas totaling4.4million acres. As alternative plans and efforts for its development. A directed in the Wilderness Act of1964, sixprimitive one-lane dirt access road accessed the area from the areas had been evaluated and revised, and their west and east and apparently had disqualified it as a wilderness designation recommendations were primitive area, even though it was separated from before Congress. The remaining21areas were the Bob Marshall Wilderness the jewel of the undergoing evaluations that were scheduled to be national forest wilderness system only by the completed and presented to the President and Scapegoat Mountains. In1969,the U.S. Senate Congress by September1974(USDA Forest Service expanded the Lincoln Back Country area to nclude 1975). the Scapegoat Mountains and proposed it for wilderness designation in the same year. The Chief of the During the1 970's,the national forest wilderness Forest Service placed the area's development plans planning process continued to come under intense on hold until the Helena, Lob, and Lewis and Clark public scrutiny and judicial review. Much of the National Forests could take another look at its future. controversy between wilderness advocates and In1971,these national forests drafted a wilderness national forest managers was about the designation proposal, which the regional forester endorsed. In as wilderness of lands not included in national forest 1972,the F-louse passed legislation designating the

112 Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the 1970's

area as the Scapegoat Wilderness. The Scapegoat announce them in 1973. RARE had five specific Wilderness became the firstde factowilderness objectives: to obtain the most wilderness relative to designated by Congress that was not previously costs, to disperse the system over the United States, classed as a primitive area (Roth 1 984). to represent as many ecosystems as possible, to obtain the most wilderness with the least impact on Roadless Area Review and Evaluation (RARE) timber, and to locate wilderness areas as close to National forest managers recognized early on that cities as possible (USDA Forest Service 1974a). Congress could and would add "other suitable lands" to the primitive areas they had set aside for National forest supervisors and regional foresters the national forest component of the National asked organizations and individuals to express their Wilderness Preservation System (USDA Forest views and suggestions on additions, deletions, and Service 1966). In 1964, the four-person national revisions to the areas they inventoried for wilderness forest team drafting the policy guidelines for imple- potential and to identify those they felt should menting the Wilderness Act recommended that receive more in-depth wilderness consideration. The national forest roadless areas not included in primi- total public involvement effort for RARE became one tive areas be studied for possible wilderness designa of the most extensive undertaken by any Govern- tion. Three years later, ChiefCliffdirected regional ment agency to that time. It included mass mailings foresters and national forest managers to inventory to key people and organizations; presentations to all previously unclassified roadless areas larger than public and private groups; reports to and meetings 5,000 acres for wilderness potential. National forest with other Government agencies; communications managers were having trouble determining where by radio, television, and newspaper media; confer- they could plan and carry out timber sales in road- ences with advisory boards and groups; advice from less areas and where such management would be ad hoccommittees; and public discussion sessions. opposed by wilderness advocates who filed lawsuits The Forest Service provided maps of roadless areas or by Congressmen who proposed wilderness. They and undeveloped lands to help the public review needed to sort out which roadless areas were avail- and comment on potential wilderness candidate able for development and which would be recom- areas. National forest managers even discussed mended to Congress for wilderness designation individual candidate areas with the public. In all, (Roth 1984). To avoid aggravating Congress, devel- 300 meetings attracted 25,000 people and provided opment activity ws stopped on all areas where more than 50,000 oral and written comments (Karr wilderness legislation was pending. 1983; Roth 1984; USDA Forest Service 1 974b).

By 1971, regional foresters had inventoried a total of In June 1972, regional foresters submitted their rec- 1,449 roadless and undeveloped areas containing ommendations to Chief Cliff, and in January 1973, 55.9 million acres. Except for two areas in the East Chief McGuire released a draft EIS identifying 235 and one in Puerto Rico, all areas were in the West. proposed wilderness study areas. This draft EIS gen- The national grasslands and eastern national forests erated 8,000 written comments from a wide range of were generally excluded because they did not meet interested people. Some areas were dropped. But, on the "pristine" criteria a disappointment to many the basis of public comments, recommendations environmentalists (Roth 1984). from members of Congress and other Government agencies, and improved data, other areas were ChiefCliff,in the same year, initiated Roadless Area added to the final list of new study areas. In the Review and Evaluation (RARE) for all areas of more spring of 1973, 274 areas encompassing 12.3 mil- than 5,000 acres not previously classed as primitive lion acres were selected for further study. National areas. This action coincided with the Colorado forest managers or Congress had previously identi- district court's decision in the East Meadow Creek fied some 4.4 million acres for further wilderness case. Regional foresters were to recommend areas study; the EIS analysis and recommendations had with wilderness potential to the Chief. The Chief, in added 7.9 million acres (Roth 1984; Karr 1983; turn, would select areas for wilderness study and USDA Forest Service 1974b). Chapter 4

The selection of these areas became a turning point For the next few years, the wilderness study area both for the RARE initiative and the acceleration it evaluation and recommendation process slowed to was intended to give to wilderness designation and snail's pace as national forest managers prepared the release of undesignated roadless areas for timber individual comprehensive NEPA ElS's for each selec- management and other development. When the ted study area. The slowness of the process brought regional foresters submitted their wilderness study frustration to many people at a time when early area proposals to the Chief in 1 972, the Sierra Club decisions on resource use in the roadless areas were filed a NEPA lawsuit with the Federal district court in needed, particularly for oil and gas development, San Francisco. This suit slowed the RARE process. timber harvesting, and mineral exploration (Karr The plaintiffs argued that the RARE review of the 1983). California roadless areas was grossly flawed, in violation of NEPA, and asked for a preliminary injunc- During the mid-i 970's, RARE was conducted in tion to halt all timber sales and other developments conjunction with the unit planning process. The in those roadless areas. In 1972, the court issued a 12.3 million acres of roadless areas selected for temporary injunction in favor of the plaintiffs. The further wilderness study received "detailed and in- court viewed wilderness as a management option on depth" evaluation. The balance of the roadless areas, all inventoried roadless areas and assumed that any 43.6 million acres, did not qualify for intensive study management decision to develop resources on any for wilderness designation. The process continued to of these areas would significantly affect a roadless move slowly as national forest managers acted to area's wilderness potential. The apparent "non- overcome the recognized shortcomings in the earlier decision" or "non-action" as claimed by the Forest RARE efforts. For example, some contiguous areas Service in not designating a roadless area as wilder- had been subdivided and reviewed separately rather ness was seen by the court as a partial decision to than as a whole. Boundaries of some inventoried make timber on such areas available for harvesting areas had fallen short of their actual state of road- (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985). Therefore, the court lessness. Some roadless areas had been completely ordered any timber harvesting, road building, or missed. Some regions used their own variation of other actions that would alter the wilderness char- National Forest System-wide criteria, introducing acter of the RARE roadless areas to cease and pro- inconsistency into the review process (Wilkinson hibited making any contracts that would change the and Anderson 1 985). wilderness quality of such areas without first preparing a NEPA EIS. This became known as the Eastern Wilderness and Congressional "Conte Decision." Disavowal of the Pristine Doctrine While the Forest Service was striving to accelerate The Forest Service agreed to comply with the court wilderness designation in the West, public pressure order, even though it greatly increased the complex- was growing for designating wilderness areas in the ity, cost, and data needed for evaluating the wilder- East. Interest mounted in 1970 as Congressmen from ness study areas as well as resource management West Virginia and Alabama introduced bills to desig- planning for the remaining roadless areas. On this nate wilderness on national forests in their States. basis, the Federal court dismissed the suit without During RARE, national forest managers had begun to prejudice, ruling that the plaintiffs' suit was pre- discuss options for managing undeveloped areas in mature because no national forest decisions had yet the East that did not meet their pristine criteria for been made that could be judged as damaging (Karr wilderness. In the summer of 1971, they agreed upon 1 983). With the passage of time, national forest a concept of "wild areas" as distinct from wilderness managers conceded that RARE had been flawed by areas. Wild areas would be used mainly for recrea- not fully meeting all NEPA requirements, while tion enjoyment, whereas wilderness areas would be environmentalists came to acknowledge that it was set aside primarily as a resource of wilderness for the an important step in building the public's awareness Nation as a whole. Wild areas, therefore, would re- of de facto wilderness areas and their full extent quire their own enabling legislation. Unlike wilder- (Roth 1984). ness areas, wild areas needed primitive recreation

114 Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the1970's

facilities and some development to protect the In January1 978,Congress designated1 7such areas environment, but, they would exclude grazing and totaling1 .23million acres with the passage the mining. The Associate Chief of the Forest Service Endangered American Wilderness Act. The final announced the wild area concept and the Forest committee report on this legislation directed the Service's intention at the September1971Confer- Forest Service to dispense with its pristine doctrine ence of the Sierra Club on Wilderness to solicit for wilderness designation, since accessibility of broad public participation in the process of creating wilderness-quality lands to nearby urban centers such a system. This initiative helped set a general actually enhanced their value as wilderness (Roth public campaign for eastern wilderness in motion 1984).Wilderness designation, however, remained (Roth1984). slow, even though the average area designated per year in the mid-i970'sexceeded that of the late In September1972,the Senate passed the National 1960'sand early1970'sby almost three times. Forest Wild Areas bill,5. 3973,which was widely perceived as a statutory expression of the national RARE II forest "purity" doctrine for wilderness (Roth1984). RARE II emerged in1977with the inauguration of It distinguished between the wild areas of the East, President Jimmy Carter and a new administration which would be restored to a primitive state, and the favoring environmental action. President Carter western wilderness areas, which had to be unspoiled named Rupert Cutler, an active wilderness advocate by human activity. supported by the Sierra Club, the Wilderness Society, and other environmental interests, as the Depart- Congress ultimately rejected the purity or pristine ment of Agriculture's Assistant Secretary for Natural argument. Wilderness areas did not have to be Resources and Environment. In this role, Cutler over- "untrammeled by man." So long as any evidence of saw Forest Service and National Forest System pro- past human activity was "substantially unnotice- grams and management. The new administration's able," undeveloped areas could qualify as wilder- appointments distressed some members of the ness. Congress enacted the Eastern Wilderness Act in timber industry. So, when they had the opportunity December1974,establishing16new eastern wilder- to meet with the Secretary of Agriculture and his ness areas totaling210,000acres and17eastern new assistant secretary, the industry implored them wilderness study areas. The Eastern Wilderness Act to accelerate the roadless area process. The industry differed from the Wilderness Act of1964only in wanted early relief from the continuing uncertainty authorizing the condemnation of private lands that over national forest timber supplies and the effects fell within the eastern wilderness boundaries (Roth RARE had on the industry's plant investment and 1984;Le Master1984). operating decisions (Roth1984;Le Master1984).

In the6years between1972and1978,Congress USDA responded with a second Roadless Area added3.08million acres to the National Wilderness Review and Evaluation, which became RARE II (the Preservation System. Wilderness interests continued first RARE process was renamed RARE I). In April to challenge the Forest Service's "pristine" criteria 1977,Assistant Secretary Cutler announced RARE II and were often instrumental in delaying timber sales to congressional committees that were holding hear- and, in some cases, precluding timber management ings on the proposed Endangered American Wilder- altogether (Karr1983;Roth1984).In1976,wilderness Act of1978.He promised that RARE II would ness interests proposed that Congress directly desig- step up the rate of national forest roadless area nate several areas scattered throughout the West that recommendations for wilderness preservation and had not been included in the RARE wilderness study reduce the uncertainty about available timber selections. These areas had not conformed to some supplies and related industry investment decisions aspect of the pristine criteria. For example, some (Le Master1 984). areas had been excluded because they were close to urban areas and did not meet the "sights and RARE II used the NEPA process and went beyond sounds" standard. selecting areas for further in-depth wilderness study.

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To help resolve as much of the uncertainty as pos- NEPA-consistent design for RARE II.It had two sible about the future use and management of exten- stages: first, inventorying each roadless area for sive roadless areas, the nationally led forest planning potential designation, and then evaluating each for and decision process would actually recommend allocation to wilderness, nonwilderness, or further areas for wilderness designation and others, not so planning. The design included various processes for designated, for "release" for nonwilderness use and informing people and organizations about RARE II, management. Areas that could not be clearly allo- collecting resource data and public input critical to cated to one of these two categories would be des- the inventory and evaluation stages, analyzing the ignated for further planning. Based on the internal resource data and public input for individual road- feasibility analysis of the RARE II proposal by less areas, and making the decision itself. national forest managers, there was only a very slim chance that a nationally led NEPA study and EIS These processes were designed from the top down would resolve the wilderness issue. More likely, the and executed generally from the bottom up. They EIS would be challenged in court and the roadless were characterized throughout the RARE II effort by areas would be slowly allocated through separate two-way communications from the ranger district legislation for entire States. And that is what actually and national forest levels to the regional teams and occurred! the Washington steering group, and to the Assistant Secretary and his executive staff and back again. Even though national forest leadership was not enthusiastic over the RARE process and would not This departmental approach to RARE II essentially have undertaken it on its own, the Forest Service withdrew the local national forest manager's auth- responded positively and constructively to USDA's ority to recommend the allocation of roadless areas policy direction to implement it. RARE Ii's objectives to wilderness and nonwilderness and redelegated it were to "round out" the national forest portion of the to the Assistant Secretary. When RARE I collapsed National Wilderness Preservation System (for which due to the Conte Decision, the Forest Service agreed the1975RPA had set a goal of25million to30mil- to introduce the NEPA approach into national forest lion acres), to reduce the study time for most inven- planning and with that address the question of suit- toried roadless areas, and to expedite release of ability of roadless areas for wilderness designation. areas with primary multiple-use values other than The RARE II approach perceived the roadless area wilderness (Roth1984;Le Master1984). allocation problem to be a political problem to be resolved through the Administration rather than a The Assistant Secretary reserved the overall direction professional management process although the of the effort and final decisionmaking to himself and latter was necessary to develop the information established a three-person executive staff in his needed for such resolution and decisionmaking office to provide the strategic planning and leader- (Karr1983;Le Master1984). ship for RARE II. The Forest Service role was limited to implementing the process and recommending the Chief John McGu ire delegated the leadership for allocation of roadless areas for wilderness designa- national forest implementation of RARE II to his tion, further study, or nonwilderness use to the Assis- Associate Chief Rex Ressler, who named the Deputy tant Secretary an unprecedented USDA approach Chief for National Forest Systems, Tom C. Nelson, to major planning and decisionmaking for national and several regional foresters to a steering group to forest management. The Assistant Secretary set an oversee, staff, and manage the imp'ementation pro- almost impossible completion deadline of Decem- cess. Although the Chief also directed deputy chiefs ber31, 1978.He selected the Forest Service director and regional foresters to give top priority to meeting of recreation to lead his executive staff, and he the tight deadline within the available existing recruited the assistant director of recreation, a former resources, he did not provide additional staffing or wilderness planner who had been recruited from the funding. He further cautioned that RARE II not be National Park Service, and an officer of the Wilder- carried out at the expense of the Forest Service's ness Society to fillit out. This staff developed a ongoing mission (Karr1983).

116 Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the1970's

The RARE II inventory stage was completed in the designation or management for multiple uses (Karr fall of1977,following the massive public involve- 1983). ment. National forest managers prepared an initial roadless area inventory using the Wilderness Act's Public response was immense, even exceeding the minimum wilderness designation criteria. During the record RARE I public participation. Some360,000 summer of1977,the public was invited to partici- people provided more than264,000letters, reports, pate in more than227workshops throughout the petitions, resolutions, coupons, and response forms. Nation and to suggest changes to the inventory as Most addressed preferences and reasons for allo- well as criteria for evaluating areas for wilderness cating specific roadless areas, but many comments and nonwilderness. More than50,000people pro- suggested alternative approaches and decision cri- vided comments and suggestions. National forest teria. Respondents favoring nonwilderness alloca- staff collected and summarized resource inventory tions cited economic benefits and jobs, timber data. Forest supervisors and district rangers and their production, and access to resources as their criteria. staffs conducted the public workshops. Most partici- Those favoring wilderness often cited scenery, soli- pants considered the workshops effective in reaching tude, the wilderness heritage, and additions for organized groups; however, some noted weaknesses increasing both the diversity and quality of the in communications with State government, local National Wilderness Preservation System. However, people who were not affiliated with organizations, the number of responses supporting nonwilderness and nontraditional public. The inventory identified allocations for roadless areas exceeded those for 2,686roadless areas encompassing62million acres wilderness by of3to 1(Karr1 983). in38States (Karr1983).This compared with the 1,449areas and56million acres inventoried in The final 10-step decision process used both the RARE I. The large increase in the number of areas draft ElS information and its public response data. inventoried in RARE II mainly reflected the inclusion This resulted in the final ElS's selected alternative, of hundreds of relatively small wilderness candidate which the Secretary of Agriculture released to the roadless areas on eastern national forests that had public on January4, 1979.The final ElS recom- not been included in RARE I. The total RARE IIin- mended624roadless areas, encompassing ventoried area, however, was only about 11 percent 15.1million acres, for wilderness;1,981areas with greater than that in RARE I. 36.2million acres for nonwilderness; and314areas with10.8million acres for further planning. The The preparation of a draft ElS based on inventory wilderness allocation, when added to the12million data, public input, and other resource information acres already designated as wilderness, was devel- began the evaluation stage. USDA issued the draft oped to coincide with the1975RPA program wilder- ElS for public review in June1978.The draft ElS ness goal of25million to30million acres. It also presented 10 alternative allocations for2,686road- satisfied RARE II mid-level targets for wilderness less areas totaling62.1million acres. USDA did not accessibility and distribution as well as low-level identify a preferred alternative. The RARE II staff and targets for land form, ecosystem, and wildlife repre- national forest managers explained the RARE II pro- sentation. Roadless areas with high wilderness attri- cess and its draft alternatives to the public in brief- bute ratings were proposed by USDA for wilderness ings, called "open houses," conducted across the or further planning, except for those areas where country. At the briefings, they answered questions such an allocation would result in substantial ad- about the process and draft alternatives. The USDA verse local impacts on employment and community asked the public to express and explain their prefer- stability. Such areas were allocated to nonwilderness ences for allocating individual areas to wilderness, uses. Roadless areas with proven mineral or energy nonwilderness, or further planning. It also invited the potential or with high potential for producing min- public to identify its preferred allocation alternative eral and energy resources were allocated to non- for USDA consideration in deciding upon roadless wilderness or further planning to avoid foreclosing area allocations and the decision criteria for deter- valuable mineral options without further evaluation. mining suitability of roadless areas for wilderness The decision process also reviewed the consistency

117 Chapter4

of allocations with the1975RPA program goals for options for implementing RARE II and in dealing timber, recreation, and grazing. It included several with Congress to repair some of RARE il's damage to other criteria suggested by public responses. Each their goals for further wilderness designation (Roth regional forester reviewed the allocations for meet- 1984). ing RPA program goals for his region. The Forest Service's Washington Office RARE IIstaff tested and From the beginning, all interests had widely sup- adjusted regional allocations, as needed, to achieve ported the general purposes of RARE II. However, consistency across regions in the use of the decision some of the public raised issues about its time lim- criteria and compared the preferred alternative with itations on public responses, data adequacy, and the 10 draft EIS alternatives to ensure its superiority. methodology. These critiques intensified with the Rupert Cutler, working with his RARE II executive release of the draft and final ElS's. In announcing his staff, USDA representatives, and the Chief of the RARE II decisions, President Carter observed that the Forest Service, made final decisions that took into determination of national forest best uses had been account national policy criteria such as housing slow and piecemeal and a source of frustration and starts, trade balances, treasury revenues, inflation controversy for all interests for many years. RARE II control, and national employment goals. had provided a comprehensive nationwide review and evaluation of the national forest lands in ques- Wilderness interests such as the Sierra Club, the tion. He hoped his recommendations would help Wilderness Society, Friends of the Earth, and the resolve the longstanding controversy over the use of National Audubon Society were acutely disap- roadless areas (Le Master1984). pointed with the RARE II wilderness allocations. They felt they were too small. Commodity industry Omnibus RARE II legislation received little congres- representatives, including the National Forest sional support. It took Congress until the end of Products Association and the Rocky Mountain Oil 1979to decide upon a strategy to respond to RARE II and Gas Association, felt the wilderness allocations recommendations. That strategy provided that each were too large (Le Master1 984). State's congressional delegation seek a consensus on wilderness designations within its own State and USDA scheduled 2 months for the RARE II final ElS then introduce separate legislation (Le Master1984). review and comment by other Federal agencies, In the meantime, wilderness interests in the North- members of Congress, and governors of States. west reacted angrily to the RARE II allocations, President Carter considered their comments and which they saw as singularly one-sided in allocating suggestions when he announced his decision on nearly80percent of all road less areas to nonwilder- April16, 1979.He recommended15.4million acres ness. In Oregon, 125 wilderness leaders convened for wilderness use, slightly more than was recom- for a full day to develop a strategy to address their mended in the final ElS;36.0million acres for non- issue in Congress (Roth1984).In California, where wilderness use; and10.6million acres for further the final ElS allocated44percent of the roadless study (Le Master1984).The recommendations areas to further study and1 6percent to wilderness, reflected White House agreement with the forest consistent with Californians' preference for a more products industry to not increase wilderness aHoca- gradual approach to wilderness designations, envi- tions in the Pacific Northwest. The industry, in turn, ronmentalists and the State Department of Natural agreed to support President Carter's proposal for a Resources were still dissatisfied. The State of Califor- national Department of Natural Resources that nia filed suit in the District Court of the United States would include the Forest Service (Roth1 984). for Eastern California in1979.In January1980,the district court ruled in favor of the State's finding that Environmental interests were dissatisfied with the failure to address site-specific impacts, an inadequate final ElS recommendations and convinced the range of alternatives, and insufficient opportunity for Administration not to submit omnibus RARE II leg- public comment were major RARE iiElS deficien- islation to Congress. Environmentalists argued that cies. The ruling enjoined all development on Cal- they needed a free hand to address legislative ifornia's47roadless areas prior to completion of a

118 Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the 1970's

site-specific EIS for each area. The Government Multiple- Use Planning appealed the decision, but the Ninth Circuit Court Procedures Improved sustained the ruling in 1982 and extended it to Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, In the early 1970's, the regional multiple-use guides Nevada, Arizona, and Hawaii. This ruling essentially and district multiple-use management plans contin- foreclosed the RARE II goal of releasing national ued to be the basic mode and tools for allocating forest lands not allocated to wilderness for non- uses and managing resources on national forest wilderness uses and management (Karr 1983). It put lands. These plans focused on coordinating various national forest managers back in the same position uses by selecting management practices that would that the earlier Conte Decision on RARE I had avoid or resolve conflicts, but they rarely addressed created national forest managers had to do site- the question of the combination that would best specific EIS's on roadless areas before releasing them meet American people's needs as called for in the to nonwilderness uses. RARE II, however, did pro- MUSY Act (Wilson 1978). Another weakness was the vide a useful and comprehensive basis for State-by- implication that all or many uses could be carried State wilderness consideration, which probably out on every acre. Such situations rarely occurred in would not have occurred in its absence. actual plans, but national forest managers' public information focused so heavily on coordination that Despite the findings in the California suit and the they tended to leave this type of understanding with potential for the district court's ruling to slow down some people. The quality and thoroughness of this national forest planning and roadless area manage- initial multiple-use planning effort varied widely ment, 50 RARE II wilderness bills were introduced in within the National Forest System (Wilson 1978). the 96th Congress by the end of 1 980. More than On the Bitterroot, the Monongahela, and the four half were proposals for designating wilderness for all Wyoming national forests where clearcutting had or selected parts of 1 5 States. Nine were enacted become a national issue and the subject of intensive into law, designating 4.5 million acres of wilderness Forest Service evaluations, inadequate multiple-use in Idaho, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, South plans or the lack of such plans were identified as Dakota, Missouri, Louisiana, and South Carolina, important contributors. The Monongahela had not and 5.4 million acres in Alaska. These actions yet developed a plan in 1969 (Weitzman 1977). increased designated national forest wilderness from The Bitterroot Task Force evaluation found that the 15.3 million acres in 1978 and 1979 to 25.1 million Bitterroot's multiple-use planning was not far enough in 1980. advanced and that the plan contained too few To overcome the district court ruling that precluded coordinating directions (USDA Forest Service 1970). The Wyoming Forest Study Team (USDA Forest the release of RARE II ElS roadless areas for non- Service 1971 a) reported similarly, "none of the wilderness uses, Congress wrote language into the Forests has attained the required level of planning wilderness designation legislation for Alaska, Colorado, and New Mexico that determined that refinement." Thus, major shortfalls were identified in their final EiS's had provided "sufficient" evaluation three regions and on seven forests. of the RARE II areas. This approach precluded In 1973, the Forest Service undertook a new round further appeal of the RARE II ElS and permitted the of land-use planning that would replace the multiple- release of nondesignated roadless areas for timber use plans with local unit plans, provide closer inte- and other resource management. During the 1980's, gration between national objectives and local land this became the general State-by-State approach of use priorities, and seek to fit multiple-use planning Congress to additional wilderness designations and closely with NEPA requirements. This action release of other areas for nonwilderness uses. responded to the continuing external criticism over multiple-use planning on national forests, a growing internal dissatisfaction with ranger district multiple- use plans, and the need for wilderness planning to

II Chapter 4

conform to NEPA requirements consistent with the regional forester. Unit plans covered a large drainage 1972 Conte Decision. In 1973, the linkage between or several drainages, and their size varied from multiple-use land management planning, wilderness 50,000 acres up to several hundred thousand acres. planning, and NEPA planning requirements spurred (Wilson 1 978). A few national forests opted to national forest managers to develop vastly more consider the whole national forest as the basic unit complete resource inventories and to assign soil for multiple-use management planning, and in this scientists, wildlife biologists, hydrologists, and other way anticipated the NFMA requirement for all forests specialists to collect and analyze basic resource do so. information (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985). Unit plans classified lands, somewhat analogous to This new generation of land management planning zone classification in the multiple-use plans, for included a hierarchy of direction. The Chief promul- combinations of multiple uses according to their gated Service-wide policy and objectives. The Wash- suitability to provide those uses. Unit plans also ington Office drafted a national guide for developing stratified the land base to a greater degree than regional and local unit plans and alternatives for multiple-use plans. The mix of planned and potential long-term national forest funding the Environ- uses within individual management areas was also mental Program for the Future (EPF). The EPF com- more complex and required more detailed manage- pared national forest uses and management levels ment guidelines. For example, the 1 978 unit plan for and mixes that could be attained under low, mod- Oregon's Umpqua National Forest one of the few erate, and high funding over a 10-year period. How- forests where the whole forest was the planning ever, these resource use and management levels and unit involved more than 20 land-use allocations. mixes were not linked in any specific way to the There were eight watershed management areas, four national forest land base. The Forest and Rangeland recreation management areas, and two wildlife man- Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1 974 (RPA) agement areas. Most of the Umpqua's lands, how- and the 1 975 RPA program, which was largely built ever, were allocated to general forest management, upon its planning concepts, superseded the EPF which emphasized timber production and included before it could be finalized. guidelines for coordinating timber management witFj the needs of sensitive riparian areas and specific Regional Planning Area Guides and Unit Plans wildlife habitats such as winter cover and other for Multiple-Use Management resource uses. Four streamside management zones Regional foresters were directed to prepare regional were differentiated by stream size. The management planning area guides that discussed the resource guidance for one such zone required a 33-foot buffer management situation for relatively homogeneous strip on each stream bank with no programmed subareas within their regions and provided regional timber harvest and an additional 99-foot buffer strip coordinating guidelines and direction for preparing where timber would be managed on a 200-year local land unit management plans within those rotation (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985). subareas. These guides reflected public participation and input. They usually included estimates of The Umpqua plan also included a soil resource resource use that each planning unit would be inventory that identified and mapped about 250 soil expected to provide an attempt to identify the types, which were grouped into resource analysis "mix of uses" appropriate for the resources of the units based on site productivity, erosion potential, planning area, a major shortcoming in the prede- and reforestation capacity. Lands with high soil cessor multiple-use plans and regional guides. erosion risks that could damage fish habitats and other resources were identified as critical soil man- Unit Plans agement areas. Resource specialists often examined National forest supervisors' staffs, working with dis- soil characteristics and wildlife habitats intensively trict people, prepared the unit plans. The authority to in establishing the unit planning management areas approve unit plans was originally delegated to the and guidelines. Interdisciplinary teams that prepared forest supervisor, but it eventually shifted to the unit plans were typically staffed by foresters, wildlife

120 Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the 1970's

biologists, recreation planners, landscape architects, Influence of RPA Legislation and transportation system planners. Economists and The 1974 RPA legislation required, for the first time, sociologists were only sometimes used (Wilkinson that national program planning be linked directly and Anderson 1985; Wilson 1978). Because unit with on-the-ground multiple-use planning at the plans included the preparation and public review of forest and ranger district levels. Although the legis- NEPA-required EIS's, they often included plan alter- lation did not detail how to achieve this linkage, it natives in draft plans prepared for public comment required national forests to use a systematic interdis- and for the regional forester's decision (Wilson ciplinary approach to integrate physical, biological, 1978). economic, and other basic resource considerations and a detailed continuous inventory of national "Functional" Resource Plans Link to Unit Plans forest lands and resources to reflect changes in Although unit plans did not replace "functional" resource conditions, uses, and values. Because of resource plans, their improved quality and detail the short time between the 1 974 RPA enactment and provided better information for coordinating and the 1 975 due date for the first RPA program, the first managing multiple uses, including more effective RPA program documents, submitted to Congress in environmental protection. After 1973, when wilder- December 1975, had very little linkage with or input ness planning was integrated with unit planning and from the national forests and ranger districts. NEPA requirements, the unit plan process slowed The first RPA program was largely prepared in the greatly, but the quality of wilderness planning Washington Office to respond to the 1975 RPA improved significantly (Wilson 1978). assessment projections for resource demands using the information developed for the draft EPF. The unit planning process and the plan outputs were a substantial improvement over their predecessor A primary objective for many people who had sup- multiple-use plans, but they had their own short- ported the RPA legislation had been to improve the comings. There was still wide variation in the way Forest Service's ability to obtain appropriations over unit planning was applied among the national forest the long term to meet and balance national forest regions and among forests within regions. National resource management goals and objectives. Senator requirements were not well detailed or rigorous. The Humphrey hoped that putting resource goals into a Forest Service's decentralized management system congressionally adopted "statement of policy" would allowed for a wide range of interpretation of such lead to a stronger commitment for higher and more direction at the regional level, as well as wide lati- balanced appropriations. However, for the balance tude for innovation at the forest level. A variety of of the 1 970's, budget proposals and appropriations approaches emerged and provided opportunities for fell behind the 1975 RPA programmed targets. the more effective planning methods to be more Appropriations in 1980, measured in constant widely adopted, in time, within the National Forest dollars, were about the same level as they were in System. However, this strength was also a short- 1971 and about 10 percent more than they were in coming that caused confusion among national 1976, which was actually below the 1971 level. public-interest groups who could not identify any Nevertheless, the increase in Forest Service budget standards for comparing the effectiveness of unit authority in current dollars from 1976 to 1981 was plans among forests and regions. The lack of consis- 94 percent compared to 59 percent for the whole tency in both form and substance was seen as one of Federal Government, This indicates that the RPA unit planning's weakest features (Wilson 1978). may have helped the Forest Service achieve rela- Another weakness was the absence of the goals and tively more favorable budgets during a period of objectives of a larger forest, regional, or national constrained Federal appropriations. Although com- planning framework to which unit planning could be parison of national forest appropriations for six dif- related. ferent resource objectives for the 5 years before and after the 1975 RPA showed small changes in the balance of appropriations, both negative and positive, there was little evidence that the 1975 RPA provided

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any improvement in the balance of funding in the Service advanced as a starting point (Hartgraves management of renewable resources (Le Master 1994). 1984; Wilkinson and Anderson 1985). Nevertheless, the RPA process made it possible for the Forest Planning guidelines and procedures for public par- Service to have a broader and more open dialogue ticipation, coordination with other public agencies, with congressional appropriations committees and and an interdisciplinary approach to NFMA planning public-interest groups than had previously been were included in the regulations. The planning possible. In the past, 0MB constraints on program process itself had the following interrelated steps for and budget testimony had generally inhibited open producing national forest land and resource manage- dialogue between agencies and appropriations ment plans: define issues, concerns, and opportu- committees (McGuire 1996). nities; identify planning criteria, including indicators of response to issues; collect data and develop infor- Influence of the National Forest mation; analyze the current management situation Management Act of 1976 and a baseline for the use of each resource, i.e., the NFMA and its regulations went far beyond RPA capability of planning areas and their resources to direction to prepare local land and resource man.- supply the public's demands; specify alternative re- agement plans that were linked to national goals and source goals and objectives and related management objectives. They spelled out the standards and guidelines; determine the effects of the alternatives guidelines for managing multiple uses on national and evaluate the costs, benefits, and environmental forests. As required by NFMA, the Secretary of impacts; select a preferred alternative and imple- Agriculture appointed the Committee of Scientists to ment it; and monitor and evaluate management and give technical and scientific advice and ensure that implementation. NFMA implementing regulations would include an effective interdisciplinary planning approach, and Another component of the NFMA regulations set they began to help design the NFMA guidelines in standards and guidelines for vegetation manage- May 1977. The Committee advised the Forest ment, timber harvesting and scheduling, riparian Service on the specific wording and merits of alter- habitat protection, soil and water conservation, and native implementing standards and guidelines. The maintenance of plant and animal species diversity. Forest Service reviewed the draft NFMA regulations These standards and guidelines included specific in 18 public meetings to ensure that they were minimum management requirements for timber scientifically and technically adequate. The Federal harvesting and other activities. The regulations also Register published a first draft for public comment described the content and role of "regional plans" to and the Secretary of Agriculture held two public linking national objectives with local level planning hearings. In September 1979, final regulations, a matter for which neither the RPA nor the NFMA promulgated by the Forest Service, were issued. provided guidance. The process, thus, became iter- They became effective in November 1979 more ative. The national RPA program allocated national than 3 years after the passage of NFMA (Le Master resource output objectives to the nine Forest Service 1984). regions. The regions, in turn, allocated their shares to the national forests. Each forest plan included at The Committee of Scientists helped determined the least one alternative that reflected the forest's share technical quality of NFMA's guidelines. They of RPA outputs. However, the allocated objectives ensured greater specificity and rigor than the Forest were not binding on each final local forest plan. The Service would have provided without their guidance regulations provided that forests would negotiate and advice. They added an important dimension of and adjust outputs within regions in the event some public credibility to regulations that would otherwise forests could not meet their allocations. RPA outputs not have existed. They strongly endorsed the land could be reallocated among regions and ultimately and resource planning rationale derived in large used to update the national output objectives in the part from the unit planning process that the Forest next RPA program update (LeMaster 1984; Wilkinson and Anderson 1 985).

122 Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the1970's

For each of the plan alternatives, national forests The Emergence and Development of were to design land use and resource management Public Participation objectives to individual management areas over the From the beginning, the National Forest System's entire forest. One of the interdisciplinary team's focus on managing a variety of forest land uses functions was to help ensure that such objectives required its managers to work with local users, their were fully integrated with each other and the communities, and interest groups in planning and management area resource capabilities. NFMA carrying out national forest management activities. planning retained the classification and designation Because of the important role national forests played of forest zones with similar resource conditions for in the life and work of local communities and their this purpose but renamed them "management areas" residents, many national forest managers were often (Hartgraves1 994). recognized as local community leaders (Kaufman 1960; 1967). NFMA directed that existing unit plans remain the operational national forest management direction Not infrequently, however, national forest managers until the new plans were completed. Under NFMA, also had to respond to conflicts with local users and however, the entire national forest became the basic citizen interest groups about national forest resource planning unit. This was done to eliminate a per- use and management. Such conflicts usually arose ceived bias that unit planning gave preference to when decisions, based on Forest Service regulations, developing plans and management for areas with failed to serve some local interests or preferences. less difficult management situations a bias that Some issues could be resolved through permits or deferred and concentrated planning and manage- contracts and their written standards and conditions ment of more challenging and complex areas to of use. Often such issues provided opportunities to future resource managers. This was not considered a communicate and develop a fuller understanding prudent approach to national forest planning and among users and citizens about the merits of such management (Hartgraves1994). decisions an opportunity which frequently helped management actions become mutually acceptable to Although national forest planning had tended to both parties. Some management decisions and move in the direction of the NFMA guidelines, very actions were appealed to higher Forest Service few NFMA forest plans (less than 10) were com- levels, and a few were pursued through court suits pleted and filed with the Environmental Protection (Kaufman1960; 1967).Appeals and court suits Agency before1985. remained relatively limited until the1 970's.

NFMA and its regulations established legal direction The largely comfortable working relationship for developing and implementing national forest between local citizens and interests and national plans. NFMA standards and guidelines became a forest decisionmakers changed after World War II. legal basis for evaluating national forest planning Rapid growth in population, geographic shifts in and management and the legal basis for national population distribution, better educated users, and forest plan appeals and court suits, which were to accelerated economic growth gradually brought number in the thousands in the1980's (LeMaster demographic changes to forest-based communities 1984;Wilkinson and Anderson1985).The national and States. Increases in mobility, leisure time, and forest plans, in turn, became legal documents used personal income contributed to Americans' growing to develop each forest's annual program and budget interest in outdoor recreation, wildlife, wilderness, proposals, but congressional appropriations deter- and associated activities. These trends expanded mined the extent to which the plans could be imple- public interests in national forest use and manage- mented each year. ment and in time became increasingly diversified. At the same time, national forest commodity production grew rapidly in response to national goals and market demands for housing and lumber, minerals, and beef, and contributed strongly to local commu-

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nity development. Increasing confrontation and con- its efforts at all Forest Service levels to inform the flicts between the new public interests and activities public and obtain their input on resource manage- and expanding commodity production raised public ment decisions affecting the environment (USDA concerns and brought increasing criticism of Forest Service1 972).As the Forest Service devel- national forest management. By the late1 960's,the oped its public involvement methods during the need to involve the public more effectively, to intro- 1 970's,it also helped many other Federal and State duce the new planning and decisionmaking proce- agencies in their efforts to do so. dures, and to obtain better balanced funding among all the multiple uses was becoming increasingly NEPA clearly shifted the emphasis on public partici- evident to many national forest managers (USDA pation and expanded its content and training. By Forest Service1977;Cliff1970). 1977,the Inform and Involve Program had providec public involvement training to more than 1 ,500 Although NEPA did not explicitly address the Forest Service employees (USDA Forest Service national forests, its policy direction applied where 1977).In1976,NFMA made public participation in national forest planning and decisions affected the national forest planning and management decisions environment. NEPA required Federal agencies to explicit public policy. In1977,the Forest Service undertake specific efforts to involve the public in published a draft In form and Involve Handbook their planning and decisionmaking processes. It documenting public involvement methods and pro- called for documenting the information and analysis cesses for a wide variety of situations. This hand- underlying each alternative considered and for pub- book became the basic instructional aid for training lic review and comment on the alternatives con- national forest managers and staff in public involve- sidered. The Forest Service responded to NEPA's ment and a reference document for field managers. public participation requirements and in January 1970,the Chief of the Forest Service issued A Guide The handbook described different methods for to Public Involvement in Decisionmaking. In his informing the public about Forest Service plans and transmittal he wrote: actions and involving the public in planning and decisionmaking. It focused on sharing information The surge of public interest in the quality of the with the public, collecting information from the environment in the last few years has made con- public, and describing procedures for documenting, servation a national issue one in which a analyzing, and interpreting that input. Most of the great many people are now deeply concerned and want to become involved.... This new public public participation methods described in the hand- concern provides us the opportunity to more book related to one-way communication of informa- fully inform an attentive public of the principles tion to the public or one-way collection of informa- of conservation which have long been the basis tion from the public. The handbook described the for Forest Service management. And there is no weak and strong points of these methods and their doubt that increased public interest and involve- mentwillalso provide us with the opportunity to appropriateness for different objectives and activi- reach better land management decisions, both in ties. The handbook also described several interactive terms of protecting and enhancing the quality of two-way communication methods. These were seen the environment, and in terms of meeting public as viable public participation methods, but also as needs for goods and services. It provides us with expensive, time-consuming, and difficult to manage a unique opportunity to gain greater public recognition and understanding of these principles usually requiring neutral outside facilitators. and ... the need for a balanced program in all Information resulting from these interactive methods aspects of forestry and forest land management. was thought to more or less limit a manager's discretion because it tended to open the traditionally The Forest Service is committed to seeking exclusive forest management decision process to the greater public involvement in its decisionmaking process; indeed, we welcome it. (Cliff 1 970) public. Generally, the handbook tended to protect the national forest manager's exclusive decision In May1971,the Forest Service established the authority delegated by the Organic Act of1 897. agency-wide Inform and Involve Program to bolster Thus, public participation in the1970'sbecame a

124 Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the 1970's

process for fuller and wider sharing of information The South's Charette approach was an important about national forest decisions and activities with step toward opening the Forest Service to wider use the public interested in national forest management. of consensus building and negotiating approaches to Yet few decisions were changed as a result of this public participation in the1 980's.Although the input, which made almost every special-interest Charette approach was documented and often group and some individuals disappointed, frustrated, presented and discussed elsewhere in the Forest and even angry. Environmentalists, seeing that Service, it did not have strong support from the decisions were basically not changed, began to rely Washington Office. There was a strong feeling that a on the court system to satisfy their grievances. consensus or negotiation approach to national forest decisions involved "giving some authority away," This dominant public involvement approach, did not which was perceived by some national forest man- preclude experimenting with other ways to provide a agers as a planning and decisionmaking weakness deeper public sharing in the decisionmaking pro- (Sweetland1992). cess. For example, during the mid-i970's,when unit plans were the basic national forest management Lessons from the National Issues tool, several foresters on southern national forests of the 1970's introduced a "Charette" approach to obtain more effective public input for their unit plans. They were In the1970's,the organization and administration of dissatisfied with the quality of the input that emerged the National Forest System was still strongly hierar- from public meetings, where participants largely chical. The roles of the Washington Office, regional recited their positions on the use and management offices, forest supervisors' offices, and ranger district of national forest land planning units. They asked offices were clearly differentiated. National forest the question: "How can we get people to under- planning and management decisionmaking, how- stand what they really want on a piece of land?" ever, was highly decentralized because national (Sweetland1 992).The "Charette" was a process for centralized planning and decisionmaking for i 55 integrating and managing ideas and preferences widely dispersed national forests(146administrative from a group of people with different interests but an units) and more than700ranger districts involving a agreed upon common goal to produce an inte- wide range of forest and rangeland conditions and grated fitting of their varied interests into a workable user interests was not a feasible option. Management design or plan. The participants were organized into decisions needed to respond to local uses and users workgroups. National forest staff and managers and be sensitive to local resource conditions. served as facilitators and consultants on legal, administrative, and technical limitations and bounds. The philosophy of managing multiple uses called for They did not direct the workshop or influence its equal consideration of all resources and the combi- outcomes. The national forest role was only infor- nation of uses that provided the greatest benefit to mational and procedural. the American people. But specific guidelines and standards for integrating the management of uses This process was initially developed and successfully were very weak or lacking at all levels. They were implemented for unit planning on the national strengthened by the introduction of unit planning in forests of Texas and then other national forests in the i 973and further improved by the passage of NFMA Southern Region. It worked well when the task and in1976and its regulations in1979.In the1970's, product were well-defined and there were well- there were no reporting or evaluation systems for defined differences among the represented interests, monitoring, assessing, and overseeing multiple-use but it also required a common commitment to pro- management performance at any level of the Forest duce an integrated single design for national forest Service. Local resource managers had great flexi- planning units. It was not an effective approach bility, but also the burden of responsibility for man- where one or more participants insisted and pressed aging multiple uses (fitting them according to the adamantly for their particular preferences. capabilities of ecosystems and compatibly with

i25 Chapter 4

existing uses where they overlapped or adjoined). lic's increasing dissatisfaction with clearcutting and The general National Forest System philosophy was related timber management practices in the 1 960's to resolve national forest management issues (as and their emergence as a national issue in the opposed to policy issues) and problems at the lowest 1 9 70's. The monolithic loyalty and in flexible com- practical level. mitment of national forest managers to the agency's organ izational philosophy and discipline as well as Resource programs, budgets, operating divisions, its resource mission and program likewise probably Forest Service manuals and handbooks, and contributed importantly to its inability to respond reporting systems were all organized by function. more effectively and quickly to the public's changing Planning by function had been an important compo- values and the issues they raised (Kaufman 1 994). nent of national forest operations and was histor- cally well established. The better-funded functional Other aspects of National Forest System operations programs, such as forest engineering (mainly the may have contributed to the clearcutting issue. construction of roads) and timber management, National forest management was driven incremen- often helped projects in other, less well-funded tally, year by year, by the continuing and growing resource areas that could be carried out as joint public demands for all national forest uses. There operations with road construction and maintenance was little or no clear information about how these or timber management. This was one aspect of continuing and growing uses and their management multiple-use management. Coordination by would shape and condition the national forests for "functional" specialists was the principal tool for the future. Nor could anyone explain how the integrating multiple uses and their management on multiple-use management approach worked to find the ground. the level and mix of uses that would best meet the American people's needs. The fact that public The Washington Office was responsible for devel- preferences and "needs" were evolving rapidly and oping national-level programs, budgets, and policy unpredictably during this period at both the national and for public affairs, while implementing programs and local level contributed significantly to this prob- and budgets and the management of national forests lem. Thus, the management of the National Forest was the primary and separate role of the regional, System depends on the public's trust of its profes- national forest, and ranger district managers. The sional resource managers. The emergence of clear- Washington Office dealt with policy; the local field cutting as a national issue undermined a great deal units with the solution to on-the-ground problems. of that trust and as a result, substantial responsi- Decentralized decisionmaki ng became the guiding bility for providing planning and management guide- principle for solving land management problems. lines and standards and for the public's participation Under this principle, problems were analyzed using in establishing goals and direction for such planning, local technical and management considerations and managing, and monitoring shifted to Congress. did not explicitly delve into policy questions. This worked well as long as problems remained indi- The lack of a comprehensive system for evaluating vidual local problems and were not widely repli- the performance of multiple-use management prob- cated among the 9 national forest regions and the ably contributed similarly, but indirectly, to the de- 155 national forests. cline of public trust and the tarnishing of the Forest Service's image. While there was some misuse of When the Washington Office finally undertook a clearcutting, there were many successes in fitting national assessment of clearcutting in 1 970 and multiple uses into National Forest System ecosys- found 30 types of problem situations associated with tems; but they were just not as widely publicized as it,it was too late to manage the clearcutting issue the problems. Generally, national forests conducted internally and at a local level. The Forest Service's their timber management activities in ways that decentralized management and sharp hierarchical protected watersheds; permitted the expansion of division of responsibilities without central oversight wilderness designation; encouraged the growth of or evaluation seems to have contributed to the pub- recreation, wildlife, and fishery uses; and maintained

126 Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the 1970's

or improved rangelands. But there was a lack of philosophy. It focused only on clearcutting being national and regional measures for assessing and misused as it related to other resources uses and sen- documenting the performance and success of sitivities. NFMA addressed the same issue. It strongly multiple-use management on the ground. Manage- affirmed the multiple-use approach to national forest ment conflicts and problems were surfaced and management, provided legislative guidelines and publicized locally and nationally through complaints standards to implement it, and monitoring require- and actions of individuals, interest groups, and the ments to evaluate its performance. Thus, the man- media. But there were no measures or assessments agement of multiple uses in the combination that of the successes of multiple-use management; they would best meet the needs of the American people were poorly documented and not effectively com- remained the basic policy for national forest man- municated to the local and national public. agement policy. But the public perceived a need for more consistency in national forest management. Wilderness designation, for example, was initiated in This need called for more sufficient guidelines and the 1920's and steadily expanded through the 1960's standards that would ensure "equal consideration" and 1970's. Recreation use on national forests, for all national forest uses and resources and including hunting, fishing, and wildlife observation, stronger integration of the sciences and professional grew much more rapidly than the U.S. population, disciplines in managing and protecting those and national forest management accommodated it resources. It also called for a clear explanation and well during the 1960's and most of the 1970's. public understanding of how the management of Watersheds generally were successful in ameliora- multiple uses contributed to the "greatest good of the ting waterflows and maintaining stable soil condi- American people." tions. Serious damage or major disasters were rare. Domestic livestock numbers on national forest Even though national forest managers successfully rangelands were reduced, and rangeland conditions accommodated the rapid growth in recreation, were generally maintained or improved. Timber wildlife, and fishery use, some users were not happy harvesting and management, after rapid acceleration with the rapid development of the national forests following World War II, remained relatively stable in primarily for timber production in the 1950's and the 1960's and declined slightly in the 1970's. 1 960's. As timber harvesting was extended into the remaining unaccessed old-growth timber, year after Timber use tended to shape national forest manage- year, road access and timber harvesting were seen as ment in the sense that it was usually the first use rapidly reducing the de facto wilderness and the involving management of undeveloped forest areas. decreasing opportunities for designating many areas Planned harvests were dispersed throughout the desirable for wilderness. The issue was aggravated National Forest System for three reasons: to provide when national forest managers reallocated some access for other uses, to provide more effective forested areas previously set aside as primitive and resource protection and administration, and to leave wilderness candidate areas for designation to timber forest conditions in roaded, but unharvested, areas management. As a result, the Wilderness Act of 1964 that were suitable for other uses. The 1969 Douglas- withdrew forest managers' authority to define and fir supply study, for example, reported that recrea- designate wilderness and placed it with Congress. tion users, including hunters and anglers, promptly took advantage of new roads in previously undevel- Complaints about clearcutting emerged from other oped areas. national forest users in the early 1960's. These complaints grew and became more widespread during The Universfty of Montana's report on its evaluation the balance of the decade and the early 1 970's. of clearcutting on Montana's Bitterroot looked at the National forest evaluation teams repeatedly reported Forest Service's multiple-use philosophy and found it a need to involve interested national forest users wanting. The Senate Subcommittee's hearing report, earlier and more effectively in planning timber however, did not find any general issue with the way harvests that involved clearcutting, especially where the Bitterroot's had implemented the multiple-use

127 Chapter 4

there were sensitive soils and others were using the continued to escalate throughout the 1 970's, even national forests for nontimber purposes. though forest managers' efforts to respond to growing user demands and public issues intensified and Users who were concerned with clearcutting and its increased. As national forest plans began to be com- apparent unacceptable impacts often reported that pleted in the early 1 980's, appeals related to the national forest managers were less than responsive plans accelerated and the number of court suits to their concerns. These reported shortfalls where grew. Chapter 5 addresses on-the-ground manage- clearcutting and related timber management were ment responses of national forest managers to the inappropriately applied called for a more inte- growing pressures of the 1 970's. grated approach to managing multiple uses at the grassroots level and less functional management. References They also indicated the need for some effective public participation and a better two-way dialog American Enterprise Institute. 1974. ForestManagement and between national forest resource managers and all TimberSupply Legislation. Legislative Analysis No. 17. interested public. Washington, DC. 39 pp. American Forests. 1973. "Funding is the Name of the NFMA ultimately provided legislative guidelines and Game." Vol. 79:12, December 1973. standards for planning, managing, and monitoring multiple uses. The public, interest groups, and the Bolle, Arnold W. 1989. "The Bitterroot Revisited: A University Re-View of the Forest Service." In: The Public national forest managers can use monitoring results Land Law Review 10:1-17. University of Oregon, to evaluate the effectiveness of management for Eugene. multiple uses and sustaining resources. Clary, David A. 1986. Timber and the Forest Service. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS. 251 pp. Notwithstanding the internal weaknesses in the National Forest System, other factors contributed to Cliff, Edward P. 1970. The Forest Service in the Seventies. those shortfalls. During the 1950's, 1960's, and Interoffice memorandum circulated to Forest Service 1970's, the national priority for meeting post-World employees, October 1970. USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC. 86 pp. War II housing goals in the face of rapid population and economic growth and the need to brake and Cliff, Edward P. 1971. Letter dated April 2, 1971, to Hon. reverse runaway inflation were powerful driving Gale McGee, U.S. Senator, transmitting report National forces for increasing national forest timber harvests. Forest Management in a Quality Environment: Timber Productivity. USDA Forest Service, Washington DC. For several decades, there was a lack of a clear national consensus on allocation of multiple uses, Cravens, Jay H. 1970. Letter dated August 6, 1970, from including wilderness use, on national forests. Regional Forester to National Forest Supervisors in the Eastern Region advising them on enhancement concepts of ecology for national forest management. Finally, there have been some important benefits to USDA Forest Service, Milwaukee, WI. the accelerated national forest timber harvest that have not been well presented to the public. After Cubbage, Frederick W., Jay O'Laughlin, and C.S. Bullock. 1993. Forest Resource Policy. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. World War II, such harvests tended to stabilize the New York, NY. 562 pp. timber industry and many rural and urban communities in the Pacific Northwest. Nationally, the Fisher, Joseph L. 1974. "A Search for Consensus." In: Forest increased national forest harvests reduced the Policy for the Future: Papers and Decisions from a Forum on Forest Policy in the Future. Resources for the pressure to harvest sawtimber on the South's heavily Future, Inc., Washington, DC. pp. 31 5-326. cutover and young, mostly private forests for about two decades, giving them time to grow and mature. Hartgraves, Rex. 1 994. Direct discussions in April 1994. Rex Hartgraves was former Forest Supervisor of the Beaverhead National Forest and the former Director of Public and interest group demands for more bal- Land and Resource Management Planning under NFMA anced use of national forests and management in the Washington Office. USDA Forest Service, adjustments for environmental quality purposes Washington, DC.

128 Policy Issues and Management Conflicts Challenge Multiple-Use Planning and Management During the 1970's

Hines, Judith L. 1 987. Log Export Restrictions of the Western Sweetland, Paul C. 1992. Transcript of Oral History Interview States and British Columbia. Gen. Tech. Report PNW- by Terry West, Senior Historian, USDA Forest Service. GTR-208. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest February 20 and March 1 3, 1992. Washington DC. Research Station, Portland, OR. 1 3 pp. Towell, W.E. 1973. "What's New atAFA?" American Forests, Hirt, Paul W. 1994. A Conspiracy of Optimism Vol. 79:11. November 1973. Management of National Forests Since World War I!. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NB. 41 6 pp. Ulrich, Alice H. 1990. U.S. Timber Production, Trade, Consumption, and Price Statistics 1960-80. Misc. Humphrey, Hubert H. 1 974. Congressional Record, 93rd Pub. No. 1486. USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC. Congress, 1 st Session, October 2, 1974. 80 pp. Karr, Ray. 1 983. Forests for the People: Case Study of the U.S. Senate. 1 968. Hearings on Proposed Housing RARE!! Decision. Ph.D. Dissertation. School of Forestry, Legislation for 1968 before the Subcommittee on University of Montana, Missoula, MT. 248 pp. Housing and Urban Development of the Committee on Kaufman, Herbert. 1960; 1 967. The Forest Ranger: A Study Banking and Currency. 90th Congress, 2nd Session. of Administrative Behavior. The Johns Hopkins Washington, DC. University Press, Baltimore, MD. 259 pp. U.S. Senate. 1969. "Problems in Lumber Pricing and Kaufman, Herbert. 1994. The Paradox of Excellence. A talk Production." Hearing before the Subcommittee on given at Grey Towers, Milford, PA, in June 1994. 8 pp. Housing and Urban Affairs of the Committee on Banking and Currency. 91st Congress, 2nd Session. Le Master, Dennis C. 1 984. Decade of Change The Washington, DC. Remaking of Forest Service Statutory Authority during the 1970's. Greenwood Press, Westport, CT. 290 pp. U.S. Senate. 1970. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. "A University View of the Forest Service." Report of the McGuire, John. 1996. Direct communication with former Select Committee of the University of Montana on the Chief of the Forest Service. January 1 996. Washington, Bitterroot National Forest. Senate Document 91-11 5. DC. 91st Congress, 2nd Session. Washington, DC Nelson, M.M. 1970. Letter from the Deputy Chief for the U.S. Senate 1 971. "Management Practices on Pubhc Lands," National Forest System to Regional Foresters on Parts 1-3. Hearings before the Subcommittee on Public ecosystem reading and training. June 9, 1 970. USDA Lands of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Forest Service, Washington, DC. 92nd Congress, 1st session. Washington, DC. Nixon, Richard M. 1970. Statement of the President on the U.S. Senate. 1 972. Clearcutting on Federal Timber Lands. Report of the Task Force of the Cabinet Committee on Report of the Subcommittee on Public Lands of the Economic Policy. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. 92nd Documents. June 22, 1 970. Executive Office of the Congress, 2nd session. Washington, DC. President, Washington DC. P1 nchot, G ifford. 1 907. The Use of the National Forests. U.S. USDA. 1968. Timber Demand and Supply Outlook, 1962- Government Printing Office. Washington, DC. 1971 with Alternatives for Federal Response. Special Study (4-6-1). August 1, 1968. Washington DC. Popovich, Luke. 1 975. "The Bitterroot: Remembrances of Unpublished Report in the author's files. Things Past." Journal of Forestry 73:1 2:741-793 and 74:1:39-41. USDA. 1972. Facing up to the Timber SupplyProblem:A Conference with Secretary of Agriculture Earl L. Butz. Resources for the Future. 1 974. Forum on Forest Policy for September 7, 1 972, B-354 Rayburn House Office the Future: Conflict, Compromise, Consensus. Held at Building, Washington, DC. 20 pp. the Cosmos Club, Washington, DC., May 8 and 9, 1974. USDA Forest Service. 1 966. Annual Report to the Chief for Fiscal Year 1965. Washington DC. Roth, Dennis M. 1 984. The Wilderness Movement and the National Forests: 1964-1 980. FS-391. USDA Forest USDA Forest Service. 1 969a. Adjusting Timber Appraisals. Service, Washington DC. 70 p. News Release 21 34-69, July 11, 1 969. Washington, DC. Science. 1973. "Timber Study Reinforces the Nixon Policy." USDA Forest Service. 1 969b. Douglas-firSupplyStudy. Volume 182, No. 4108, October 12,1973.p. 144 Regions Five and Six and the Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Portland, OR. 53 pp. Sweetland, Paul C, 1 978. An Analysis and Critique of the Events leading to the Enactment of the National Forest USDA Forest Service. 1 970.Management Practices on the Management Act of 1976. Master's Thesis. Colorado Bitterroot National Forest. Joint Northern Region State University, Fort Colhns, CO. 89 p. Intermountain Station Task Force. Washington, DC. Chapter 4

USDA Forest Service.1 971 a. Forest Management in USDA Forest Service.1 977. Forest Service In form Wyoming: Timber Harvest and the Environment in and Involve Handbook (Draft). Washington, DC. the Teton, Bridger, Shoshone, and Bighorn National 310 pp. Forests. Wyoming Forest Study Team. Washington, DC. 86 pp. Washington Star-News. 1 973. "Lumbering Ahead" (editorial). October 29, 1 983. USDA Forest Service. 1971b. National Forest Management in a Quality Environment: Timber Washington Post. 1979. "Wilderness and People." Productivity. Washington, DC. 70pp. April 18, 1979. USDA Forest Service. 1972. Report of the Chief for Weitzman, Sidney. 1 977. Lessons from the Monongahela Fiscal Years 1970-1971. Washington DC. Experience: An In-Service Analysis. USDA Forest USDA Forest Service. 1 974a. Final Environmental Service, Washington, DC. 62 pp. Impact Statement: Selection of Final New Study Wilkinson, Charles F., and H.M. Anderson. 1985. "Land Areas from Roadless and Undeveloped Areas within and Resource Planning in the National Forests." the National Forests. Washington, DC. Oregon Law Review 64:1 and 2. University of USDA Forest Service. 1 974b. Report of the Chief for Oregon, Eugene. 373 pp. Fiscal Years 1972 and 1973. Washington DC. Wilson, Carl. 1978. "Land Management Planning USDA Forest Service. 1975. Annual Report on Wilder- Process of the Forest Service." Environmental Law ness Status for Fiscal Year 1974. Washington DC. 8:46 1 -477.

130 Chapter 5 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1970 to 1979

This chapter describes the national forest on-the- for wildlife, watershed, recreation, pollution control, ground response to the growing demands for and similar activities would need to be increased. multiple uses and the rising pressures for greater environmental sensitivity and protection. It presents a In July1971,Chief Cliff summarized the public's fuller view of the setting for and national forest view and outlook, as he saw them, before a joint managers' response to the national policy issues of meeting of the Western Association of State Game the1970'sand new congressionally enacted policy and Fish Commissioners and the Association of direction. Overall, national forest managers con- Midwest Fish and Game Commissioners in Aspen, tinued to respond to the expanding national and Colorado: local national forest use demands but struggled to implement the new policy direction and the environ- The American pubhc is demanding top mental and ecosystem emphases that were rapidly quality in the management of natural resources and attention to the way things evolving from the national debates and public look. We are already involved in a number of pressures. lawsuits reflecting public awareness of our activities. The public is increasingly unhappy with us. Thiswillcontinue until we get The Internal Forest Service Setting: balance and quality into our program, as welt The 1 970's as public involvement into our decisions. Until we do this, the course of the public entering into our fairly routine decisions By 1 970,many national forest managers and profes- through protests, appeals, and court cases sional staff were deeply concerned about the direc- willhave the effect of reducing our ability to tion national forest management was taking. Chief put timber on the market to help meet Cliff shared these concerns in a memo to all Forest housing goals (Cliff 1971 b). Service employees (Cliff1971a). He pointedly reported that programs were out of balance with the Earlier, in January1970,Chief Cliff had told regional public's emerging environmental preferences and foresters and experiment station directors that he was that criticisms were mounting on all sides. The convinced that an ecosystem approach to the national forests needed new direction, and the Forest management of national forest uses would contribute Service was taking steps to achieve such changes. He to a better life for present and future generations. This cited the draft Environmental Program for the Future approach would provide a high-quality environment (EPF) as a leading initiative to shape these changes - for recreation opportunities, fish and wildlife, water, through higher and more balanced congressional forage, and timber in harmony with the needs of funding. The Chief stressed the need to heed lesser organisms. He encouraged his staff to review President Nixon's response to the Softwood Timber the current ecology and ecosystem management and Plywood Task Force findings to intensify references and to participate in a national training management to increase national forest timber sup- program on ecosystem approaches to national forest plies while protecting environmental quality. He also management. reiterated NEPA's strong requirements and the Pres- ident's direction that Federal agencies carry out full Following the traditional division of policy and man- pollution abatement on all Federal projects promptly. agement responsibilities between the national and field offices and the decentralized approach to man- The Chief felt the key to successfully achieving a aging multiple uses, the implementation of this more balanced resource emphasis and the new NEPA approach and related training was left largely to objectives was increased staffing and funding (Cliff regional foresters and forest supervisors and their 1 971a). If such increases were not feasible, then professional staffs. Washington Office leadership current activities would have to be reprogrammed: would not refocus its multiple-use resource- timber sales, road construction, and structural management policy attention to the ecosystem improvements would need to be reduced; funding approach explicitly again until the1990's.

131 Chapter 5

National Forest Managers' Training structure and functions. The course's objective was to in Ecosystem Management provide a generalized understanding of how Chief Cliff's views for linking the ecosystem approach ecosystems responded to different natural and to managing multiple uses on national forests were anthropocentric influences and the importance of translated into a national ecosystem management maintaining the integrity of ecosystem structure and framing program for national forest managers. This functions. Instructors often supplemented this training program began in 1970 through joint Forest Service with case studies and field observations. (Bartlett sponsorship of an Ecosystem Management Short 1994; Cook 1994; Colorado State University Course with the Department of Range Science at undated). Colorado State University. At that time, it was the first formal ecosystem management course offered at the The Washington Office did not furnish any central university level in the United States (Cook 1 994). guidance for applying the ecosystem approach to managing national forest resources during the 1 970's. The Forest Service sponsorship led to substantial Ecosystem principles were implemented by the course additions and its expansion from 2 to 3 weeks. trainees who took what they had learned about It was initially offered three times per year later ecosystem functions and structures and applied it as reduced to two weeks and two sessions per year they saw fit in their daily management work on the with a minimum of 35 students per session. Forest national forests. Ecosystem approaches to national Service sponsorship continued into the early 1980's, forest resource management developed most strongly when the program was superseded by the national in connection with range and wildlife. But this training program for National Forest Management emphasis naturally influenced the management of Planning. In the 1 2 or so years that it was offered, other resources particularly timber. Early nearly 1 ,000 national forest managers and staff applications of an ecosystem approach within the experts from the Chief's level down to the ranger National Forest System were quite uneven. They district participated in it. Over the years, Forest were hampered because managers saw uncertainties Service participants made up more than 80 percent and risks with such applications, especially the of the total enrollees (Cook 1994). barriers of the Forest Service's Many Ecosystem Management detailed manuals and Short Course graduates became management guides. Where trainees in the national forest ecosystem-oriented efforts management planning training deviated from manual guidelines program in the 1980's. Such and led to unacceptable results, or enrollees provided a bridge for where supervisors saw aberrations linking ecosystem management from established guidelines, the principles with national forest .4 ecosystem approach carried planning. career risks for young foresters, resource specialists, and managers The range management (Hartgraves 1994). background of many of the course instructors and the Department of Even though the ecosystem Range Science influenced the approach was not formally general context of the course adopted, there were many efforts forested and open rangelands and initiatives to incorporate its but it also addressed wildlife, principles into managing national timber, water, recreation oppor- C. Wayne Cook, Professor Emeritus of forest uses (Hartgraves 1994). One tunities, and related uses. The Range Science, Colorado State of the most important initiatives teaching focused on ecological University, and the driving force in the established a common framework introduction and development of the principles and theory, with a Ecosystem Management short course for classifying National Forest strong emphasis on ecosystem in the late 1960's. System lands and resources by

132 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1 970 to 1979

Robert Bailey, the Intermountain Region's ecological geographer, led -1_ the project. He mapped ecoregions (extensive 4 geographical zones over

pr which the macroclimate is I sufficiently uniform to ''': permit the development of similar ecosystems on sites with similar properties).

4 Within the same ecoregion, such broad-scale landforms as mountains and valleys, extensive water bodies, swamps, or broad plains modified the "local" climate and led to secondary differences in the ecoregion Ecosystem Management short course participants received field instruction and experience to better understand the concept of ecosystem management. Field trips examined both rangeland structure and components. and forested ecosystems. Ecoregion substratifications due to landform were called "landscapes." Due to ecosystem characteristics. An ecosystem approach to different geographic patterns, an ecoregion could national forest management needed to stratify forest contain many landscapes. With this understanding of and rangeland ecosystems as they lay on the land. the relationship between climate and landforms, national forest resource people could consistently Classifying National Forest Lands and Resources delineate and differentiate ecosystem units at several In the early 1970's, when national forest unit different scales depending on their needs and planning was getting underway, the Intermountain purposes and upon which questions decisionmakers Region's regional forester initiated a project to pro- at various levels would be asking. The variously sized vide a common framework for classifying hetero- ecosystem units provided a base for consistent geneous lands and resources on the region's national estimates of ecosystem productivity, probable forests. At that time, each functional staff had its own responses to management practices, and the particular approach to land and resource classifica- interaction effects of such management among tion and each forest developed its own classification ecosystem units (Bailey 1983; 1987a). Because system to fit its specific conditions. Such classifica- ecoregions and ecosystems units did not follow tions were influenced by the particular background, National Forest System boundaries, Bailey's approach training, and experience of the resource staff devel- was broadened to cover all ownerships. oping them. The goal of the Intermountain Region's project was to develop a common classification In 1976, the Forest Service published the first map framework that would consistently predict manage- titled "Ecoregions of the United States" for the ment responses, distinguish ecosystem productivity Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife differences, and be useful for timber, wildlife, fish, Service, a cooperator in the project, to help compile watershed, range, recreation planning and manage- its National Wetlands Inventory. The same map was ment, and the integration of multiple uses across the used in the RARE II process to assess which ecoregion (Sirmon 1994). regions and lower level ecosystem components were not already represented in designated wildernesses.

133 Chapter 5

Bailey's map was later used to identify and locate using more successful and effective regeneration ecosystems not represented or underrepresented in methods; planning and designing timber harvest units the National Wilderness Preservation System. The more carefully to meet landscape objectives; using Intermountain Region used Bailey's process in unit downed timber more fully, and reducing slash; using area planning and eventually in national forest land environmentally sensitive slash disposal methods; and and resource management planning. Other regions much more (Roth and Williams 1986a). also used the map, but in the absence of any central consistent direction within the National Forest The findings of the Monongahela, Bitterroot, and System, each region applied different or additional Wyoming clearcutting studies, and the Forest criteria for its particular purposes. Service's national evaluation of National Forest Management in a Quality Environment: Timber National direction for implementing an ecosystem Productivity highlighted this need for change. approach to managing multiple uses was to come Subsequent congressional hearings on clearcutting almost two decades later in 1 992, with the further and court suits challenging clearcutting reinforced it. development and refinement of the ecoregion frame- Further evidence surfaced in many other studies work and the technology for mapping lower level undertaken by national forest managers at all levels ecosystem units. In November 1993, David Unger, on clearcutting, regeneration success, timberland the Associate Chief of the Forest Service, issued a suitability, the adequacy of timber harvesting systems, directive, "effective immediately," to begin using the logging methods, and road layouts and designs to National Hierarchical Framework of Ecological Units meet nontimber forest uses and environmental in land management planning, research programs, protection needs; determining allowable cut levels; and cooperative efforts with other agencies and writing and revising timber sale contracts to increase partners (Unger 1 993; USDA Forest Service 1 993a). environmental protection; and other aspects of tim- This framework has been adopted by several Federal ber harvesting and management. and State resource agencies, including the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (formerly the Three National Forest System-wide actions were Soil Conservation Service), the BLM, the Fish and undertaken in 1972 and 1975 to improve timber Wildlife Service, the Department of Commerce's harvesting and management on the ground: imple- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, mentation of The Action Plan for National Forests in and the Minnesota and Michigan Departments of a Quality Environment, stratification of the commer- Natural Resources (Bailey 1987b; USDA Forest cial forest land (CFL) base, and shifting the planning Service 1 993a). Much of the basic work was approach to unit planning. The first action gave developed during the 1 970's. Bailey's ecosystem forest-wide direction for applying recommended on- classification approach to meet the needs of the the-ground solutions to the 30 problem situations Intermountain Region was national in scope from the outlined in the "National Forest Management in a very beginning. Quality Environment" report. The second action implemented the findings from the study on "Stratifi- Timber Management cation of Forest Land for Timber Management Plan- As the 1 970's began, national forest managers ning on the Western National Forests" (Wikstrom became increasingly aware of needed changes in 1971). national forest timber harvesting and management to meet wilderness and recreation uses, environmental Stratification of the Commercial Forest Land Base objectives, and timber harvest targets. Such needs The 1 971 stratification study was directed by the called for the fuller use of timber and better land Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station management. They included constructing minimum- and conducted by staff foresters from the six western impact roads that were better fitted to forest uses and regions. It evaluated the suitability and availability of environmental needs; using new and advanced the CFL base for growing tree crops on six national logging methods in environmentally sensitive areas; forests one in each region. Taking careful account expanding investment in intensive forest practices; of soil and slope conditions, land productivity, and

134 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1970 to 1979

land use, major factors influencing suitability and In the marginal component, very little timber was availability, the study reduced the 4.2 million-acre sold or harvested. For example, in 1 973 eight forests CFL base by 22 percent to 3.2 million acres. An in the Northern, Southwest, and Pacific Northwest additional 1 3 percent of the remaining CFL was Regions with new timber plans had programmed an reported economically or technologically unavail- allowable cut of 51 million board feet per year for able due to high operating costs, low product values, their marginal lands compared to a potential yield of or terrain that was subject to high risks of erosion or 156 million board feet. Six of the eight forests had an environmental damage with current conventional allowable cut of zero for their marginal components logging methods (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985). compared to a potential yield of 92 million board feet per year (Newport 1973b; Wilkinson and The stratification study concluded that the traditional Anderson 1985). The fourth, or unregulated, com- differentiation of commercial and noncommercial ponent included harvests from experimental forests, national forest land had been oversimplified and administrative sites, recreation sites, and tracts inadequate for national forest planning especially isolated from markets. Such areas were very limited. for timber management planning. The study recommended stratifying CFL into subclasses, including a The new classification system generally reduced the "marginal utility" subclass for forestlands with prob- estimated allowable cut on the national forests. For lems of erosion, regeneration, or restocking on the eight forests with new timber plans, the new unstocked lands or that were otherwise economically allowable cut calculated for 1973 averaged 9 percent and technologically unavailable. It also proposed that below that for January 1, 1972 (Newport 1 973b). such areas be excluded from current cutting budgets The reductions were almost entirely from lands with- to avoid overcutting the commercial timber growing drawn from CFL. Withdrawals were attributed to base (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985). A May 1972 special component (multiple-use coordination) and amendment to the Forest Service manual on timber marginal component (critical soil or slope, econ- management plans established a new classification omic, and environmental problems). By 1 977, system requiring CFL to be stratified into four national forest managers had classed more than a components: standard, special, marginal, and third of the CFL timber base as special or marginal unregulated and the use of the same calculation (Wilkinson and Anderson 1 985). procedure to determine potential yields and allowable cuts for each. The Shift to the Unit Planning System The third major action modifying timber manage- The CFL standard component, the largest one, ment planning was the shift from multiple-use plans involved few or no adjustments to the calculated to unit plans. Each forest had up to 20 planning units, harvest for multiple-use objectives. The special com- each made up of one or more drainage basins. In ponent encompassed lands that had been zoned to 1972, the planning objective for each national forest protect waterways, riparian areas, travel ways, aes- over the next 1 0 years became the preparation of an thetic areas, recreation areas, and other resources. intensive land use plan for each of its units. Units Land within this component usually required where critical management decisions were to be specialized silvicultural prescriptions and modified made were given planning priority. This new system harvesting methods. Light partial cuts, longer rota- required timber management planners to follow the tions, fewer or no thinnings, no cutting along land allocations of the individual unit plans. In this streamsides, and other special practices usually approach, the areas that unit plans zoned for reduced its programmed harvests. In some cases recreation, scenic landscape, travel influence, water where special practices could be applied to meet influence, streamside, or critical soil also had to be multiple use objectives and environmental con- classified as special or marginal in each forest's straints, full yields could be realized (Newport timber management plan. Unit plan allocations also 1 973a). reflected national and regional timber production goals the first time that national forest planning

135 Chapter 5

policy required timber management planning and policy would waste the old-growth timber implementation to be explicitly coordinated with inventories, which greatly exceeded the stocking other multiple uses. levels for managed forests (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985). A May 1972 Forest Service manual amendment made another important revision for timber management Ultimately, a compromise based on intensified timber plans the whole national forest was to be the area management avoided timber harvest reductions. This base for allowable cut determinations rather than solution required the Administration and Congress to individual working circles. However, in most regions, make a commitment to increase the second rotation's regional office timber staffs continued to make the potential timber harvest volume by increasing the potential yield and allowable cut calculations. The funding for current reforestation, thinning, timber forest timber staff provided data and information, stand improvement, and other intensive practices to advised on various aspects of allowable cut accelerate the growth of young timber. calculations, and wrote the final timber management plan (Newport 1973a). The influence of the expected increases in future timber growth and inventories (due to more intensive The Nondeclining-Flow Policy and stand management) on the current allowable cuts Its Measure: Potential Yield was initially referred to as the "allowable cut effect" With the help of computer technology and the (ACE). It has since been renamed the "earned harvest Douglas-fir supply study in 1 969 (USDA Forest effect" ([HE). However, there was no assurance that Service 1 969), national forest managers, for the first Congress and the Administration would sustain time, were able to simulate timber harvests, manage higher funding for more intensive timber ment, and growth, decade by decade, for several management over time. Lack of this guarantee made decades beyond the first rotation. Unexpectedly, the the Forest Service cautious and reluctant to raise study results revealed that, under the existing man- allowable cuts based on the [HE. agement intensity, current national forest harvest levels could not be sustained alter the old-growth Nevertheless, the regional forester of the Pacific inventories had been harvested in the Douglas-fir Northwest Region wanted to evaluate how the region of Washington, Oregon, and California. The Douglas-fir Supply Study findings and methodology study projected that, using existing management and the underlying implications of new computer intensity, harvests would be reduced 45 percent alter technology and projection methods would influence the first 1 00 years. The current harvest level could be planning and management activities and decisions in sustained only if forests were more intensively the region. He wanted to know the impacts on data, managed (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985; Roth and information, and skill requirements for planning Williams 1986b). allowable cut levels; on timber management practices and intensities for individual forests; and on The findings shattered the traditional basis for deter- potential second rotation yield calculations. He mining sustainable harvest levels in western old- wanted to know what implications different mixes growth forests estimating the annual allowable cut and levels of timber management practices or by dividing the total old-growth inventory by rotation improvements in timber utilization standards would age and adding the net annual growth of immature have on allowable cut decisions and future timber timber to it. As a result, national forests shifted the program planning and funding. determination of allowable cuts to a nondeclining- flow policy based on the potential yields (or harvests) In the early 1 970's, Washington State's Gifford that second-growth forests could produce using Pinchot National Forest was chosen to pilot this existing timber management intensity. The western evaluation. It had just updated its timber inventory, timber industry took strong exception, because this its 1 0-year timber management p'an was due to be policy would immediately reduce the timber supply updated, and it was representative of other produc- from western forests. The industry argued that such a tive Douglas-fir forests in the Pacific Northwest. As

136 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1970 to 1979

the Washington Office became involved with the practices increased almost three times, from $50 mil- study and the questions it addressed, the study lion in 1968 to $147 million in 1979 (USDA Forest became a national pilot for responding to the Pacific Service 1992a). Northwest Region's concerns. Silvicultural Practices The Gifford Pinchot study found that allowable cut For silviculturists, the late 1960's and 1970's were a determinations could no longer be made without time of growing recognition of the need for more related decisions about investments to intensify tim- intensive silvicultural examination and management ber management and about the types and amounts of of the national forest timberlands. This was particu- timber management practices that would produce larly true in the West, where timber management had the growth and inventories to sustain current harvest focused heavily on protection, access development, levels into the next rotation (Roth and Williams harvest area dispersal, and natural regeneration. 1986a). In 1975, the Gifford Pinchot National Forest Often the key foresters in the western regions were became the first national forest permitted to reflect the timber sale planners and supervisors who carried the [HE in its allowable annual cut determinations. the principal production workload and produced the This action was based on Congress' commitment to major revenues within the National Forest System. provide annual funding needed to support the Generally, the less-experienced foresters and forestry intensified management over the new timber plan's technicians at the district level were assigned the 10-year life (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985). regeneration and related silvicultural responsibilities (Roth and Williams 1986b). In the East, where On the basis of anticipated funding and backed up national forests were made up largely of heavily by monitored annual performance, this new cutover timberlands, timber management had approach was extended to the entire National Forest focused more heavily on rehabilitating cutover System in the late 1 970's. Timber management plans stands, improving their growth and growing condi- documented the acres and types of silvicultural tions, regenerating unstocked lands, and rebuilding treatments needed to sustain the selected allowable growing stocks. This naturally called for more atten- cut level. Annual monitoring of actual treatments and tion to silvicultural examinations, their diagnoses, acres treated showed whether such treatments and the development of silvicultural prescriptions to satisfied the 1 0-year timber management plans' guide actual management practices. planned treatment schedule. Where actual performance fell short, individual forests reduced their Both in the East and in the West, national forest man- allowable cuts accordingly. If the performance agers increasingly recognized the need for more followed the plan, the allowable cuts could be effective silvicultural treatments, including coord- maintained. The Gifford Pinchot fulfilled its sched- ination with other multiple uses. This was well evi- uled silvicultural treatments during the balance of the denced during the Church hearings in 1971. But 1970's and to the end of its 10-year plan in 1984 each region did much more to evaluate its own stand (Roth and Williams 1986a). conditions and management needs. In 1974, for example, an evaluation of the timber situation in the In line with the Church Guidelines, the Forest Service Rocky Mountain national forests found that only a recommended that the [HE be determined by relying third of the harvested and was regenerating suc- on reforestation, thinnings, and stand improvements cessfully. The research bulletin that reported this for which growth responses had been reasonably study characterized the reforestation failures as documented. Forest planners were discouraged from "galloping devastation" (USDA Forest Service 1974a). relying on other intensive practices, such as fertilization and irrigation, whose growth benefits An analysis of the performance of sanitation silvi- were poorly documented or largely speculative for cultural practices in the old-growth ponderosa pine large parts of the country (Wilkinson and Anderson stands in eastern Washington and Oregon revealed 1985). Funding for silvicultural examinations, that sanitation was not developing any young stands. reforestation, and timber stand improvement Sanitation harvests removed o Id-growth ponderosa

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pine trees that were being attacked or were highly forest ecology and silviculture were strongly coordi- susceptible to attacks by bark beetles. Sanitation nated with university programs and faculty and other harvests usually removed about 40 percent of the resource management agencies. In the Northern stand volume, leaving 60 percent to grow. They were Region, 461 natural resource professionals seen by the average person as selection cutting. But participated in the CEFES program. Half of that num- sanitation harvests were not providing the ber were Northern Region foresters or resource regeneration needed for the next rotation. The heavy experts. emphasis on sanitation-saivage cutting often left residual stands inadequately stocked and frequently As silvicultural and forest ecology training programs with decreased, damaged, and poorer quality regen- were getting underway in 1973, national forest man- eration (Burke 1985). The new silviculture called for agers also began to intensify on-the-ground silvicul- complete harvesting of the sanitized stands to start tural examinations and evaluations. Qualified new stands (Roth and Williams 1986a). The Pacific certified silviculturists became responsible for deter- Southwest Region made similar discoveries in mining stand conditions and the need for cultural Ca Ii forn i a. treatments. The level of effort for such examinations rose from 101 FTE's in 1968 to 188 person-years in In the Pacific Northwest, the most basic finding was 1975, when each person was examining about that its national forests were not regenerating within 25,000 acres per year. By 1 979, FTE's rose to 836 5 years after timber harvest an NFMA requirement person-years, with one person examining an average The record "was not good." Part of the solution was of 11,000 acres per year. retraining key forest staff. Many foresters returned to universities for a semester or more of retraining to Congressional emphasis on eliminating the reforest- bring them up to speed in silviculture (Roth and ation backlog gave a big boost to silvicultural exam- Williams 1986a). inations. In 1976 and earlier years, less than 5 million acres were examined. This quickly rose to nearly Following Chief's Office direction, the first national 9 million acres per year by 1979. The goal of the forest program for training and certifying silvicul- silvicultural examination and diagnosis program was turists was established in 1973 in the Northern to provide site-specific silvicultural prescriptions Region, where the Bitterroot National Forest had prepared or approved by certified silviculturists for been a focal point of the Church hearings. It was all forested lands needing treatment. Each stand was entitled Continuing Education in Forest Ecology and to be reexamined every 1 0 years to update its Silviculture (CEFES). The program recognized the silvicultural prescriptions and to keep pace with larger context of ecosystems, but due to the narrow changing forest conditions and management needs understanding and limited ecological science and and new technology (USDA Forest Service 1 979, knowledge at the time, its primary focus was largely 1980, 1992a). on the stand and individual tree interactions and processes with the local environment. Several aspects During the same period, almost every region of other resource interactions were included in the developed automated stand recordkeeping systems to curriculum but not fully integrated into a broader maintain long-term stand condition and management ecosystem context. records - making reporting silvicultural accomplishments easier and more reliable. Other regions followed with programs of their own over the next 5 years. Each regional program was Most timber activities, including reforestation, timber approximately equivalent to a masters degree and stand improvement, and timber sale preparation constituted one requirement for silvicultural certifi- were based on silvicultural prescriptions derived cation. The other requirements usually included from stand examinations. In areas planned for timber 3 years of silvicultural field work and the successful harvests, such examinations and diagnoses reviewed defense of a silvicultural prescription before a panel stand conditions throughout the entire sale area, of experts. The continuing education programs in identifying stands that would benefit most from

138 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1 970 to 1 979

planned harvest and those that would benefit from other stand improvement measures such as fertiliza- such treatments as thinning (Murphy 1994). Silvi- tion, which was introduced in the early 1970's, and cultural examinations also produced the data and rose to more than 20,000 acres per year by 1 976 prescriptions needed for the intensified unit planning (USDA Forest Service 1972-1 980). process that emerged in the 1 970's (USDA Forest Service 1 980). National forests continued to develop seed orchards and production areas to produce genetically During 1978 and 1979, the silvicultural examination improved for tree nurseries. The capacity of national effort completed an NFMA-required inventory of all forest seed extractories was increased as the produc- national forest lands in need of reforestation or tion and collection of seeds increased. In 1970, for thinning. This inventory included an estimate of the example, national forest seed extractories processed acres of treatment and the funds needed to eliminate 22,000 pounds of seed. By 1 979, they were proces- the accumulated reforestation and timber stand sing 81,000 pounds. In 1976, the Forest Service improvement (TSI) backlog and to provide follow-up initiated a major study of national forest nurseries to treatments on stands that would be harvested during find out whether their existing capacity was capable the 8 years Congress had given the Forest Service to of meeting the reforestation backlog of seedling eliminate the backlog. As of October 1979, national needs and the needs resulting from new NFMA forest lands needing of reforestation totaled 1 .6 mil- requirements. As a result of this study, two nurseries lion acres; 882,000 were the result of timber harvest, were added one in the Southwest Region and the fire, insects, disease, wind, and storms or failure of other in the Pacific Northwest. seeding, planting, or natural regeneration before 1 975. The balance, 757,000 acres, was acreage that Nursery tree production at the 1 3 national forest accrued after 1975. For TSl, generally precommercial nurseries rose from 97 million trees in 1970 to 127 thinning, the backlog was 2.2 million acres. million in 1979. To increase planting stock survival Precommèrcial thinnings were needed to reduce the rates on difficult reforestation sites, the nurseries also number of trees per acre and thereby increase overall began producing containerized nursery stock. In stand health and individual tree growth. Thinning 1979, they were providing more than 6 million improved the health of stands by strengthening their containerized seedlings (USDA Forest Service resistance to drought, insects, disease, and other 1 9 72-1 980). threats and increased the quality and value of their future growth. More than 400,000 acres of reforest- The Forest Service developed standard methods for ation and 350,000 acres of TSl per year would be evaluating and certifying the effectiveness of silvi- needed to eliminate the backlog (USDA Forest cultural treatments in 1977 and implemented them Service 1980). in 1978. Regeneration could be certified successful after the third year for plantings and seedings and The total acres reforested annually during the 1970's after the fifth year for natural regeneration. Failures, rose about 40 percent, from 31 3,000 acres in 1970 due primarily to insufficient tree survival, were to 446,000 in 1979. Eighty percent were planted or recorded. Failures that needed further reforestation seeded, while the remaining 20 percent were regen- became a part of the reforestation backlog. TSI was erated naturally. Twenty percent of the increase in certified in the first and third years after treatment. In regeneration treatments occurred between 1970 and 1979, national forests reported certified successful 1977. The balance, 80 percent, was achieved in regeneration on 308,000 acres and certified success 1978and 1979 in response to the newly developed on 350,000 of TSI (USDA Forest Service 1 978-1 980). inventory of backlog reforestation needs (USDA Forest Service 1 972-1980). In the 1970's, the intensification of silvicultural examinations increased the number and quality of TSl treatments during the 1 970's rose almost 60 silvicultural practices applied on the ground, percent, from 303,000 acres in 1970 to 477,000 in improved tree and stand growth, and offset some of 1 979. TSI practices included thinnings and various the impact of the nondeclining-flow policy on allow-

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able cuts. The intensified silvicultural approach also reduced clearcutting, which had reached a peak of 15 564,000 acres in 1 970 when timber was harvested from more than 1.5 million acres (Cliff 1971b). In 1 978, as the timber harvest area rose to more than 2.6 million acres, the actual area clearcut was reduced to 310,000 acres - a 45-percent reduction in clearcut acres in 8 years (Forest Service 1992b).

Coordination of silvicultural examinations, planning, -Timber Sold -Timber Harvested and treatments with other resource specialists likewise improved. But much of the coordination tended to be consultative and multidisciplinary rather than 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1994 truly interdisciplinary. Although the NEPA environ- Year mental coordination precepts were available, national forests as a whole did not fully and mutually Figure 15. National forest timber sold and harvested, integrate resource specialists into the dominant 1970-1994 timber management and harvesting tasks, which Source: USDA Forest Service. largely remained in the hands of the traditional timber staff. Thus, during the 1970's, a true, mutually interdisciplinary approach to timber and general RARE II, would resolve the wilderness/roadless area resource planning and decisionmaking evolved issue in a few years, it kept the timber inventory in slowly and in relatively few places (Roth and roadless areas in the CFL timber base and continued Williams 1986c). to sell and harvest the full allowable cut. From this viewpoint, it did not seem reasonable to cut back the Timber Harvests, Logging Systems, annual allowable cut, close local mills, and cause and Landscape Management unemployment for a relative short-term period. As a During the 1970's, the annual amount of national result, timber harvesting in already roaded areas was forest timber sold and harvested averaged about greatly accelerated throughout the 1970's, and this 11 bbf about the same as for the 1 960's (fig. 1 5). exacerbated environmental issues and concerns The average annual harvests, however, dropped from related to clearcutting. 11.4 bbf in the first half of the 1970's to 10.6 bbf in the second half. This reflected the decline of national This concentration of harvests began to cumulate housing and timber demands after the early 1 970's pressures on related resources of forested rangeland, (see fig. 1 0, chapter 4). The average annual volume landscapes, and wildlife cover. Soil movement and of timber sold in this period was 0.5 bbf below the stream sedimentation risks increased as larger-than- average annual volume sold and harvested in the last p'anned harvest areas had to be roaded and regener- half of the 1 960's (see fig. 6, chapter 3). This ated in the same watersheds. Mitigation efforts reduction largely reflected the influence of growing increased logging costs as more expensive logging environmental pressures and the increased designa- methods and land treatments were required to pro- tion of wilderness. tect other resources. The harvest concentration also contributed more to the public concern over national During this period, the full annual harvests were con- forest management than would have been centrated on about two-thirds of the timber land base experienced under the normally more dispersed that was accessible and available for harvesting. This timber harvest program (Roth and Williams 1986d). was due to the withholding of RARE I and RARE II Throughout the 1 970's, appeals and court actions road less areas from harvesting in the absence of a became costly major obstacles to achieving the final ElS evaluation of their suitability for wilderness. congressionally established and funded timber targets Because the Forest Service believed that RARE I, then (USDA Forest Service 1 979).

140 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1 970 to 1 979

Logging Equipment: Methods and Systems were taken for domestic fuelwood (Roth and During the late 1 960's, the need to improve logging Williams 1986a). equipment and systems to respond to the expanding environmental policies and standards and growing Other practices applied in the Pacific Northwest public concerns became increasingly clear through- Region and elsewhere included requiring loggers to out the National Forest System. Special harvesting remove lower diameter materials from the sale area. methods without the environmental damage associ- As an incentive for purchasers, the smaller, less ated with ground yarding and road construction were merchantable timber sale components were offered needed to sustain national forest timber supplies at a fixed lump-sum contract price per acre (Roth (Newport 1973a). and Williams 1986a). Salvage logging was introduced to increase timber supplies and to reduce the loss of The timber industry and loggers would require such timber to decay and insects. In 1977, Congress considerable persuasion and training to adopt new established a revolving timber salvage sale fund. By equipment and methods for felling and yarding 1979, such sales added a billion board feet annually timber. They had no independent incentive to make to national forest sale volumes. During the 1970's, such changes unless such stipulations were built into the amount salvaged grew as timber markets and the timber sale contracts. The timber industry and the prices became stronger and receded in years when loggers generally had only two basic logging systems: markets were weaker. The trend in the use of small tractor yarding and high-lead (yarding with one end timber materials followed a similar pattern (USDA of the log on the ground). The high-lead system was Forest Service 1980; USDA Forest Service 1992a). largely used on national forests in western National forests also instituted a free use-permit Washington and Oregon and northern California system so that people could cut dead timber for an area where half of the total annual national forest fuelwood. Before 1970, the use of national forest timber harvest was concentrated. The Forest Service timber for home-heating fuelwood was nominal. By conducted special training programs for industrial, 1979, however, some 700,000 families were collect- Federal, and State forestry personnel in California, ing a total of 3.2 million cords per year of national Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana to forest fuelwood a trend that continues today promote advanced cable and tractor logging systems (USDA Forest Service 1 980). Directional felling of that national forest managers, engineers, and old-growth was introduced by the Pacific Northwest resource specialists had determined would reduce Region as a contract requirement to reduce tree timber harvesting's adverse impacts on soil and water breakage, improve tree utilization, and reduce (Roth and Williams 1986a; USDA Forest Service erosion damage on steep slopes with shallow soils 1972). (Roth and Williams 186a).

The Pacific Northwest Region was the leader and Perhaps the Pacific Nrthwest Region's most signif- innovator in new logging equipment and systems and icant accomplishment toward better land manage- fuller utilization of the timber sold, but this was also ment was the development, improvement, and shared by other regions. It introduced the yarding of diversification of entire logging systems and fitting unutilized material (YUM yarding), which cleaned up them to the site-specific needs of individual harvest many sale areas, made them easier to reforest, and areas. The Pacific Northwest Region initiated a pro- added to timber supplies. During the 1970's and gram for testing and derronstrating various forms of earlier, logging residues were generally considered skyline logging (a system that lifts both ends of logs cull material. They were widely scattered over each off the ground during yarding). Helicopter and bal- cutting unit or piled and usually burned. YUM loon logging methods were also tested. Helicopter yarding concentrated this material at a central yarding proved to be very costly ($1,300 per hour of landing point. The small material was difficult to sell, flight time) and ultimately was limited to areas where but, periodically, when the pulp market was strong or other logging systems could not be used on the pulp mills experienced a wood shortage, many of the timber sale and the environmental benefits and road- YUM piles were sold for pulp production. Others cost savings justified the costs.

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Most logging improvement focused on skyline log- resources and their impact on those resources. ging systems that could operate on concave slopes A third component established a demonstration area and reach out laterally for 800- to 5,000-foot yarding in the Pansy Creek drainage on Oregon's Mount distances. A Pacific Northwest Region survey of lands Hood National Forest where a person could observe requiring such systems estimated that they contained all the different logging systems and their impacts on a 40-bbf timber inventory equivalent to an annual the resources of a harvested area and its surrounding allowable cut of 0.4 to 0.5 bbf over 100 years (Roth sites (Roth and Williams 1986a). and Williams 1986a; Newport 1973b). Road Design and Construction The skyline logging development program offered The Pacific Northwest Region modified road designs several practical challenges. National forest engineers and construction to reduce their impact on soil and were basically trained as civil, not logging, engineers. water resources particularly where roads served Forestry schools' logging engineering programs had individual harvest settings and otherwise carried light been greatly retrenched or eliminated. Thus, there traffic volumes. Civil engineers managed the national was a major challenge to recruit and/or train logging forest road program and set road design standards. engineers who could test, evaluate, and demonstrate The Forest Service began to use civil engineers in the advanced logging systems. These logging systems early 1950's when national forest logging and road needed to be evaluated on both environmental and construction began to expand rapidly. Prior to that economic criteria to ensure that they would be time, forest engineers were primarily forestry school successfully adopted on national forests by the timber logging engineering graduates. industry. A third challenge was to develop and provide training programs for technicians on how to Civil engineers were trained primarily to meet urban use the advanced logging systems and for line and and highway engineering standards and the roads staff officers on how to design timber contract that they designed for lower class forest roads often specifications for using these advanced logging systems. During the 1970's and later, the Forest Engineering Institute (FEI) at Oregon State University met these challenges. It provided a month-long course for technicians and a 1-or 2- year training program for professional foresters and engineers. A research and development program to improve existing and develop advanced logging systems called FALCON (Forestry, Advanced Logging, and Conservation) was proposed and funded from existing national forest appropriations for a 5-year period. FALCON's second component was to study the The typical logging road on Alaska's Tongass National Forest is also used for recreational fishing compatibility of different and hunting. logging systems with various

142 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1 970 to 1 979

exceeded the standards needed or required for forest use and management. These roads were generally too 400 wide and were built to too high a standard. They E involved larger volumes of sidecast rocks and soils than necessary to maintain their grades and widths. 300 Co Excess material was often pushed over roadsides, 0 where it became an erosion and sedimentation G) problem. 200

This problem was familiar to and a concern of national forest managers throughout the system, but it 100 took Regional Forester Rex Ressler's leadership to bring this situation to a head in Washington and

I I Oregon. A region-wide forest supervisor's meeting 0 I I I I an historic first for such meetings was held on a 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 timber sale road where alternative road standards Year could be thoroughly reviewed and discussed in relation to actual ground conditions and environ- Figure 16. Total road mileage in the National Forest mental needs. The meeting's outcome was clear system, 1967-1995 Source: USDA Forest Service 1996. Data provided by Washington direction from the regional forester to design and Office Engineering. build what came to be known as "minimum-impact roads." Minimum-impact roads were narrower, had less sidecast material, and required less end hauling. They required no special surfacing material and less ted and reconstructed in the 1970's totaled 94,944 rock. Compared to the impact of the previous higher miles, more than the net increase n the total miles of standard road designs, they substantially reduced the national forest roads. Only 6.4 percent, or 6,01 3 scarring of hillside landscapes. Minimum-impact miles, of these roads were funded by direct roads were increasingly used in the Pacific Northwest congressional appropriations. The vast majority were Region during the 1970's, and their use continues built by timber operators and funded by timber sale today. Similar road design and construction proceeds (purchaser credit). Purchaser-built roads improvements were made in other regions (Roth and were primarily Togging spur roads and some sec- Williams 1986a). ondary or collector roads. Mainline access roads were usually funded with appropriated funds and During the 1970's, almost 75,000 net miles were often included standards necessary to meet recreation added to the national forest road system (fig. 1 6). traffic requirements as well as mainline road needs Road construction and reconstruction (rebuilding for loggers to reach public highways. existing roads that had been degraded or did not meet existing design standards or reopening closed Landscape Management roads) averaged 9,494 miles per year for the decade. In the late 1960's, national forest managers recog- (USDA Forest Service 1972-1980). Most of the nized that sustaining timber harvests would require reconstruction was concentrated in the regions with blending the location and design of timber harvest the largest timber harvest volumes. In the Pacific areas and roads with the general landscape in ways Northwest Region, for example, which harvested that protected visual quality. This need led to a new more than 42 percent of the total national forest landscape management approach that provided a timber cut during the 1970's, reconstruction con- harvest layout design that responded to the public's stituted almost half of the total road construction interest in landscape views and vistas while achieving (Coghlan 1 995). Reconstruction of existing roads to timber harvest objectives (USDA Forest Service 1 972, current requirements and standards did not count as 1974). net additional road mileage. Roads actually construc-

143 Chapter 5

forest installations such as roads, log landings, ski lifts, and other signs of land management with nature's woods and natural beauty.

Chapters on range and roads were added to the National Forest Landscape Management series in 1 977. These handbooks provided vocabulary, planning guidelines, and an objective-setting process. The range chapter offered ideas on acceptable manipulation of forage e- ." vegetation and the installa-

, tion of range improvement structures. The roads Moon Pass Road, Ida ho Panhandle National Forest, where it passes cedar swamp snags and chapter provided methods forest regrowth from the 1910 fire. This gravel-surfaced road is cooperatively maintained by the to reduce the visual impact Forest Service and Shoshone County, mainly for recreation in the summer and snowmobiling in of roads so that they "lay the winter. lightly upon the land" (USDA Forest Service 1978). A supplemental report, While the first efforts to integrate harvest locations "Land Use Planning Simulation," described how the and boundaries with the natural landscape emerged visual impacts of proposed timber sale areas, power in California, systematic visual resource management lines, surface mining, and other land uses and guidelines emerged in Oregon and Washington. At installations could be evaluated by projecting visual the Chief's request, a silviculturist and landscape impacts on a screen. This became a useful tool in architect combined their skills to prepare a regional providing large groups of people the opportunity to guide as the first component of a national manual see and react to the visual effects of various timber released in 1974 under the title NationalForest harvest alternatives. In 1978 and 1979, additional Landscape Management (USDA Forest Service 1 974b; chapters on timber and wildlife were prepared. They Roth and Williams 1986a). This manual identified illustrated methods for combining visual resource visual landscape characteristics and provided management with silvicultural and wildlife habitat guidelines to analyze the visual effects of different practices to achieve attractive as well as productive timber harvest alternatives. Its main purpose was to landscapes. help national forest managers coordinate timber harvest designs and plans with maintaining The use of the National Forest Landscape Manage- acceptable vistas. Such landscape management mentHandbookbroadened beyond national forests involved both the location and shaping of timber as demands for the publication and its concepts from harvest units. During the 1 970's, national forest universities, other Government agencies, and the managers recruited the Nation's, and perhaps the public grew throughout the 1 970's (USDA Forest world's, largest staff of landscape and environmental Service 1978-80). To reflect the substantial advances experts to plan timber harvest area landscapes. Such in research and technology since 1974 and respond specialists became skilled in harmonizing national to a significant increase in the demand for high- quality scenery, the 1974 handbook was revised and

144 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1970 to 1979

updated and released in August 1 996 under the new the three Pacific Coast States (USD1/USDA 1970- title Landscape Aesthetics: A Handbook (or Scenery 1980). Management. The growing number and expanse of designated By 1979, all national forest regions had completed wilderness areas multiplied the need for wilderness analysis and mapping of that 40 percent of National management plans. By 1979, management plans had Forest System lands where visual quality objectives been completed and implemented for 46 areas. needed to be integrated with forest management Planning was under way for another 38 and pending activities. This helped to ensure that the scenic for most of the 24 units added in 1978. No areas aspects of such land areas would taken into account were added in 1979. The new national forest land as growing national forest land use and management and resource management planning guidelines issued shaped their future direction. in 1979 fully integrated designated wilderness management direction into the new forest plans. Wilderness Management and Use Much of the wilderness management 'effort in the A 1 970 study, prepared by the Department of the 1970's was devoted to wilderness planning for RARE Interior in consultation with national forest mining I and RARE II and evaluating the 5.5 million acres in specialists updating the 1961 and 1964 reports to 34 national forest primitive areas that Congress had Congress on wilderness mining activities, reported assigned for further study in the Wilderness Act of 1 8,000 unpatented mining claims and 1 ,500 pat- 1 964. National forest primitive area evaluations were ented claims in designated wilderness and primitive completed on schedule. By September 1974, all 34 areas. In the 1 964 Wilderness Act, Congress had areas had been recommended to Congress for directed that these mineralized areas, located on 34 designation and had actually been designated as national forests, be evaluated and that recommen- wilderness. In the same year, the national forests dations be made on their suitability for wilderness. celebrated the 50th anniversary of the designation of The mineral reviews for these areas were completed the first administrative wilderness in the Nation and published in 1973 by the U.S. Geological Survey the Gila Wilderness with commemorative ceremo- and Bureau of Mines (USD1/USDA 1970-1980). nies held in Silver City, New Mexico. The celebration was held within sight of that first wilderness The most demanding challenge facing national forest established on national forest lands. wilderness managers in 1970 was the preservation of the wilderness resource and its pristine conditions in The expanding number, area, and use of national the face of rapidly rising use, which in that year forest wildernesses increased the wilderness manage- exceeded 5 million RVD's. The management experiment challenge in every dimension in the 1970's. ence to 1970 also clearly demonstrated a rising trend Their number rose by 80 percent, from 61 to 110. of wilderness use violations; these exceeded 200 per Their area increased from 9.9 million acres to year and involved 1 73 prosecutions. Many violations 15.3 million (55 percent). Their dispersion among were unintentional, where violators generally failed the States rose from 13 in 1970 10 in the Far West to comply with Forest Service regulations. Many users plus Minnesota, New Hampshire, and North Carolina were either unaware that they had entered wilderness to 26 States in 1979. Twelve of the new States areas or were uninformed about wilderness were in the East, a reflection of the eastern wilderness restrictions indicating a priority for wilderness user legislation: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, education and clearly marked wilderness boundaries Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, (USD1/USDA 1 970-1980). Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Utah was the thirteenth. But, even with this wider National forest managers were participating and dispersion of wilderness areas, some 92 percent of assisting wilderness search and rescue operations, the total designated wilderness remained which were likewise increasing. In 1971, for exam- concentrated in the eight Rocky Mountain States and ple, there were 84. A rising number of fatalities were

145 Chapter 5

also being reported each year. In 1971, there were To serve the preferences of national forest visitors 1 6 four lives were lost in airplane accidents and seeking primitive-type offroad activities without the 12 fatalities occurred as people were testing their need to do so in a formally designated wilderness, skills against the wilderness. Many more people suf- national forest managers expanded complementary fered serious injuries during their wilderness activ- space and sites outside the wilderness for back- ities. Such instances were expected to occur more country hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, and other often as the number of wildernesses and users con- road less recreation activities. tinued to grow. During the 1970's, the number of wilderness visitor A more systematic problem was occurring at the most days rose by 85 percent. This compares with a 27- popular lakes, streams, and other scenic or attractive percent increase in the total acreage of national forest spots in the wildernesses, particularly those near wilderness and primitive areas avaflable for wilder- highly populated urban areas or in areas that were ness experience and activity (fig. 1 7). The available otherwise readily accessible. Many groups and area rose from 14.3 million acres in 1968 to 18.1 mil- individuals visiting such attractions were not seeking, lion in 1979. Thus, the intensity of use of wilderness or often did not have the skills to meet, the opportunities nearly doubled in the 1 970's. This rapid challenges wilderness offered. The intensity of use growth in wilderness use contrasts with a 35-percent around many such spots was rising to the point that it increase in total outdoor RVD use on national forests was threatening the quality of the wilderness during the same period. resource. Thus, in the early 1970's, the following wilderness management priorities emerged: pre- On a State-wide basis, California, with 13 percent of paring and distributing educational information on total available national forest wilderness and primi- wilderness restrictions, ethics, and safety to users; tive area in 1979, continued to receive the most RVD posting wilderness boundaries; establishing proper use about 20 percent of the total. The Boundary people-carrying capacities for wilderness and Waters Canoe Area in Minnesota, with 5 percent of managing use accordingly; cleaning up human debris the available wilderness and primitive area, however, and waste; providing sanitation controls; removing was the single most intensively used wilderness. It nonconforming structures and developments; and provided 1 2 percent of the total national forest administering grazing and mineral exploration wilderness visitor day use. Together, the California activities as permitted by the Wilderness Act. wildernesses and Boundary Waters Canoe Area

40 16

30 >, 12 U) 0 0 20 > 8 ,1 0 10 ___-

0 1965 1975 1985 1995 1965 1975 1985 1995 Year Year

Figure 17. National forest wilderness area and visitor use, 1965-1994. Source: USDA Forest Service.

146 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1970 to 1979

wilderness system increasingly volunteered work on projects. They communicated with visitors, performed searches and rescues, maintained signs and trails, cleaned up campsites, removed debris, and performed various other supporting functions.

-: The dominant recreation activities among wilderness users in the 1 9 70's were hiking; horseback riding with pack stock and backpacking, usually with guide services; camping; hunting; fishing; and . mountain climbing. In the late 1970's, winter Fifty-four wilderness hikers crossing Bear Prairie on the annual "Gates of the Mountains" wilderness hike, Helena National Forest, Montana, 1970. wilderness activities were becoming more popular in accounted for almost a third of national forest some places and were seen as likely to increase the wilderness use. need for search and rescue operations, which were ranging between 265 and 310 per year. In the late To manage wilderness use consistent with its capacity 1 9 70's, fatalities averaged more than 40 per year. and capability, national forest managers introduced a Many could have been prevented with better under- wilderness permit system in the early 1 970's. They standing about how to meet nature on its terms, how expanded its use wherever it would help to ensure to effectively prepare for emergencies, and how to that wilderness resources would be properly and develop skills in wilderness activities and conditions. safely used and would help to control human debris .and waste. By 1 979, 50 percent of wildernesses and Trespass and violations increased during the 1970's primitive areas, including all California wildernesses despite the improved intensity of wilderness infor- and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, were under mation, supervision, and management. In 1 976, they the permit system. Where it was implemented, the reached a peak of 794 and remained a continuing permit system generally worked satisfactorily and problem for the balance of the decade. Wilderness improved wilderness management effectiveness. violations involved various forms of motorized Permit issuance, either by a staff person or volunteer equipment, occupying and using wilderness without at a wilderness trailhead or at the local ranger district a permit, not complying with a wilderness permit, office, gave national forest employees the and violating special wilderness restrictions. In 1978, opportunity to communicate directly with wilderness two incidents of armed robbery and one murder users and inform them about wilderness care and required coordination with local law enforcement use. Wilderness users appreciated and responded to authorities (USDA/USDI 1 970-1 980). this information. Where permits were used, national forest managers reported less litter and reduced Although wilderness interests were successful in ecological impacts (USD1/USDA 1 970-1 980). Indivi- getting Congress to endorse lower than pristine duals, groups, and organizations who were interested standards for wilderness candidate areas and wilder- in maintaining a high-quality national forest ness designation, the management of national forest

147 Chapter5

wilderness continued to be guided by pristine stan- year in less populous States such as Idaho, Montana, dards. Wilderness interests did not oppose them and Wyoming. In North Dakota, Nebraska, and although some users complained about permitted Kansas, where national forest acreage was minimal, livestock grazing and horse use, legitimate mining national forest use averaged barely a tenth of a visitor activities, thefts, low-flying aircraft, and, in some day per capita per year (Poudel1 986). places, the permit system. RVD use on national forests in the East totaled36mil- Outdoor Recreation Use and Management lion in1969and was about equally divided between RVD use for a wide variety of recreation activities the Southern Region and the Lake States and North- grew throughout the decade, despite rising concerns eastern Regions (combined and called the Eastern and issues among various resource interest groups Region in mid-i970's).By1 979,it had risen by and some users about wilderness preservation, timber 32percent, to48million. Almost85percent of the harvest levek and related road construction, and increase had occurred in the Southern Region. clearcutting, all of which probably contributed to the Because the population in the East is very dense and culmination of the wilderness preservation, timber highly urbanized, average per capita use per State harvesting, and clearcutting issues during the1970's. among the Eastern States was very low. Although National forest management of multiple uses, on the national forest acreage in the East was small, and other hand, encouraged and helped make this constituted less than1 2percent of the area of the growth possible. National Forest System, it was used twice as intensively as that in the West (Poudel1986). Growth in Total Visitor Use National forest outdoor recreation use in the1970's Camping accounted for more than23percent of the increased from163million RVD's in1969to220 increase in RVD use on all national forests. It rose by million in1979(see fig.8,chapter3).While annual 13million RVD's between1969and1979.Motor- RVD use on other Federal lands, mainly national ized travel through and within national forests for parks, declined after1976by nearly30million general viewing and accessing specific recreation RVD's, outdoor recreation use on national forests sites and opportunities accounted for20percent of continued to rise by more than20million RVD's. the RVD increase, rising by1 7million during the Fitting these expanding demands for outdoor decade to50million. Safe, drivable roads became recreation opportunities with other uses on national important during the1970's,not only for viewing the forests became and remained a major management forest and its mountain scenes and environment, but challenge for national forest managers throughout also for accessing the wide variety of recreation the decade (USDA Forest Service1970-1 980). resources - streams, lakes, mountainsides, and trails and the developed sites for camping, boating, Visitor use and growth were concentrated in the swimming, skiing, and other activities (Poudel1986). western national forests. The seven western national forest regions accounted for78percent of the RVD Outdoor recreation visitors to national forests typi- use and more than80percent of the RVD growth cally devoted about38percent of their RVD's to during the1970's.The western regions included the activities in developed sites such as campgrounds and Pacific Coast and Rocky Mountain States plus Alaska, picnic areas; winter sports sites; water developed for North and South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas. boating and swimming; observation sites; various They made up barely20percent of the U.S. interpretive, informational, and documentary population, but had more than90percent of the facilities; fishing areas and traliheads; playgrounds, national forest area. Visitor use was largely local or parks, and sports fields; recreation residences; and regional and averaged3.5RVD's for each western hotels, lodges, resorts, and concessions. Visitors de- person each year. The intensity of use varied by State voted about42percent of their RVD's to dispersed from2to3RVD's per person per year in South recreation activities throughout the national forests Dakota and the most populous States of California and an additional 20 percent to motorized travel on and Washington to 10 to 12 RVD's per person per forest roads (Poudel1986).

148 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1970 to 1979

Staffing for Recreation Management years in 1979. The great growth after 1975 was National forest staffing for recreation planning and largely due to the initiation of the Young Adult Con- management and operations and maintenance servation Corps in 1 977 and expansion of the Youth generally followed the upward trend in RVD use. Conservation Corps and Senior Community Service Professional and support services rose by 35 percent Employment programs during the 1970's. The num- between 1973 and 1979, from 4,300 FTE person- ber of volunteers continued to expand rapidly after years to 5,900 FTE's (USDA 1 992a). Almost 95 per- 1975 (USDA Forest Service 1972-1 980). cent of the staffing was directed to general recreation and served both developed and dispersed recreation In 1979, 93 percent of the total services available to sites, opportunities, and uses. This included land- the Forest Service from human-resource programs scape planning, which was a growing component of were used on national forests. Recreation resources the recreation function during the 1 970's and worked and users received a major share. Other resources closely with timber sale planners and road engineers. benefitting from these services were timber stands The remaining 5 percent of the staffing was directed and wildlife habitats. The total estimated value of all to cultural resources and wilderness management. human-resource services provided to the Forest Ser- vice in 1979 was $164 million and compared with National forest managers also graciously and gener- $28 million in 1975 and about $13 million in 1970, ously used human-resource programs and volunteers measured in constant 1979 dollars (USDA Forest to accomplish a large part of their expanding opera- Service 1972-1 980). tional, maintenance, and construction work needed to support rapidly growing recreation use and activ- Capacity and Use at Developed Sites ities on national forests. The programs (shown with In addition to upgrading the sanitary facilties at their dates of initiation on national forests) include developed recreation sites, the annual recreation the Job Corps (1 965); the Youth Conservation Corps investment on national forests in the 1970's rehabil- (1971); Volunteers in the National Forest (1973); itated many deteriorating sites and constructed some the Senior Community Service Employment Program new ones. Between 1 970 and 1 979, Federal and (1 974); the Young Adult Conservation Corps (1977) private investments increased the capacity of national and various hosted programs (1 960'si 970's) of other forest developed recreation sites for visitor use agencies, States, and the private sector, such as occupancy by 1 2.6 percent. Use at developed sites College Work Study, the Work Incentive Program, rose by 21 .0 percent during this same period, to 81 .9 Vocational Work Study, and programs authorized million RVD's more than the capacity of under the Comprehensive Employment and Training developed sites could accommodate (fig. 1 8). Forty Act of 1973 (CETA). percent of this increased use was accommodated by more effective and intensive use of existing sites These programs provided conservation education during the recreation season. Recreation visitors were through natural resource activities on national forests, encouraged to use available existing sites on skills training, employment, and national service weekdays rather than weekends. To achieve fuller use opportunities for the unemployed, underemployed, of the available developed sites, new sites or those minorities, disadvantaged, youth, elderly, retired replacing abandoned sites were located in areas of people, and persons with disabilities. Through stronger recreation demand and greater user access conservation work projects, participants made (Poudel 1 986). valuable, increasing contributions to visitor information services, recreation site and facility National forests operated 53 percent of the total maintenance, camp unit construction, trail mainten- occupancy potential at developed sites. The balance ance and construction, and clerical support through- was privately operated, usually with privately con- out the 1 970's. The total work provided by human structed facilities, under the national forest special resource programs and volunteers rose from less than use permit system. rhe privately operated facilities 4,000 person-years in 1 970 to more than 6,000 included all recreation residences and public con- person-years in 1975, and more than 16,100 person- cession sites; most of the hotels, lodges, and resorts;

149 Chapter 5

Visitor use of hotels, lodges, resorts, and public 100 service concessions increased by 800,000 RVD's, or 1 7 percent, and was accommodated largely through E I 80 > increased use of existing facilities. On the other hand, C 0 0 recreational residence use declined by 900,000 60 RVD's as national forest managers reduced the a) a- number of recreation residence permits. Beginning in 0 40 a) the late 1960's, national forest policy called for a shift C 20 in the use of isolated individual private recreation residence sites to public purposes. Where public values exceeded those for continued private use, 1970 1979 1970 1979 existing permits for some of the more isolated Year Year residence sites would be canceled and no new permits would be issued for establishing any additional Figure 18. Developed outdoor recreation site capacity private recreational residences. Permits for recreation and use, 1970 and 1979 residences that were located in established residential Source: USDA Forest Service. tracts were not subject to cancellation (USDA Forest Service 1969, 1978-1980). some winter sports sites and boat marinas; and Other uses, such as swimming, picnicking, and organizational camps administered by youth scenic observation, also grew, between 400,000 and organizations and other groups. Privately operated 450,000 RVD's, and were accommodated primarily developed-site occupancy capacity increased by through more effective use of existing sites. The num- 1 5 percent during the 1 970's; national forest ber and capacity of picnic areas and scenic obser- occupancy capacity increased by almost 1 0 percent vation sites were reduced. Visitor use at existing (Poudel 1 986). playgrounds, parks, and sports sites quadrupled from 1970 to 1976 and led to expanding existing sites and The largest occupancy capacity increase occurred at building new sites that doubled occupancy capacity winter sports sites, which grew by 43 percent during during that period. A further doubling of capacity by the 1970's. RVD use of winter sports sites, mainly ski 1979, however, proved excessive and was not fully areas and other facilities, increased by 6.4 million, or utilized until well into the 1980's (Poudel 1986). 98 percent. The next largest increase in RVD use occurred in campgrounds. It grew by 4.1 million Finding ways to more fully use existing developed RVD's, or 1 0 percent, and was accommodated pri- site facilities, providing supervision and information, marily by more intensive use of existing sites. The and meeting the higher maintenance needs of more use, however, shifted among campground sizes and intensive use were major management achievements types of camp units. Over the decade, a third of the in the 1970's. Human-resource and volunteer pro- campgrounds with 25 or less units were shut down grams contributed importantly to these achievements. and their capacity replaced by expansion of larger The effectiveness of this effort is reflected in the existing campgrounds and by constructing new, lar- maintenance of fully 74 percent of the forest- ger ones. Between them, campgrounds and winter operated developed sites at the "full service" level for sports sites accounted for 75 percent of the increased visitor use and enjoyment in 1978, primarily at the use at developed sites between 1 970 and 1 979. more intensively used sites. Only 26 percent received Boating sites and interpretive sites each accounted for a "reduced level" of maintenance and service for an increase of 1.1 million RVD's of use and about 15 visitor use. In 1979, however, the developed sites percent of the total increase. Occupancy capacity for receiving full-service maintenance fell to 69 percent each rose between 50 and 60 percent. as the fast-growing use continued to strain available, but limited, national forest resources for recreational

150 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1 970 to 1979

facility management and maintenance. Congressional national recreation trails on national forests by 1 980. funding for recreation management was escalated in This goal was exceeded. At the end of 1 978 there 1978 and 1979 to help meet the need for higher were 69 national recreation trails, and by the end of maintenance and, in some instances, rehabilitation of 1979 there were 256, totaling 2,986 miles. Many deteriorating sites (Poudel 1986). trails were located near large population concentrations. Much like the regular national forest trails, they National Forest Trails were designed mainly for foot travel, but some The national forests fully maintained 98,000 miles provided for bicycles, horses, snowmobiles and other of trails in the 1970's (Poudel 1986; USDA Forest ORV's, and others were designed for cross-country Service 1992 a). In 20 States Arizona, Colorado, skiing. Other national recreation trails were built for New Mexico, Nebraska, Wyoming, North and South wheelchairs and still others had Braille markers for Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, natural wonders that could be touched, smelled, or Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, heard by the blind. Such trails varied in length from a Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Minnesota and quarter mile to 200 miles and were located in 36 Puerto Rico, trail use increased an average of 4.2 States. times, from a million RVD's to 4.2 million RVD's, between 1 969 and in 1979. As trail use by recreation Visitor In formation Services and Centers visitors continued to escalate rapidly, the total miles By 1971, Visitor Information Services had established of trail constructed and reconstructed with Federal more than 300 national forest information stations, funds rose from an average of 283 miles per year including ranger stations, where information services from 1970 to 1976 to 1,052 miles per year between were available to visitors. Other information areas, 1977 and 1979. Human-resource and volunteer services, and facilities in 1970 included 973 interpre- programs also rebuilt existing trails or built new ones. tive signs, 291 slide talks, 256 interpretive trails, 255 In 1970, volunteers built only 50 miles of trail; in scenic overlooks, 209 interpretive brochures, and 60 1978 they built 1,236 miles, and in 1979, 878 miles, auto tours. In 1970, visitors devoted 2 million RVD's approximately equaling the trail miles constructed to using these information facilities, talks, walks, slide with Federal funds in the late 1 970's (USDA Forest shows, and tours (USDA Forest Service 1 972). Use of Service 1 972-1 980; USDA Forest Service 1 992a). these services and facilities and those added during the 1 970's grew to more than 4 million RVD's by Trails generally provided recreation opportunities for 1 979. Information stations increased to 584. hiking and horseback riding with pack animals. But, some were designed for bicycling, snowmobiling or Beginning in the 1 970's, national forest managers other offroad vehicles (ORV's), and cross-country increasingly used cooperative agreements with skiing. Trails also provided access to the backcountry, private interpretive associations to staff and operate including wilderness, as well as pathways to reach visitor information facilities. In 1971, five such undeveloped recreation areas such as mountain associations, comprised of local citizens, were climbing sites, lakes, streams, and mountaintops. providing national forest visitors with information on natural and human history, forestry, and fire preven- Congress designated both the Appalachian Trail and tion at visitor information facilities and negotia- the Pacific Crest Trail as national scenic trails in tions were underway for agreements to recruit five 1968. During the 1970's, national forests constructed more. By 1979, the growth in interpretive association or reconstructed more than 90 percent of the 840- services led to the establishment of an Interagency mile Appalachian National Scenic Trail and Task Force on !nterpretation a task force that met 76 percent of the 2,600-mile Pacific Crest National monthly to interchange ideas among Federal Scenic Trail (USDA Forest Service 1 980). By 1 977, agencies, professional interpretive association national forest managers had evaluated and desig- representatives, and the Smithsonian Institution. The nated 14 additional national recreation trails. How- task force is known today as the Federal Interagency ever, President Carter, in his environmental message Council on Interpretive Services. for FY 1 979, expanded the goal to designating 244

151 by

J ski patrolman avalanche hazards T' :'- ranger and snow reduce to an average of $1 70 per site per Forest, Montana, recoilless rifle planned avalanches, Bridger Bowl area, 1970. ,. .- A National a 75-mm Ga/latin fire Service initiated a program to develop a National Service initiated a in Reno, Nevada (USDA Forest Avalanche School National Avalanche School has Service 1 972). The every other year since been conducted regularly of 200 enrollees from the 1972, with an average ski area operators and National Forest System, of the National Ski Patro', and employees, members State, and other Federal agen- employees of county, Barr 1996). cies (Kurman 1996; $8 million in In 1979, special use permittees paid operators paid fees for their permits. Concessionaire and the use of $5 million for operating privileges permittees national forest lands. Recreation residence paid $3 million year. Offroad Vehicle Use and Management and more As ORV use became a highly popular Federal lands in widespread recreation pastime on triggering 160 218 363 930 1,310 2,981 No. of Permittees 1 980 a decline of 23 since 1969 Resorts Source: USDA Forest Service Stores and Restaurants Ski areas and Winter Sports Hotels, Lodges and Integrated Marinas Outfitters and Guide Services Services Total 152 National forest managers worked with permittees to National forest managers worked with the health, safety, protect the forest environment and and resource and welfare of national forest visitors of permittees' users. They made periodic inspections to permit activities to ensure that they conformed example, in standards and other provisions. For to grow and 1970, as the number of skiers continued forest managers recognized that public exposure to avalanche hazards was increasing at winter sports sites and in cross-country travel. In 1 971, working (USDA Forest Service 1970, 1979-1980). In 1979, (USDA Forest Service 1970, 1979-1980). numbered nearly commercial concessionaire permits 3,000 (table 2). Recreation Special Use Permits Recreation Special worked cooperatively with National forest managers more than 20,000 recreation permittees to administer each year during the 1 970's for special use permits residences; by youth, and families for recreation groups for organizational camps religious, and civic recreation activities; and by and group-oriented to provide recreation commercial concessionaires to national forest visitors. The largest services for a fee issued to number of special use permits were to 1 7,220. by 1979 their number was reduced religious, and civic Permits were also issued to youth, groups to construct and maintain organizational for 542 such camps Table 2. Number of recreation special use permits issued to commercial concessionaires, 1 979 the use of snowmobiles steadily increased, national the use of snowmobiles steadily increased, with permittees, users, and other interests, the Forest the private use of national forest land by individuals the private use of on national construct private recreation residences such sites, but forest sites. In 1 969, there were 1 9,000 provided camps. In 1979, national forest managers Chapter 5 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1 970 to 1979

the 1 960's and early 1 970's, : conflicts began to arise with *HL other uses and interests. In 1972, President Nixon's Executive Order 11 644, .,:. uIi

addressing four-wheel- - drives, motor scooters, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, dune buggies, and snowmobiles, called for regulations to control indiscriminate ORV use on p.

Federal lands. The Executive I rir Order required that national .44 forest managers complete ORV use plans and designate areas where ORV use would be permitted, prohibited, or to various degrees restricted by January 1, 1977 (USDA Forest Dirt bike riders on Naches Pass Trail, Wenatchee National Forest, Washington, 1976. Service 1 974b).

ORV plans for all national forests were completed National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), NEPA, before that deadline. By the end of 1978, they were Executive Order 11593, and USDA regulations for operational on 1 81 .5 million acres, or 97 percent of identifying, evaluating, and protecting historical and total national forest lands. Implementation was pend- cultural artifacts of past human activity on national ing on portions of 6.3 million acres on three forests, forests. awaiting resolution of ORV plan appeals or the incorporation of the ORV plans into forest land Cultural resource management was closely inte- management plans (USDA Forest Service 1979). In grated with timber management, road development, 1979, ORV plans were operating on 98 percent of land exchanges, range management, and other national forest lands. Management and use guidelines land-disturbing activities at their earliest stages. designated 122.9 million acres, 66 percent of the Early cultural assessments and proper planning of total national forest land base, as available for ORV such activities were essential to avoid or mitigate the use, but this included areas totaling 64.5 million adverse effects of ground-disturbing activities on acres that were classed as unusable for ORV significant cultural resources. Cultural resource operation due to topography, vegetation, or other surveys became an important tool for locating natural barriers. An additional 24.5 million acres, prehistoric and historic properties on national forest or 1 3 percent, were available for restricted use to lands. By 1979, archaeologists had identified 6,480 specific vehicle types or seasons of use. A total of historic and prehistoric sites as possible candidates 40.5 million acres, or 21 percent, including 18 mil- for inclusion in the National Register of Historic lion acres of wilderness, were closed to all ORV use Places. (USDA Forest Service 1 979-1 980). In 1970, this function was being carried out by 70 Cultural Resource Management professional and support staff. This number rose to Cultural resource management was introduced in the 105 FTE's by 1979 and included 72 full-time archae- 1960's, and it expanded and matured in the 1970's. It ologists and some historians operating at the regional was designed to implement the requirements of the and national forest levels. In addition, a full-time

153 Chapter 5

cultural resource management specialist position was quality sharpened conservation issues between established and filled in the Washington Office in environmentalists and miners. It also increased the 1979 to provide leadership and give national sensitivity of national forest managers to the need for direction to nearly 100 field-level specialists. further oversight and more careful management of surface resources on mining leases and claims. For National Recreation Areas and example, national forest managers issued orders in Wild and Scenic Rivers 1 970 and 1 971 restricting the use of tracked vehicles Two national forest national recreation areas were and earth-moving equipment on the Mount Moriah opened in 1 972 to help meet the Nation's growing area in Nevada's Humboldt National Forest and the need for more recreation near larger population White Clouds area on Idaho's Challis and Sawtooth centers. In Oregon, the 32,000-acre Oregon Dunes National Forests, where mineral-rich lands were also National Recreation Area was dedicated on the highly scenic, fragile, and susceptible to aesthetic Siuslaw National Forest. In Idaho, the Sawtooth damage. Permits were withheld from mineral claim National Recreation Area dedicated 754,000 acres of holders who proposed to use mechanical equipment some of the most beautiful forest and mountain to prospect in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, settings on the Boise, Challis, and Sawtooth National pending resolution of a lawsuit by a conservation Forests for public recreation use. group challenging the validity of the mineral rights that covered nearly a third of the wilderness canoe In 1974, Cascade Head, a 4,787-acre coastal scenic area. On West Virginia's Monongahela National area on Oregon's Siuslaw National Forest, was desig- Forest, a conservation group filed suit to enjoin the nated as a natural scenic research area. Two addi- forest supervisor from issuing a right-of-way and use tional national recreation areas were established in permit to a coal operator planning to prospect on the the late 1970's: Hells Canyon National Recreation forest. The coal was owned by the operator; the sur- Area (1975), totaling 625,488 acres on Oregon's face was national forest land (USDA Forest Service Wallowa-Whitman National Forest and Idaho's Nez 1 972). Perce National Forest, and the Arapaho National Recreation Area (1978) on Colorado's Arapaho- On Montana's Custer and Gallatin National Forests, Roosevelt National Forest. In 1 976, Congress also set where six mining companies had conducted exten- aside the Alpine Lakes area, 547,1 55 acres on Wash- sive explorations for copper-nickel deposits, poorly ington State's Mt. Baker and Snoqualmie National designed and located roads, bulldozed discovery pits Forests, for special national management emphasis. (required by State law), and inadequate erosion control had caused stream siltation and considerable During the 1 970's, Congress increased the number of damage to a fragile alpine environment. Although national forest rivers to be studied for inclusion in the national forest managers were working cooperatively National Wild and Scenic River System from 9 to 1 7. with the companies in 1969 and 1970 to minimize It also designated eight additional wild or scenic the pollution and rehabilitate damaged areas, the rivers, bringing the total national forest wild, scenic, problem raised State-wide concern, and Montana or recreational rivers to 14. Located on 1 6 different Senator Mike Mansfield, the majority leader of the national forests in 1 3 States, five of which were in the U.S. Senate, intervened directly. Senator Mansfield East, they totaled 1,143 miles in length and expressed alarm over the environmental damage and encompassed 238,000 acres. In 1979, recreation use the asserted powerlessness of national forest man- of these wild and scenic rivers totaled 1 .2 million agers to control it. He suggested that the Forest Ser- RVD's, 11 .8 percent of the total RVD use of national vice promulgate regulations under the Multiple-Use forest rivers and streams (USDA Forest Service 1 972- Mining Act of 1955 to control mining activities on 1 980, 1 993c). and under national forests (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985; USDA Forest Service 1972). In the early Minerals Management 1970's, responding to the policy direction of NEPA, The heightened public awareness of national pollu- national forest managers began to prepare EIS's on tion problems and rising concern for environmental mining proposals as they related to surface resources.

154 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1970 to 1979

The BLM, however, prepared the formal EIS and was national forest managers, mining interests, and con- the leasing agent for leasable minerals on all Federal servationists had also generally recognized the need lands. to improve Forest Service control over mining on national forest and other Federal lands. Political and Minerals management was further sensitized and public support was strong and reinforced by NEPA's complicated in the 1 970's by the emergence of a goals. Thus, during 1971, the Forest Service was able new American interest in energy and mineral explor- to complete and share a draft of proposed mining ation focusing on national forests - the largest regulations with the American Mining Congress, State remaining expanse of unexplored U.S. lands, except mining associations, and conservation groups. The for offshore submerged lands. Although the Forest proposed regulations suggested a set of operating Service, the mining industry, and military and poi- rules for mineral development and mining activities itical leaders had recognized a need to stockpile on legitimate claims, while providing for roads, strategic minerals since World War II,it took the Arab timber disposal, and required surface protection. The Oil Embargo of 1 973 to bring this reality home to recipients responded with a flood of comments that every American citizen. The huge increase in oil prompted hearings by the House Subcommittee on prices during the 1 970's made it economical to Public Lands. The mining industry was skeptical of search for oil on the ocean bottoms and in the more the Forest Service's authority to adopt such regula- remote and rugged areas of the United States with tions, but responded with their concerns and methods that had not previously been economical or proposed changes. Before final regulations were available. The adverse impact of oil prices on the adopted in August 1974, the industry acknowledged Nation's economy spurred national interest in the need to protect the environment from destructive developing domestic resources to offset the Nation's mining practices (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985). dependence on foreign resources. All of a sudden, in the late 1 970's, national forests became a major At 1971 hearings on the proposed regulations before center of the Nation's minerals future and the focus the House Subcommittee on Public Land, the Forest of an unprecedented search for energy sources and Service made it clear that it did not know where minerals (Peterson 1 983). miners were actually operating their claims. Periodic estimates had indicated there could be as many as National forest managers were not fully prepared for 1 .3 to 1 .5 million claims on national forest lands. this explosive development in mineral exploration. However, only a possible 10 percent were active. Thus, they played catchup during the 1 970's Holders of the balance of the claims were required to recruiting geologists and mining engineers and perform only the minimum statutory work of $100 experts who understood the socioeconomic impacts per year to maintain their claims - but even that of mineral development, surface resource manage- small amount sometimes involved several thousand ment, and reclamation opportunities and who were acres of resource disturbance each year. Without a qualified to develop effective, cooperative working continuing annual survey, the Forest Service lacked a relations with the mineral, oil, and gas industries way to pin down where all this activity was (Peterson 1983). Staffing for minerals management in occurring. While not all the disturbance necessarily the first half of the 1 970's had been reduced to about involved unacceptable environmental impacts, there 140 FTE's, compared with about 325 FTE's during the were always some cases of a mountain meadow 1960's. By 1979, however, minerals management being ruined, soil erosion that was difficult to correct, staffing was restored to the 1 960's lev& (USDA Forest and roads placed where they were not needed. Not Service 1 992a). all miners conducted their operations in this way, but enough did, so there was a need for a way to control Fortunately, national forest managers had begun to them (U.S. Congress 1974). develop regulations in 1971, as Senator Mansfield suggested, to ensure more effective control of the The Public Lands Subcommittee expressed doubt surface resources at mining and prospecting sites about the extent of the Forest Service's authority to (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985). At the same time, control mining activities and cautioned that the

155 Chapter5

agency's regulations be implemented with the ronmental protection measures, and final reclamation greatest discretion to avoid any conflicts with miners' activities. Forest managers worked with operators in statutory authority under the General Mining Laws reviewing and revising these plans, as needed, and (Wilkinson and Anderson1985).The Forest Service's also in their actual implementation. Otherwise, oper- final regulations, based on the Multiple Use Mining ations were managed by the Department of the Act of1955,were promulgated in August1974.They Interior except where improper use created emergen- required mineral operators to file operating plans cies that endangered public health or safety, life, or with national forest managers when any of their property or were likely to cause irreparable damage proposed activities would cause significant to resources (Wilkinson and Anderson1985). environmental disturbances. An approved plan, National forest managers reported mining industry including steps for rehabilitation, was required and cooperation to be excellent and that the regulations had to be followed during mining and prospecting appeared to be working well. Only a few cases of operations where a district ranger determined such significant surface disturbance were reported, and operations would "likely cause significant distur- those were in instances where operating plans had bance of surface resources" (USDA Forest Service not been required or filed (USDA Forest Service 1 975).The Forest Service's authority to adopt regula- 1976, 1977). tions to control mining operations was ultimately resolved by a landmark suit in1981, U.S. v.Weiss, in The total number of operating plans completed or which the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found such administered for nonenergy minerals rose to7,049 regulatory authority in the Organic Act of1897 by1979,while those for oil, gas, and coal, the prin- direction to "regulate" the "occupancy and use" of cipal energy sources, increased to8,500,for a total the national forests (Wilkinson and Anderson1985). of1 5,549plans. This compared with a total of 1 2,640operating plans completed or administered in The implementation of the new mining regulations 1 977.The operating plans were widely distributed for hardrock (or locatable) minerals was cautious. among all national forest regions (table3). National forest guidelines provided that surface resource protection be assured by securing the Surface Mining Activities and willing cooperation of prospectors or miners. The Environmental Protection Forest Service encouraged face-to-face dialogue with As domestic demands for energy sources grew in the miners. Notices of intent were not required for claim early1970's,leasing and surface mining for coal on staking, subsurface operations, and work that did not national forests and grasslands expanded rapidly, disturb vegetation or use mechanical earth-moving equipment. Where there was disturbance and a local determination of a need for an operating plan, Table 3.Completed mineral area operating plans by national forest managers generally worked with region,1 979 operators to review and revise plans until they reached a mutually acceptable agreement. Miners Region Number of Plans and prospectors were specifically required to comply Northern 2,839 with Federal and State air and water quality and Rocky Mountain 2,158 solid-waste treatment and disposal standards; protect Southwestern 945 scenic values, fisheries, and wildlife habitat; construct Intermountain 2,418 and maintain roads with minimum resource damage; Pacific Southwest 742 and reclaim any damaged surfaces. Pacific Northwest 1,838 Southern 2,586 In the first2years of the mining regulations, miners Eastern 1,933 fIled3,149notices of intent and1,567operating Alaska 90 plans; national forest managers approved1,308of Total 15,549 those plans. A plan described proposed mining methods, access routes, waste disposal arrangements, envi- Source: USDA Forest Service 1980.

56 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1 970 to 1 979

particularly in the northern Great Plains. National Manti-LaSal National Forest, Wyoming's Thunder forest managers launched a 5-year research, develop- Basin National Grasslands, and Colorado's Grand ment, and demonstration program called SEAM Mesa, White River, and Gunnison National Forests. (Surface Environment and Mining) for miners in Coordination with the Department of the Interior was Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, and completed and approved for leasing 17 million tons Nebraska in July 1973. It was an on-the-ground of coal to be extracted by underground methods on problem-solving effort to advance mining and Utah's Manti-LaSal and Fish lake National Forests. In reclamation methods that satisfied both mineral 1978, Montana's Kootenai National Forest completed production and environmental needs. It evaluated a comprehensive ElS for approval of a mining and and showed miners new techniques for the design of reclamation plan for a major copper and silver surface mining operations, new rehabilitation meth- project (USDA Forest Service 1979). ods, new mining technologies, and environmental stewardship. Leasable Minerals The total acres leased for mineral exploration and SEAM was expanded to address phosphate mining in development increased from 16 million in 1970 to Idaho and Florida, coal mining in the Appalachian 17.5 million in 1977 and escalated rapidly to States, and iron and copper-nickel mining in Minne- 30.9 million acres in 1979, primarily for energy sota. By 1 976, SEAM was operating continuing pro- resources: oil, gas, and coal (fig. 19). jects in 1 2 States, involving 1 8 universities, 8 Forest Service research units, 6 national forest regions, other In the last half of the 1 970's, the Western Overthrust Federal and State agencies, and various mining Belt in the Rocky Mountains became a hotspot of companies. The project developed model demonstra- rapid exploration and major oil discoveries on tion areas, did research on reclamation problems, national forest lands. This was closely followed by a collected field data, produced plant materials that similar leasing boom on the Eastern Overthrust Belt would grow well on mined areas and mine tailings, (Peterson 1983). Between 1977 and 1979, oil pro- developed planning and development techniques, duction on national forests increased from 8.1 mil- and published the accumulated knowledge (USDA lion barrels to 11 .0 million barrels. Gas production Forest Service 1974-1 975). rose from 210 billion cubic feet to 213 billion cubic

Environmental Analysis Related to Minerals Environmental analysis became an increasingly important aspect of minerals management in the 40 1 970's. Resource specialists responsible for minerals management performed a NEPA-required environ- 30 mental assessment on each proposed claim or lease operating plan to determine whether an ElS was -J needed (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985). In 1977, for 20 example, national forest managers reported gathering comprehensive resource data and evaluations on seven geothermal areas, and ElS's were completed for 10 six of them. In the same year, a joint Forest Service effort with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Geological Survey completed EiS's for a major uranium mine and mill on the Thunder Basin 1970 1974 1979 National Grasslands in Wyoming (USDA Forest Year Service 1 978-1 979). Figure 19. National forest area leased for mineral exploration and development, 1970-1979 In 1978, three regional draft ElS's were prepared in Source: USDA Forest Service. proposed coal leasing areas covering parts of Utah's

157 Chapter5

feet, and coal production from4.2million tons to The three most extensive burns occurred in1 970 6.2million tons. The production of locatable (hard- (446,000acres),1977 (391,000acres), and1979 rock) and salable minerals, particularly uranium, (328,000acreY. Lightning-caused fires associated likewise increased during the1970's.At the end of with early and widepcead summer droughts and the decade, mining trends on national forests high temperatures were a major contributor. Light- indicated increased future activity in oil, gas, and ning ignited almost60percent of the area burned in uranium exploration and extraction in all geographic these years. Many of the severe burns occurred in the regions; increased coal production in Colorado, Rocky Mountains from north to south, in southern Wyoming, and Utah, and greater geothermal devel- California, and in the Pacific Northwest, where opments in all western regions (USDA Forest Service during the1960'ssuccessful forest fire protection 1980). began to be recognized as a contributing factor to forest fuel buildups and an increasing fire hazard Although the authority for issuing mineral leases on (USDA Forest Service1 972-1 980). national forest lands was still vested in the Depart- ment of the Interior through the BLM, national forest More than95percent of the annual area burned managers had a major role in the environmental by lightning-caused fires occurred in the western analysis and review of all lease applications and national forests. In the years when less than300,000 proposed operations, and the authority to attach acres burned, lightning-caused fires ignited only lease stipulations to protect surface resources. In the about25percent of the annual burn. case of coal or geothermal steam leases, national forest decisions to deny a lease or to attach specific The number of fires controlled annually on national lease stipulations were final, and the Department of forests during the1 970'saveraged somewhat more the Interior was obligated to accept them in proces- than the1960's 11,000per year. In the three sing the lease application and the proposed operating severe fire years, wildfires numbered1 5,000in plan. For other leasable minerals, Interior was 1970),more than14,000in1977,and 10,100 in required to make independent judgments in issuing 1979.More than90percent were brought under leases but, in practice, generally accepted the stipula- control at 10 acres or less. The number of fires tions national forest managers proposed. National burning more than 100 acres averaged150per year. forest use of stipulations increased dramatically in the However, most of the acreage burned during all of early1 970'sbut became tempered in later years as the1 970'swas attributable to fires that burned stipulations were incorporated as lease requirements. 300 acres or more less than 1 percent of all fires (USDA Forest Service1972-1 980). Control of Forest Fires and Fuels Management The average annual area of national forest lands National forest fire control effectiveness in the1 970's burned during the1 970'srose to200,000acres was comparable to that in the1960's.But it was a slightly more than one-tenth of 1 percent of the major achievement in the face of the rising fuel national forest land base. This was 10 percent more hazards and the greater risks of frequent droughts, than the average annual burn during the preceding heavier public use of the national forests, and a 25years. The increase can be attributed to the greater number of fires. The continuing 3 years in the1970'swhen fires burned more than improvements in the use of aircraft and aerial attacks 300,000 acres. There were two such years during the and their coordination with ground attacks as well as 1 960'sand a total of three for the25preceding years increasing effectiveness of logistics, communications, (1 945to1 970).Despite the1 970'sincrease in the and coordination among firefighting organizations average annual burn over that of the previous quarter and forces contributed to the success of fire suppres- century, it was still9percent below the average sion in the1970's.Other improvements included fire annual burn in the1950's(USDA Forest Service planning, analysis, and computer modeling to evalu- 1 972-1 980;USDA Forest Service1 970i 979). ate fire problems.

158 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1970 to 1979

Better Trained and Equipped Firefighters on the natural forest ecosystem. They let natural Basic fire suppression and safety training for regular wilderness fires burn under carefully monitored and seasonal employees was increased to 40 hours, conditions in a 20-mile-long, 5-mile-wide section of and the use of fire-resistant clothing and fire shelters the White Cap drainage. Six fires were allowed to was expanded and became mandatory in the late burn under prescription during this period, with 1 970's. All Federal wildland agencies engaged in fire close daily monitoring. A total of 1,200 acres was control agreed to adopt and comply with the burned in two units. Further tests were done on the National Interagency Fire Qualification System for all other wildernesses, including the Gila Wilderness in their employees. Training quality became more New Mexico. uniform as standardized training materials were developed and distributed to all participants. During The Designated Controlled Burning System was a year of large fires, 1977, a new concept for mobili- tested on the Southern Region's Francis Marion and zing firefighting suppression forces from various Kisatchie National Forests. Fires caused by lightning agencies from a wide geographic area and concen- or humans and occurring in certain management trating them quickly where needed was tested and units before a scheduled prescribed burn was initi- oroved successful. ated were allowed to burn until they reached pre- designated natural or human-made barriers, such a Emergence of Fire as a Management Tool streams or roads. The test monitored four such fires in the West that burned 275 acres through 1974. Although the Southern Region used prescribed fire as a resource management tool in its pine forests, it was In 1977, the Forest Service established a Fire Man- not used in the western national forests until the agement Fund to integrate all presuppression funds. 1 960's, and then its use was largely sporadic. Pre- This fund was particularly effective in increasing the scribed fire was used to control forest disease, elimi- forest fuel hazard reduction acres treated each year. nate undesirable forest undergrowth, expose mineral soil for successful seed germination, improve wildlife Fire Management Areas habitat, and reduce forest fuel accumulations. Fire management areas were first established in 1978 to integrate fire management objectives with national Fire's changing role in the National Forest System was forest land and resource management goals and first recognized on a national scale in 1974. The shift objectives. A fire management area was a land unit from fire control alone to fire management, however, having the same or common fire management had some distressing effects and challenges, objectives. National guidelines directed that fire man- especially when the news media implied that Smokey agement areas and their objectives for all national Bear was "laying down his shovel." This, of course, forest lands be developed through the forest planning was not true, but it emphasized the Forest Service's process by 1 983 (USDA Forest Service 1 978). need to inform the public about the change in its fire National forest managers were required to determine management policy and obtain public acceptance of fire protection and fire use standards that would the new role of fire in fuel management. As a result ensure the attainment of national forest land and of the increased emphasis on fire prevention, the resource management goals, establish measurable number of human-caused forest fires generally standards for maximum individual fire size and tol- declined by 660 ignitions from 1975 to 1980, with erable annual and long-term allowable burn acreage the one exception of the conflagration year of 1 977, for different fire intensities, and identify areas and set when they rose by 460. a schedule for their treatment by prescribed fires (USDA Forest Service 1 974b). National forest managers tested the concept of wildfire management in the mountains of Idaho's Selway- Wildfires were to be managed to meet land and Bitterroot Wilderness between 1972 and 1974 to resource management objectives at all times. Fires remove the human influence of wildfire suppression not meeting such objectives and burning outside a in a wilderness area and any upsetting impacts it had prescription in a fire management area were to be

159 Chapter5

promptly suppressed. During1978,national forests duction actually accomplished was392,000acres in implemented68fire management areas covering 1978and375,000acres in1979.Favorable weather 4.8million acres on23forests in the six western and moisture conditions during burning periods, regions. In1979,fire management area plans were increased spring burning, and the use of human- approved for an additional1 .9million acres on resource program workforces to treat fuels(1 2,000 1 2 new and two existing areas and on six additional acres in1978and36,000in1979)contributed to western national forests. During1979, 150wildfires more than achieving these targets. occurred in approved fire management areas. Thirty- five percent of these fires were monitored and con- In he late1 970's,fuel buildups were reduced on firmed to ensure that they did not jump prescribed more than1 .7million acres. This included about a boundaries. The remaining65percent were sup- million acres with accumulated residues from timber pressed within fire management area boundaries. sales and stand improvement work, road construction, and wildlife habitat and range improvement Fuel Management projects. Naturally occurring fuel hazards were Emphasis on fuel management increased throughout reduced on an additional half million acres as a joint the1 9 70'sand became a major fire management product of fire management treatments for purposes objective on national forests. The goal of fuel man- other than fuel reduction. agement was to reduce forest residue hazards from timber management, harvesting, and road-clearing A National Model for Planning operations and the natural accumulation of forest National Fire Management Budgets fuels in unharvested and unroaded areas. Disposing In1978,the Congressional Appropriations Subcom- of forest residues after timber harvest was a tradi- mittee for Interior and ReIaed Agencies directed the tional practice. The new focus was on reducing Forest Service to develop a methodology and plan for hazardous forest fuel accumulations to less flam- assessing the benefits and costs of alternative forest- mable conditions and constructing fire and fuel level fire management budgets to determine the best breaks on high-hazard areas, often in the unroaded use of national forest fire management funds and and unharvested forest areas. The goal was to reduce their allocations among individual national forests. both potential wildfire intensity and the level of The Forest Service selected test forests and scheduled wildfire damage to resources or property. Fuel assessments to be completed by1 979.In the early management lowered fire's potential rate of spread 1980's,these test results were used to develop a and area burned, reduced the size of areas with computer simulation model of expected annual fire continuous hazardous fuels, and provided improved behavior and to evaluate the benefits and costs of firefighter and equipment access. Prescribed burning alternative fire management budgets and budget became the principal fuel management tool during allocations at the national, regional, and individual periods of low fire escape risks. forest levels.

By the mid-i970's,fuel management using pre- Preservation of Research Natural Areas scribed burns to reduce accumulated forest fuel and During the1 970's,the number of research natural constructing fuel and fire breaks had risen to about a areas (RNA's) established increased by83percent, to 1 00,000 acres per year. With the1 975RPA program, 1 32,and their aggregate area rose by61percent, to it became a regularly targeted funding objective. 1 39,965acres. In all,60new areas, totaling53,330 Congress also provided additional funds for fuelbreak acres, were added to the national forest RNA network. construction in the dense chaparral brushfields of southern California and for treatment of old logging The focus of RNA planning and management contin- slash on the Bull Run Watershed near Portland, ued to broaden as an understanding of the variety Oregon. and vulnerability of natural systems grew. Forest Service Research placed more emphasis on RNA's to Fuel management targets for1 978and1 979were protect a variety of forest types and habitats for rare 303,000and360,000acres, respectively. Fuel re- plants and animals and ecosystems, including aquatic

I, Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1 970 to 1979

and riparian areas, shrubland, grassland, alpine, and conducting research studies. Thus, by 1 980 the RNA subalpine ecosystems. For example: the Flynn Creek network, initiated on national forests in 1927, was RNA on Oregon's Siuslaw National Forest was added making broad and increasing contributions to pro- in 1 977 to study and demonstrate the decomposition tecting biodiversity, fostering understanding of natu- and role of wood in stream ecosystems the RNA ral ecosystem processes, and, of course, providing was studied by the National Science Foundation and important baseline knowledge for managing ecosys- Oregon State University beginning in 1 978. In 1 972, tems for multiple uses as well as for preservation. the Fern Canyon RNA was established on California's Angeles National Forest to provide basic ecological Biosphere Reserves assessments so natural resource managers and In 1976, 10 key national forest sites were among the researchers could develop better biological first 11 8 official biosphere reserves established in evaluations and management prescriptions for the 40 countries worldwide by the United Nations Angeles National Forest watersheds that were Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization annually subject to intensive recreation use from (UNESCO) through its Man and the Biosphere Pro- nearby urban areas. The Goodding RNA was gram. UNESCO established the International Reserve established in 1970 on Arizona's Coronado National Project to protect representative segments of the Forest to protect a unique assembly of rare and world's natural regions as major centers for animal sensitive plant species. The Western Cross Timbers and plant preservation, environmental research, and RNA, established in 1 977, preserved an especially education. The following national forest areas were interesting shrubland area embracing the interface of selected to participate in this program: Hubbard grand prairie and eastern deciduous forest on the Brook Experimental Forest on New Hampshire's Lyndon B. Johnson National Grasslands in Texas. White Mountain National Forest; Coweeta Experi- mental Forest on North Carolina's Nantahala The second dimension of the broadening scope of National Forest; Fraser Experimental Forest on Colo- RNA's was to increase the emphasis on replicating rado's Arapaho National Forest; Coram Experimental ecosystem types already represented in the RNA Forest on Montana's Flathead National Forest; Desert network to guard against the very real threat that Experimental Range in Utah; Stanislaus Experimental some of these unique natural systems could be Forest on California's Stanislaus National Forest; H.J. permanently lost. A Directory of Research Natural Andrews Experimental Forest on Oregon's Willamette Areas on Federal Lands of the United States was National Forest; Three Sisters Wilderness on Oregon's published in 1977. It included RNA's established by Deschutes and Willamette National Forests; Cascade the Forest Service and by other land managing Head Experimental Forest and Scenic-Research Area agencies. The criteria for designating and managing on Oregon's Siuslaw National Forest; San Joaquin RNA's varied among agencies, but the objectives for Experimental Range in California; San Dimas establishing them remained the same. In 1978, the Experimental Forest on California's Angeles National nonprofit Natural Areas Association was founded to Forest; and Luquillo Experimental Forest on Puerto bring together professionals involved in natural area Rico's Caribbean National Forest. The National Park identification, management, and research. Its objec- Service and the Forest Service co-coordinate the tive was to provide support and information to biosphere reserve project in the United States. people concerned about the protection and long- term stewardship of such areas. Forest Pest Management Forest Service pest management in the 1 9 70's con- The RNA network's widening partnership included tinued the post-DDT era emphasis on integrating pest growing numbers of State agencies, private organ i- detection and suppression increasingly with forest zations such as The Nature Conservancy and the management practices an emphasis that included Natural Areas Association, universities, and interested a commitment to apply cultural and biological individuals who supported the RNA network with control measures in every situation where they could activities such as building fences, gathering data, be effective in controlling forest insect and disease setting up baseline monitoring programs, and outbreaks. This new emphasis required that every

161 Chapter 5

effort be made to reduce and eUminate control measures that damaged the environment. Thus, the 75 'AIII D use of commercially available, nonpersistent a) D chemicals or nonchemical methods in place of a) 150 persistent pesticides, such as DDT, was required in all 50 Ii;; situations where research and field tests had a) 100 demonstrated that they would accomplish forest insect and disease control objectives safely and 25 effectively (USDA Forest Service 1 972; Fowler et al. a) 50 E = I- 1986). z

Environmental assessments (EA's) that considered the 1960-64 1976-80 1960-64 1976-80 afternative means for suppressing insect or disease Year Year outbreaks became a requirement for all potential insect and disease suppression projects. Suppression Figure 20. Decline in pesticide treatments in the Eastern measures were to be used only when necessary and Region of National Forest System, 1 960-1 980 then only after pest and forest managers determined Source: USDA Forest Service. that the benefits of treatment outweighed the adverse effects of allowing the insect or disease outbreaks to go on unchecked (USDA Forest Service 1 980). to 1976, only 1,230 acres were treated with pesticides. After 1976, no pesticides were used (Fowler The foregoing guidelines embraced the basic con- 1986). In 1986, a report by Daniel R. Kucera, in cepts of integrated pest management (1PM). 1PM Insect and Disease Conditions in the United States advocated the careful consideration of all possible 1979-83, asked the question retrospectively: had pest control techniques and methods (cultural, bio- national forest managers gone too far, like a pendu- logical, chemical, regulatory, and mechanical) and lum, in not using chemical controls in the 1970's? the selection of control methods that were both cost- The spruce budworm outbreaks were again seriously effective in keeping pest populations below economi- damaging eastern spruce forests. Vast acreage of pine cally injurious levels and at low risk to applicators, to in the Lake States had been killed by the jack pine people in the treatment area, and to the environment budworm or deformed by the white pine weevil. itself. The application of the 1PM concept developed Many red pine plantations throughout the Northeast gradually during the 1970's. Managers strived for were also being damaged by the Saratoga spittle bug 1PM, but seldom realized it because of the lack of (Fowler 1986). appropriate technology as well as uncertainty about its environmental effects. For example, when national The Forest Service increased its emphasis on reducing forest managers in the Eastern Region had to make dependence on pesticides in 1 978 by reinforcing the judgments based on whether it was economically use of 1PM for preventing insect and disease out- justifiable to use biological, chemical, or silvicultural breaks and stronger integration of pest management controls, pest management efforts were often principles with forest management and silvicultural curtailed, as "no control" became the prevalent evaluation and planning. The new emphasis required choice. pest risk assessments as a basis for reducing the risk of serious pest outbreaks and for prioritizing forest Pesticide use in Eastern Region national forests stands to receive silvicultural treatment (USDA Forest dropped drastically between 1960 and 1979 (fig. 20). Service 1 980). Pesticide use reached its height in the 5-year period between 1 960 and 1 964, when a total of 1 50,000 Major Insect and Disease Problems acres were treated at 64 different sites. With the with- Mild weather in the early 1970's, coupled with other drawal of DDT in 1964, pesticide use in Eastern favorable factors, enabled insect and disease popula- Region national forests declined rapidly; from 1970 tions to expand to record levels on all land owner-

162 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1970 to 1979

ships throughout most of the regions of the country approved pesticides or alternate control methods, the by 1 973 and 1 974. The greatest attention was com- Douglas-fir tussock moth epidemic became the most manded by the southern pine beetle, the mountain threatening pest outbreak on national forests. DDT pine beetle, the spruce budworm, the gypsy moth, had been an effective control in past years. In 1 973, and the Douglas-fir tussock moth (USDA Forest there were no registered chemicals available to use Service 1 974b). against it. By 1 974, Douglas-fir tussock moth had infested more than 400,000 acres of national forest, Southern pine beetle populations in the South and State, and private lands. In early 1974, the EPA Southeast were at higher levels than at any time in authorized emergency use of DDT to control this recorded history. The 1973 outbreak embraced infestation. The decision was both difficult and 47 million acres of commercial pine forest, and high controversial because DDT had been banned for infestation levels continued in 1974. National forests, several years as a persistent, environmentally dam- however, represented less than 7 percent of the aging pesticide. The affected States, private land- infested area. owners, universities, and other Federal agencies were all participants in the decision process. In 1 973 and Mountain pine beetle infestations occurred through- 1974,Zectran, Sevin,several other nonpersistent out the West, with populations building up in the pesticides, as well as viral and bacterial pesticide Black Hills of South Dakota, in Idaho and Wyoming agents were pilot tested along with DDT for their near Yellowstone Park, and along the Front Range in effectiveness against the tussock moth. The DDT Colorado. A major share of the infestations occurred control action was elected and undertaken as a on national forests and impacted lodgepole and cooperative effort by the States, private landowners, ponderosa pine. and Federal agencies in June and July of 1974 on 426,559 acres that included more than 250,000 The spruce budworm remained in outbreak status in acres of national forest lands. The effects of the pro- both spruce and true-fir species and stands across the ject were closely studied with some of the closest northern half of the United States throughout the monitoring ever conducted on an insect control 1970's. In Maine, 2.5 million acres were infested and project. The effectiveness of the control effort was heavily defoliated. In the Lake States, 1 .5 million dramatic. The tussock moth kill was 98 percent. The acres were infested and defoliated, and in the tussock moth effort was also the last large project on northern Rocky Mountains, 4.6 million acres were national forests in which DDT was used. similarly infested. Late in 1 974, the Douglas-fir tussock moth, the The gypsy moth continued to infest oak stands and southern pine beetle, and the gypsy moth became the other susceptible species in the Northeast. During targets of a $47 million long-term cooperative 1 973, 1 .4 million acres were defoliated. National research effort among four USDA agencies, including forests were a minor part of that year's infestation. the Forest Service, to find new weapons to control the three pests and the damage they caused. To Douglas-fir tussock moth populations increased to ensure maximum effectiveness, this research effort epidemic proportions on national forests in Oregon, was directly coordinated and administered by Robert Washington, and Idaho in 1972 and 1973. They Long, the Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for caused approximately a billion board feet of Natural Resources and Environment (USDA Forest mortality and growth loss valued at $54.8 million. Service 1974-1976, 1990).

Insect Control The western spruce budworm reached outbreak Defoliators, such as the spruce budworm and proportions in north central Washington State and on Douglas-fir tussock moth, and the bark beetles, such the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in north central as the mountain pine bark beetles, caused the most Oregon in 1976 and 1977. Cooperative aerial serious and extensive insect control problems on suppression efforts sprayed 360,000 acres, including national forests during the 1 970's. Due to the lack of 1 55,000 acres of national forest lands, withSevin

163 Chapter 5

and Malathion in each of the two years. The and 1979 (USDA Forest Service 1972-1 980) until the outbreaks abated in 1978. But in 1979, a smaller early 1 980's, when major infestations broke out in (140,000 acres) outbreak involving national forests central and eastern Oregon, then in eastern and private lands in western Idaho, north of Boise, Washington (USDA Forest Service 1981 1 984). was sprayed with Sevin and Orthene in cooperation with the Idaho State Department of Lands, the Boise The southern pine beetle was very destructive in the Cascade Corporation, and other private landowners. South. It attacked aging old-growth trees and young, overly dense loblolly and shortleaf pine plantations Mountain pine beetle infestations were persistent and planted on sites where they were not well adapted. widespread throughout the West and involved Southern pine beetle destroyed the value of saw- treatment of many spot infestations on national timber trees by boring into their heartwood. The forests. Overstocked and aging lodgepole pine stands principal control was to harvest infested trees before and trees were highly susceptible to beetle attacks. their market value was destroyed. Southern pine Infestations occurred in the Pacific Northwest, mostly beetles were endemic to 47 million acres of loblolly east of the Cascade Mountains. In the 1 960's, the and shortleaf pine timber lands. National forests mountain pine beetle reached epidemic proportions constituted only 6.7 percent of this area, so they were in northern Utah, western Wyoming, and southern a small part of the total southern pine beetle control Idaho. In 1970 and 1971, a multimillion dollar problem in the 1 970's. Because of the severe damage program to control the epidemic was evaluated, southern pine beetles did to mature timber, however, found to be ineffective, and terminated. The they were important pests to control when their infestation, however, continued to spread northward populations threatened to reach epidemic into Idaho and Montana (Fowler 1993). proportions.

The preferred method of controlling mountain pine Gypsy moths, a growing problem on private and beetle was to harvest infested stands and scattered State lands in the Northeast, were a limited problem trees, which also reduced the fire hazard of dead insofar as national forests were concerned. In 1970, timber. But this was only feasible where stands and 1 5 acres were sprayed on New Hampshire's White trees were accessible by forest roads. In inaccessible Mountain National Forest, and in 1972 another 12 situations, the alternative control methods were to acres were sprayed. In the Lake States, 800 acres fell, pile, and burn the infested trees or to chemically were sprayed with Sevin in 1974 to control an treat them to prevent emergence of mature beetles infestation on the Manistee National Forest in West that could infest other trees. Preventive sprays Central Michigan. Insect pest suppression activities became available in the late 1970's but were too for species other than bark beetles and defoliators expensive to use economically on large infestations. varied from year to year. The acres treated for other Their use was limited to administrative and recrea- insects varied from 5,440 in 1970 to 470 in 1972, tion areas where the aesthetic value of live, standing averaging 1,793 acres per year. lodgepole pine trees was very high. Disease Control In the early 1970's, western national forests were Dwarf-mistletoe control occurred in all the western treating about 250,000 mountain pine beetle infested national forest regions. During the 1970's, most trees per year about half the trees treated in 1 969. infected overstory and understory trees on national The buildup of mountain pine beetle outbreaks in forests were removed to check the spread of dwarf- 1 973 and thereafter increased the level of treatment mistletoe and to improve the growth of residual trees. to about 600,000 infested trees per year through Infested trees that were not marketable in the older 1977. These treatments and planned harvests of stands were felled and logged to remove their infested stands and trees in roaded areas were potential to infest the remaining healthy trees and effective in slowing population buildups and understories. n young immature stands, sanitation stemming the spread of the mountain pine beetle. thinnings were applied to remove infested trees. Their populations became relatively static in 1978

164 Performance of Multiple-Use Management:1 970to1 979

White pine blister rust control on national forests in avoided the potential erosion problems often the West and the Lake States was terminated after associated with mechanical site preparation. Of the 1 973,when pest and forest managers determined it acres being reforested,20to25percent were treated was ineffective. Experience and evaluations had with herbicides. With the use of herbicides, young shown that it was impossible to eradicateRibes planted seedlings could usually be released from (currant family), the intermediate host for the pest, broadleaf and grass competition in one season. Other over a large enough area to make it an effective available methods often required several treatments control method, particularly in the West. Western or several seasons. Herbicides were likewise used to white pine was extremely susceptible to blister rust kill undesirable trees in precommercial thinning infection, while theRibesplants were prevalent and operations; to control weeds in nurseries, which widespread. Their spores were carried for very long contributed to growth of larger, more vigorous seed- distances in the mountainous environment. The use lings at time of lifting for outplanting; to maintain of fungicides sprayed on the base of tree boles or fuelbreaks to protect national forest resources from aerial sprays on tree foliage were likewise found to wildfire; to improve travelers' vision and reduce fire be ineffective in controlling the rust (Benedict1981; hazards on road rights-of-way; and to destroy Fowler1 993).Acres surveyed for blister rust inci- noxious weeds in range applications. dence dropped from 1 00,000 in1 969,to30,000in 1972,and zero thereafter.Ribeseradication dropped The total area treated with herbicides in1979for all from5,000acres in1970,to365in1973,and none purposes, including fire protection, rights-of-way, thereafter. range improvement, wildlife habitat improvement, general weed control, and timber management, was Herbicide Use 1 84,000acres. Sixty percent of that amount was for During the1 970's,herbicides were increasingly used site preparation, release, or thinning. More than85 to control unwanted vegetation on the national percent of the total acreage was treated with just forests and in Forest Service nurseries. During this three chemicals, 2,4-0; Picloram; or Dicamba. period, only herbicides registered with EPA as safe More than40other chemical formulations were used and effective were used. Registration, at that time, on the remaining1 5percent of the treated acreage. carried with it the implicit understanding that registered herbicides, when used according to label Herbicide spills occurred from time to time, but directions, did not have any significant adverse cleanup procedures generally prevented any major effects on the environment. Following the enactment adverse environmental effects. There were intermit- of NEPA in1970,it became national forest policy to tent claims of adverse effects on human health, but conduct environmental analyses to determine the none of these were verified at the time. The use of best means of meeting specific resource management herbicides and pesticides on national forests began to objectives where herbicides (or pesticides) were be reported annually to Congress in1977in terms of considered one of the alternative means. During the acres treated and pounds of individual chemicals 1 970's,these environmental analyses did not include used in treatment. any risk analysis for herbicide use because the EPA said EPA-registered herbicides had no significant In1978,in response to a growing public concern, adverse effects. national forest managers worked with the USDA and EPA to sponsor the National Symposium on the Use Herbicides were used because analyses and experi- of Herbicides in Forestry, which resulted in a clearly ence had determined they were often more effective written national forest policy for using all pesticides. and economical than alternative vegetation control The new policy emphasized the Forest Service's com- methods. Herbicides applied in conjunction with site mitment to work closely with the EPA to determine preparation for reforestation reduced vegetation that all pesticides were fully registered for their without extensive soil disturbance. This treatment not intended use and that only registered pesticides only reduced competition for planted seedlings, but would be used. The revised policy included no bans made the plantations less attractive to gophers and on either materials or methods because this type of Chapter 5

action was automatic in response to any EPA suspen- national forest grazing use occurred in the sion or cancellation notices. It emphasized the use of 1 6 western States. The balance, more than 4 percent, integrated pest management (1PM) techniques for was largely on the southern national forests, with less solving the Forest Service's pest management prob- than 1 percent on national forests in the Northeast lems. Where pesticide use was necessary, it made it and Lake States. clear that the pesticide would be applied only under very exacting conditions and in a carefully supervised Due to the relatively high elevations, grazing on manner. In the case of 2,4,5-T; Si/vex; and related national forests was largely seasonal, except in herbicides, their use was limited to places where no Arizona and New Mexico, where many yearlong per- other environmentally acceptable and economically mits were used,. In 1 970, the average length of the feasible alternative, chemical or mechanical, was grazing period was 4.8 months for cattle and registered or available. Cost-effectiveness was not 2.7 months for sheep. Permits for grazing allotments used as a sole criterion. Forest Service decisions to were also limited to ensure sufficient forage and use pesticides were made subject to review by the browse for important wildlife such as antelope, big- Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Conservation, horn sheep, deer, elk, moose, and wild horses and Research, and Education before implementation. The burros. current practice of using alternative methods such as mechanical and manual brush control was The Wild, Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of strengthened wherever feasible. A provision for 1971 established a small number of wild horse and posting treatment areas to inform users that herbi- burro territories where feral unclaimed horses and cides had been applied was included. Forest Service burros existed at the time of the Act's passage. The employees were required to qualify for and have BLM lands provided rangeland and forage for more State pesticide licenses to work with pesticides or than 95 percent of the wild horses and burros on herbicides. The Forest Service was required to put Federal lands yearlong; only a few herds used aerial applications under special scrutiny and use national forest lands. The national forest forage was them only where there were significant advantages managed for the needs of wild horses and burros as over the other possible methods in overall weU as wildlife and permitted livestock. Prior to the effectiveness. passage of the Act, national forest managers' efforts to control the number of unclaimed feral horses and Range Management burros grazing on national forest lands in favor of In 1970, some 11,000 national forest range allot- other land use and management objectives, including ments, totaling more than 1 05 million acres, were wildlife, domestic livestock, and watershed available for livestock grazing. Almost half of the protection, limited the number of horses to 3,000 to allotments, 50 million acres, were open, nonforested 4,000 and a few hundred burros. rangeland and constituted almost a third of the total national forest acreage within the 48 contiguous Range Analysis, Planning, and Management States. There was no commercial grazing on nationa By the end of the 1 960's, national forest range con- forests in Alaska, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico. The servationists had completed the first cycle of systema- balance of the allotments consisted of more than tic range analysis and management plans for all 55 million acres of forested rangelands (USDA allotments and had implemented management plans Forest Service 1972; Wilkinson and Anderson 1985; on the ground for 4,600 range allotments more Schmautz 1 979). than 40 percent of the total. Ranchers, cooperating with national forest range conservationists, applied Some 1 7,872 ranchers and farmers grazed 1 .3 mil- intensive range management practices to improve the lion cattle, 1 .7 million sheep, and a few thousand quality and quantity of the forage on about horses under paid permits on these range allotments. 45 million acres within their allotments. During the An additional 200,000 animals were grazed under first cycle, the management focus had been on free use agreements or permits with 80,901 users increasing range productivity and the forage produc- (USDA Forest Service 1 972). More than 95 percent of

166 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1970 to 1979

tion levels, while revitalizing deteriorating and use of herbicides for range improvement waslimited depleted ranges (USDA Forest Service 1 970, 1 972). to those that were EPA-approved and environmentally safe when applied according to directions. The 1970's initiated a second cycle of systematic Herbicide use declined, and by the late 1970's analysis for range allotment planning, which contin- herbicide treatments for range improvement varied ued to emphasize short-term range management between 3,000 and 20,000 acres per year. Herbicide objectives for improving range productivity and total use for noxious weed control varied between 25,000 forest production to benefit rural areas, but with a and 60,000 acres per year (USDA Forest Service stronger focus on "arresting and reversing the wide- 1972-1980). spread decline of environmental quality." Range conservationists recognized that "ecomanagement," a Per capita and total beef consumption in the United broadened concept reflecting an ecosystem approach States continued to rise between 1970 and 1976, and to land resource management, was emerging as a total beef cattle numbers rose from 38 million to a reality for national forest range management peak of 46 million in 1975. Beef production rose planning and practice and was requiring a more from 22 billion pounds in 1970 to an historic peak of positive and aggressive emphasis on integrating 26 billion pounds in 1976. In 1976, the average multiple uses on the rangelands. They also pursued American consumed 95 pounds of beef per year, 1 0 the development of an improved allotment planning pounds more than in 1970. and evaluation process to identify environmental impacts, such as damage to riparian areas or stream In the far western States between 1 970 and 1 975, quality, so that range conditions not meeting beef cattle numbers rose by 1million, from 7.4 mil- environmental standards could be specifically lion to 8.4 million. In the six northern and southern addressed in updating management plans (USDA Plains States, their numbers rose by 3.8 million, from Forest Service 1 970, 1 972). 13.6 million to 17.4 million (fig. 21). Thus, the demand for western grass pastures and grazing lands In 1970 and 1971, national forest managers initiated for cow and calf production increased by almost a program of intensive management practices to 20 percent in a 5-year period (Fedkiw 1 985). improve vegetation quality and quantity on about 5 million acres of range allotments. This effort included improving practices on about a million acres where the vegetative cover was insufficient to 60 protect the soil. On about a quarter of these eroding acres, they mechanically removed the residual brush All U.S. cover and seeded the areas to accelerate revegetation a) 40 and soil stabilization (USDA Forest Service 1972). C.) a) a) During the 1 970's, national forest managers became increasingly sensitive to environmental objectives 0 6 Plains States 20 and standards and increasingly aware that the mechanical methods for converting brush cover to grass 11 Far Western States had only short-term benefits and had environmental costs that were often more than their benefits. Brush usually returned in a few years following treatment. 1970 1976 1970 1976 1970 1976 Responding to this new understanding, they greatly Year reduced the use of bulldozers with plows and brush blades and chains to make such conversions to Figure 21. Beef cattle numbers in the United States and 1 00,000 to 1 50,000 acres a year in the late 1 970's, its western regions, 1 970-1976 about half the average annual level of such Source: USDA Forest Service. conversions during the late 1 950's and 1 960's. The

167 Chapter 5

Congress increased direct appropriations for national ments to expand range and grazing production. The forest range management activities during the latter validation areas demonstrated alternative grazing 1970's, and Forest Service range staffing rose from systems for a variety of range conditions on depen- 640 FTE's between 1970 and 1976 to 900 FTE's by dent private lands as well as the related national 1979. The annual levels of range improvement work, forest and other public grazing lands. Unfortunately, such as seeding, water development, and fencing these management demonstrations and strategies rose to almost 300,000 acres by 1 979, almost were never fully implemented and evaluated due to doubling the early 1970's level of 150,000 acres per budget reductions in the early 1980's. Although the year (USDA Forest Service 1 992a). Forest Service completed limited evaluation on an Oregon validation area, others were discontinued in It was under these circumstances, in 1972, that the their early development. Beef demands peaked in Forest Service launched a major study of the poten- 1 976 and steadily declined due to consumer health tial of all range and related forest lands to meet the concerns. Cattle inventories also declined with the rising demand for range grazing while responding falling demand, and the incentive to expand national to the urgency for protecting the natural environ- grazing capacity and red meat production faded ment. Several other Federal agencies with rangeland away after 1976. responsibilities, including the BLM, and range researchers from the University of Nebraska became Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 partners in this undertaking, called the Forest-Range The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of Environment Study (FRES). 1 976 (FLPMA), as amended by the Public Rangeland Improvement Act of 1978 (PRIA), was enacted to As a basic requirement for differentiating current regulate the public lands administered by BLM. The conditions, management options, and potentials for range management section of FLPMA, however, was environmentally acceptable expanded production, written to apply to the national forest lands in the initial step in FRES stratified all rangelands, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, nationally, into their separate "ecotypes" and New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, ownerships. Subsequent analysis of each ecotype Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, defined and assessed the different activities that could Nebraska, and Oklahoma. In doing so, it set the stage increase forage to meet projected future beef for the Forest Service and BLM to continue their demands and at the same time protect the environ- efforts for a more consistent approach to managing ment. Although beset with many data quality prob- public rangelands. This Act reaffirmed existing lems, FRES found that the Nation's rangelands, with national forest policy for administering and managing proper range management and technology as well as livestock grazing on national forests and clearly environmental safeguards, could meet expected specified that national forest managers had broad future grazing demands without detracting from discretional authority to modify the number of other resource uses such as wildlife and aesthetics livestock permitted and to set limits on seasonal use (USDA Forest Service 1974-1976). In 1974, five of rangelands. It stressed once again that a grazing USDA agencies, including the Forest Service, permit did not convey any rights to the permittee presented an informational report for the Department against the Government, but granted the permittee of Agriculture's Policy and Program Division on rights against other applicants. The 10-year term management opportunities to increase domestic "red grazing permits were reaffirmed. The Act further meat production," mainly beef. The study's second provided that livestock grazing on national forest phase, on research and technology options, was lands in the 1 6 contiguous western States be managed completed in 1975. through the development of allotment management plans, which was the established national forest pol- In 1974, the Forest Service initiated its own planning icy and management approach. It directed that the and research to establish range evaluation and vali- allotment plans be developed only after careful and dation areas to test the validity of this management considered consultation, cooperation, and coordina- direction nationwide and to make possible adjust- tion with permittees; other landowners, including

168 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1970 to 1979

States having land within the planning area; and was believed to reflect natural conditions most others having interests in that area. It further specified favorable to long-term sustainability of range ecosys- that such plans prescribe how and to what extent tems. The ratings were qualitative on a continuum of livestock grazing practices, including range low to intermediate and high, or of poor, fair, good, improvements, would be carried out to meet and excellent. The current ecological status of the multiple-use sustained-yield objectives. These plans existing plant community considered its composition, gave precedence to the resource and to meeting the cover, and vigor in combination with such objectives of new NFMA forest plans. Thus, where nonecological indicators as plant age classes and NFMA called for the removal of livestock grazing, the production. The assessment also evaluated the per- affected permits were phased out. When this cent of soil ground cover and current soil erosion occurred, FLPMA provided that permittees be (Schmautz 1 979). compensated for range improvements they had installed based on their investment in the lost The assessment found that 68 percent of the national improvements. forest rangelands were in satisfactory condition, 24 percent good or better, and 44 percent fair. The FLPMA and subsequent regulations authorized the remaining 32 percent were classed as unsatisfactory. establishment of grazing advisory boards made up There were no previously established measures to of grazing permittees elected by their peers. Most assess the rangeland condition and trend based on national forests had chartered such boards by the same criteria. The general judgment, however, December 31, 1985 the date that the legislative based on a broad comparison with long-term authority for such boards expired. All boards were historical conditions, was that overall trends were terminated when this legislative authority expired, generally upward. Nevertheless, the hard facts and none were rechartered. remained that almost a third of the rangelands were in unsatisfactory condition, with a downward trend FLPMA also required that one-half of the grazing fees that needed to be halted and reversed to protect collected within the 16 contiguous western States be basic soil and vegetation resources. appropriated and made available for on-the-ground range rehabilitation. These monies were routinely In view of the long-term effort since the mid-i 960's appropriated by Congress and averaged approxi- to improve range productivity and production, the mately $4 million per year. However, such funds level of unsatisfactory range conditions was unex- were not additional range funding because direct pected. Range productivity efforts were out of bal- appropriations for range improvements were reduced ance with livestock management and the intensity, by the same amount. National forest regulations duration, and timing of grazing. The remedy to this earmarked these funds for rangeland betterment situation was the improvement of livestock manage- seeding and reseeding, fence construction, weed ment practices such actions as adjusting grazing control, water development, and fish and wildlife seasons, changing permitted animal numbers, and habitat improvement. To further the overall direction implementing management practices that would lead contained in forest plans, the Forest Service restricted to more productive and stable range conditions, in the use of these funds to areas that had approved some instances, this meant less livestock and adjust- allotment management plans. ments in elk, but in all cases it meant improved range management. System-Wide Assessment of Range Condition In 1977, the Forest Service completed a System-wide The Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978 assessment of the ecological condition of rangelands The Public Rangelands Improvement Act (PRIA) was based on their current vegetative cover and several a national policy initiative that provided for the soil factors. The current range condition (poor, fair, improvement of soil quality, wildlife habitat, water- good, or excellent) was compared with what it would sheds, plant communities, and range condition on or should have been under pristine conditions. The public rangelands. However, the portions of the Act pristine condition was used as the standard because it relating to the national forests were amendments to Chapter 5

FLPMA that required maintaining inventories of range 24-percent improvement. The proportion of such conditions and trends and establishing an allotments rose from 43 percent to 52 percent out of experimental stewardship program with incentives or nearly 11,000 allotments. This trend supports the awards for livestock permittees to improve range 1 977 professional judgment and estimate that the conditions on their national forest grazing allotments. trend in range condition was upward. However, it also indicated slow progress. Nevertheless, the National forest managers, in cooperation with BLM, improvement was notable in the light of the rising initiated the experimental stewardship programs beef consumption and continuing pressure to expand (ESP's) on three areas in 1979 one each in Idaho, grazing during the first seven years of the 1970's. Montana, and California. The BLM established 1 3 individual permittee stewardship areas scattered Soil and Water Resource Management throughout Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, In response to NEPA requirements and the national Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, Montana, goals of the Clean Water Act of 1 972, soil and water Wyoming, and Colorado. The ESP purpose was to management efforts greatly intensified during the foster innovation, cooperation, and best range man- 1970's. These efforts also responded to concerns agement practices to lead to improved conditions on emerging from the clearcutting issues and congres- the public rangelands. The innovative initiatives sional hearings of the early 1970's. Federally included cooperative resource management and fee approved State water quality standards were now collection distribution approaches, cash investments required for all navigable waters on national forests. by permittees, and flexible animal numbers and To ensure that water quality was being protected, length of season authorized by grazing permits. The national forests installed a water quality monitoring major strength of the ESP was that local people program to measure the effects of land use and conceived and developed the communications management activities on water quality and quantity processes at the grassroots level rather than having and the extent to which public water quality and them dictated by rule or policy from above. The ESP supply goals were being met. At the end of the results, however, were never evaluated in terms of 1970's, the monitoring program was collecting and range condition improvement. analyzing water samples from more than 5,000 locations. In 1 978, the Forest Service estimated and The Use and Performance of the reported that about 95 percent of the water produced National Forest Rangelands in the 1970's by national forests was meeting minimum State water The total number of cattle grazed annually on quality standards and that by 1985, national water national forest allotments remained stable throughout quality goals for swimmable and fishable waters the 1970's at about 1 .3 million. The number of sheep would be met (USDA Forest Service 1978-1 980). grazed declined from 1.74 million to 1.17 million. The number of horses grazed declined slightly, from National forest resource managers and staff translated more than 1 75,000 per year to 1 70,000. Grazing by local water supply quality standards into per- swine, largely in the South, declined from about formance limits and controls for land management 6,000 to negligible numbers as national forest activities such as managing and harvesting timber, managers increasingly prevented unauthorized use. managing grazing on rangeiands, wildlife and fish Total and per animal forage consumption increased habitat improvements, and fire preattack planning. somewhat during this period, indicating some The intensity of management and oversight of soil continuing weight gains for cattle grazed on national and water resources grew as the number of develop- forest lands. ment projects receiving priority for soils, geologic, and hydrometric and water resource inventories rose. The number of commercial grazing permittees In 1969, the number of these projects was somewhat decreased by 1 3 percent during the 1 970's, to a total more than 500. In 1 970, the number had risen to of 1 5,518 by 1979. The number of allotments being more than 1,000, and in 1 971, to 2,000 (USDA maintained under intensive management practices Forest Service 1970-1972). Staffing for soil and water increased from 4,600 in 1969 to 5,700 in 1979, a management inventories and services rose from less

170 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1 970 to 1 979

than 400 to 892 FTE's during the 1 970's (USDA power, irrigation, flood control, and other purposes Forest Service 1 992 a). reached their peak level (546 projects) in 1 970. In 1971, they declined to 476 projects and dropped to National forest soil and water staffs conducted soil, even lower levels during the balance of the 1 970's, as geologic, and water resource inventories on 7 million the rate of reservoir and dam construction declined acres in 1970 and 13.2 million acres in 1971 (fig. generally in the United States. 22). In 1 977, the acreage inventoried had risen to 15.8 million acres, and in 1979 to 18.1 million Nevertheless, because public concerns for the envi- acres. Such inventories varied in intensity. Resource ronment and water quality were expanding, [A's and development projects usually required more detailed [IS's continued to determine the effects of reservoirs inventories, while less detailed inventories were gen- and other water resource developments on the pro- erally suitable for broad land use planning purposes. tection, administration, and management of National Soil and geology inventories identified, classified, Forest System lands, including the effects on national mapped, and evaluated landform, geology, vegeta- forest users and permittees, local economies, and the tion, soil types, and climate associated with specific environments of rural communities. Survey reports soils. These data helped identify soil and land capa- recommended project plan improvements based on bilities for land use planning and project planning. national forest management direction, and national Water resource inventories often covered the same forest managers implemented these improvements ground. They classified and mapped watersheds and through coordination and cooperative liaison with watershed subareas, grouping areas with similar water development agencies an approach that characteristics, and predicted water yield and quality produced direct environmental, economic, and responses to particular uses and management. social dividends. Treatment measures on national forest lands tributary to reservoirs and other water Impact surveys conducted on water development developments increased the quantity and quality of projects on and adjacent to national forests and the water inflow to the reservoirs, improved scenic grasslands to provide national and local needs for and other public use benefits, and, by reducing siltation, prolonged reservoir life. Other national forest water-related management that contributed to 20 a safer and more attractive environment for reservoir users, and reduced maintenance costs, were sweep- ing and debris removal, access road and trail maintenance, and fire prevention and protection. 0 C 0) In 1976, FLPMA consolidated all water-related use- permitting authority to USDA and the Forest Service 10 except the administration of permits issued before 1976. Administration of pre-1976 permits remained C with the Department of the Interior. This permitting shift considerably increased the Forest Service's multiple-use management authority (Wilkinson and Anderson 1 985).

1970 1971 1977 1979 National Forest Water Rights Water rights issues and challenges escalated during Year the 1 9 70's as national forest managers sought to ensure adequate water supplies for national forest Figure 22. Acres of soil, water, and geologic resources uses such as recreation, instream flows, municipal inventoried, selected years 1 970-1979 needs, timber production, and national forest admin- Source: USDA Forest Service. istration. Concerns over excessive appropriation of

171 Chapter 5

water from national forest water courses rose during conditions. This ruling excluded the consideration of the 1960's, as the use of water for irrigation and reserved rights for the use of water for purposes not hydroelectric power generation intensified and began explicitly in the Organic Act of 1 897, such as to degrade fish habitat and recreation sites. fisheries, aesthetics, recreation, and stock watering (USDA Forest Service 1 988). Thus, national forest The rising concerns led to a 6-year study, completed managers' efforts to control the over appropriation of in 1972, on the long-term water needs for internal water by private individuals, industry, and uses on western national forests and for local munici- communities by claiming reserved water rights met pal water supplies. As the study was nearing com- with only small success. In the main, they were pletion, States were advised of national forest water unsuccessful. National forest water resource use needs to ad in planning and developing their managers had to direct increased attention and effort own water uses and potentially for accommodating to achieving desired and needed national forest water national forest needs. The national forest policy since allocations underl State laws (Wilkinson and 1 936 had been to obtain water rights in the name of Anderson 1 985; USDA Forest Service 1 972-1 980). the U.S. Government for national forest purposes in accordance with State law. Traditionally, the Congress Watershed Improvements had also deferred to State water law in water Watershed improvements benefitted water quality allocation matters. Typically, those rights were for and increased water-holding capabilities of water- consumptive uses. In the 1 970's, however, national sheds by controlling runoff, restoring soil productivity forest managers sought to justify water allocations for through the reduction of sheet and gully erosion, fish, wildlife, recreation, and aesthetic purposes on stabilizing soils and stream channels, and installing the basis of the Doctrine of Federally Reserved Water sediment retention structures. During the 1 970's, an Rights on national forest lands reserved from the average of 35,400 acres of damaged watershed areas Public Domain. The Doctrine of Federally Reserved were treated each year. Actual acres treated annually Rights was first enunciated in 1 908 by the Supreme varied from 16,100 in 1971 to 88,000 in 1978 and Court decision in Winter v. United States. The Court 36,000 in 1 979. In1 979, the total national forest said that when the Federal Government established watershed area with declining watershed conditions Indian reservations there was an implied reservation and in need of improvement was reported to be of water rights needed to achieve the purposes for 315,000 acres (USDA Forest Service 1972-1 980). which such Indian reservations were established. In 1 963, the Supreme Court in the Arizona v. California Land treatments and watershed practices to prevent decision expanded the "Winter Doctrine" to apply to or control soil erosion constituted the vast majority of other Federal reservations, including national forests. acres treated each year. Other treatments included several hundred miles of gully erosion control and Legal issues arose as to whether the Winter Doctrine soil stabilization, a few miles of lake shoreline actually applied to water rights for specific uses not improvement, revegetation and soil stabilization on cited in the Federal law and whether such reserved 1,000 or more miles of abandoned roads and trails, water rights could retroactively preempt private and restoration of a few hundred acres of land water rights established in previous decades under disturbed by surface mining and prospecting. State law. In 1978, the Supreme Court narrowed the scope of the Winter Doctrine as it applied to national Emergency rehabilitation of land damaged by wild- forest management purposes and uses. In United fires and floods also contributed to watershed protec- States v. New Mexico (the Rio Mimbres case), the tion. The most extensive rehabilitation occurred on Supreme Court interpreted the doctrine to mean that 375,000 acres of the total 446,000 acres burned by Congress intended to reserve only that amount of 25 major wildfires on national forest lands during the water necessary to meet the primary purposes for 1970's. Timely surveys of newly burned areas which national forests were reserved under the prompted such rehabilitation measures as improving Organic Act of 1 897 to ensure a continuous road and trail drainage, clearing stream channels to supply of timber and to secure favorable water flow rapidly improve the quality of large volumes of

172 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1 970 to 1979

water, and aerial seeding to quickly establish ground internal national forest needs for more effective cover on burned areas (USDA Forest Service 1972- integration of timber management and harvesting, 1980). livestock grazing, and mineral exploration and development with wildlife and fish management Water yield improvement work on national forests in objectives. the early 1970's consisted principally of maintaining previously completed projects. National forests had Hunting and fishing use grew modestly from 29.0 mil- applied water yield improvement practices on about lion wildlife and fish user days (WFLID's) in 1970 to 165,000 acres before 1970. Similar opportunities 32.1 million in 1979 (fig. 23). This was barely a 1- were estimated to occur on an additional 12.5 mil- percent average annual increase a major lion acres within the national forests. The barometer slowdown from the 3.5 percent per year growth rate watershed projects initiated in the 1960's to manage in the late 1 960's. It was also a much slower rate of water yields were largely put on hold or retrenched increase than total RVD's, which grew at an average during the 1970's in favor of higher priorities (USDA annual rate slightly greater than 3 percent during the Forest Service 1 972i 980). 1970's. Nonconsumptive or appreciative uses of wildlife increased during the 1970's, but no reliable, Managing Wildlife and Fish Habitats and Use consistent documentation was available except an The 1 970's were a period of transformation and estimate of "several million" WFUD's of total accelerating growth for wildlife and fishery manage- nonconsumptive use cited in the 1978 Annual Report ment. It moved from what was largely seen as a of the Forest Service (USDA Forest Service 1 979). secondary role in coordinating and adjusting other national forest resource activities and cooperative NEPA and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) habitat improvement with States to a primary man- provided much stronger driving factors for intensify- agement function for protecting and improving ing wildlife and fish habitat management. NEPA wildlife and fish habitats, user opportunities, and the requirements called for explicit assessment of the total quality of the forest environment. The pace of impacts of resource use activities on wildlife and fish this transition was modest in the first half of the with open, public participation. The ESA gave decade and then accelerated rapidly in the second absolute precedence to the management of habitat to half. As late as 1975, however, wildlife management was still seen as a distinct secondary, or even an incidental, function on most national forests and was still struggling for independent recognition (Robinson 1975; Wilkinson and Anderson 1985).

,,15 Total FTE staffing for wildlife and fisheries activities >- rose from less than 300 person years, including 100 Q 0) biologists, in 1970 to 358 person-years in 1 975. By Cl) 10 1979, however, total FTE staffing rose to 856 person- C

I I I years and included several hundred biologists. Total Hunting direct Federal funding for wildlife and fisheries 5 -Fishing management and improvement rose similarly, from r -t--i $13 million (constant 1992 dollars) in 1970 to $17 million in 1975 and then to more than Ii H $43 million in 1979 (USDA Forest Service 1992a). 1965 1975 1985 1995 Year The expanding role of wildlife and fish habitat man- Figure 23. Wildlife and fisheries user days (WFUD's) on agement and improvement was primarily driven by national forests, 1 966-1 995 new national policy and requirements for the Source: USDA Forest Service. environment and endangered species and related

173 Chapter 5

maintain or restore the viability of endangered wildlife, fish, and plant populations and indirectly called for action to protect sensitive and threatened species from becoming endangered. These policy objectives and requirements were reinforced by the public's demands and participation in resource planning. Wildlife and I- fishery public interest -- 4-4 groups and individuals sought greater consideration e '1 ii I for wildlife and fisheries and more emphasis on nongame species.

The adoption and Opening day of fishing season at Buffalo Lake Reservoir, Monongahela National Forest, West implementation of the unit Virginia, 1971. planning approach during the1970's,with its intensified emphasis on zoning subareas to generally accepting the former, widely held simplistic differentiate their multiple-use potentials and philosophy that "good silviculture also constituted requirements, called for increasing consultation and good wildlife management." But it had become integration of other resource uses with wildlife and increasingly incumbent on wildlife managers to fish habitat and use needs. There was no separate come up with guidelines and adjustments that could zoning for wildlife or fish. Wildlife occupied all be readily applied and be reasonably economical for zones and fish habitats were included in waterway timber management and, at the same time, be and riparian zones. The stratification of the effective in achieving wildlife habitat objectives. commercial forest lands into standard, special, Large-scale wildlife management normally called for marginal, and unregulated components further manipulation of tree cover, but this was usually too intensified the demand for wildlife and fish habitat expensive to be done solely for wildlife purposes. management constraints and guidelines in planning Because forest management practices undertaken to and designing timber harvests. The maintenance of increase wood production could introduce major the general timber harvest level, while reducing changes in wildlife habitat conditions and structure, clearcutting, expanded the demands for wildlife and some wildlife managers began to view timber fishery consultations and coordination. Less management as a practical way of achieving wildlife clearcutting meant that more acres had to be entered habitat objectives, provided the timber management to harvest the same volume. In the early1 9 70's,this activities were located, designed, and executed to caused timber harvest entry into a half-million also achieve them (Thomas1979). additional acres. In the late1 960's,after the passage of the MUSY Act, During the1970's,and in the earlier decades, wild- wildlife managers had evolved two major approaches life habitat management on national forests contin- to wildlife management on national forests: species ued to be strongly linked with timber management. richness and featured species. Both followed the However, by1970,wildlife managers were no longer basic ecological principles developed by Leopold

174 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1970 to 1979

and other conservationists in the 1 930's and focused the region's principal species. TheFeaturedSpecies management strategies and practices on achieving Handbook,published in 1971, was prepared with habitat diversity to encourage and maintain species the collaboration of timber managers, research richness for local areas as well as for broader scientists, and wildlife specialists and became the ecosystems (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985). region's basic reference guide (Roth 1988).

Species Richness Approach The handbook's primary guideline provided that all The species richness approach provided or main- silvicultural activities be carried out to promote the tained the habitat requirements for a wide variety of featured species and, indirectly, such other species species by using practices ranging from clearcutting that had the same habitat requirements. Where deer to provide big game forage and edge effects to were the featured species, for example, timber would protecting old-growth forests to maintain cover. A be harvested in broken clearcuts, leaving some early specific prescription was required for each land unit successional tree species on the site. Where squirrels that would create and maintain habitat conditions were the featured species, some hardwoodswould be and structures that would sustain wildlife species and left on the sale area. Where management focused on populations aLa level that would preclude their protecting the endangered red-cockaded extirpation (total loss in the areas they occupied). woodpecker, trees left on the sale area provided for Although wildlife managers sometimes focused on a their favored nesting sites tree hollows in older particular species in applying the species richness growth southern pine trees with red heartwood. approach, they usually did not set standards for any Biological diversity was achieved by varying the particular species. wildlife featured species selection among adjacent management areas, which ranged from 2,000 to Featured Species Approach 10,000 acres in extent. State wildlife commissions The featured species approach was implicit in early and management agencies participated directly in efforts to protect endangered species such as the selecting featured species. In practice, nongame condor in California, the Kirtland's warbler in north- species other than endangered species were usually ern Michigan, and the osprey in central Oregon. This not featured species, although they were mentioned approach was particularly well adapted to address in the Featured SpeciesHandbook.The effects of the endangered species, but it raised various difficulties featured species management system were far- when it was applied to other species. Focusing on a reaching for both wildlife and timber management particular species involved difficult-to-evaluate (Roth 1988). tradeoffs with other species, especially where the featured species was not endangered. Timber Ned Fritz, a Texas attorney and an active critic of managers would adjust harvests for endangered national forest timber harvesting, filed suit against the species, but were reluctant to do so for a secondary Forest Service over the featured species management featured species if it involved unduly complicated system. He charged that it was not based on proven timber management adjustments beyond those biological principles and that it was detrimental to required for a primary featured species (Wilkinson threatened or endangered species such as the red- and Anderson 1985). cockaded woodpecker. The Federal District Court in Tyler, Texas, in 1976, however, upheld the system's The featured species approach was first developed as biological soundness. It also found that featured a general approach to wildlife management on the species did not violate the ESA marking the first southern national forests. Southern wildlife user time that a Federal agency prevailed in an interests focused their attention on particular animals, endangered species test case (Roth 1 988). whether for hunting, as in the case of deer and squirrels, or because they were endangered, such as Managing Wildlife Habitats in Managed Forests: the red-cockaded woodpecker. For this reason, the An Integrated System Southern Region focused its wildlife management In 1977, national forest wildlife managers and approach on developing a handbook for managing scientists documented a general methodology for

175 Chapter 5

evaluating the possible influence of various timber 59 appendixes documenting the available, under- management practices on the habitats of the many lying resource data and relationships and over 400 wildlife species that occupied large managed forested annotated references. areas (USDA Forest Service 1978). This methodology provided forest managers an insightful, systematic This monumental work was an immediate success. way to integrate timber management with many Other national forest regions quickly adopted its wildlife species' habitat requirements. It quickly basic approach and used it as a model, with modifi- became a widely used tool for preparing land cations, for systemancally integrating wildlife habitat management plans, assessing wildlife habitat impacts requirements with timber management for their own for EIS's, and integrating wildlife habitat requirements locally managed forest areas and conditions. The with timber management on the ground. underlying methodology that "good timber management can be good wildlife management if itis done This methodology, initially developed for integrating correctly" was a modified version of the old cliche' timber management with wildlife requirements in the that llgood timber management is also good wildlife Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon and southeast management." The new methodology essentially Washington, was published in 1 979 as USDA Agri- embodied a modern ecosystem approach to man- cultural Handbook No. 553, Wildlife Habitats in aging multiple uses and became an important tool for Managed Forests: The Blue Mountains of Oregon and fulfilling the goal of "good wildlife management." It Washington. The actual project and handbook, was specifically designed for large-scale wildlife respectively, were coordinated and edited by Jack management, where manipulating the tree cover Ward Thomas (1979), when he was the principal solely for wildlife on large forest areas was either too research biologist and project leader at the Pacific expensive or too extensive. The new methodology Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station in provided an effective tool for wildlife biologists to LaGrande, Oregon. Thomas, in late 1993, was to be coordinate with timber managers to provide and named the thirteenth Chief of the Forest Service. maintain habitats for many wildlife species, including selected featured species. Because the new meth- The handbook had 1 6 authors, including Thomas. odology developed for the Blue Mountains forests They included experts in wildlife biology, silvicul- addressed nongame species requirements, it also ture, fish and wildlife habitat management, range and became instrumental in shifting the National Forest plant ecology, landscape management, resources and System's emphasis from its traditional orientation environmental planning, game management, riparian toward game species more strongly toward endan- areas, and forest fuels and fire management. Forty- gered, threatened, and nongame species (Roth 1 988). five other natural resource professionals and scientists contributed substantive materials that were The Blue Mountains methodology had its origins in incorporated into the handbook's content. The effort the severe Douglas-fir tussock moth outbreak in Ore- became serendipitous as the authors and contributors gon, Washington, and Idaho in 1974. In the winter of multiplied, data and information accumulated, and 1975, the forest supervisor of Oregon's Umatilla the systematic relationships and methodology National Forest sought out Jack Ward Thomas for evolved. The final document included 1 0 chapters advice about wildlife before he harvested trees killed on basic relationships and methodology for or injured by the tussock moth (Roth 1988). The integrating wildlife habitat requirements for forest supervisor made it abundantly clear that he numerous species with timber management and the would soon harvest the trees whether he got the timber types (mainly ponderosa, lodgepole pine and advice or not. Working under thk indeterminate, but mixed conifer) in the Blue Mountains, which urgent, deadline, Thomas came up with initial guide- embraced a total of 5.5 million acres of CFL, 72 lines within 3 weeks. Surprised by this prompt percent of which was included in four national response, the supervisor then wanted to know, "if you forests: the Maiheur, the Ochoco, the Umatilla, and can do this in 3 weeks, what more can you do?" the Wallowa-Whitman. In addition, the Blue Thomas, who at that time was national president of Mountain Guide, as it became known, included the Wildlife Society (which had lobbied for the wild-

176 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1970 to 1 979

life sections of NFMA enacted in October 1 976), saw as a direct consequence of critiques by national forest the supervisor's query as the opportunity to managers who began to use the initial specific implement NFMA's wildlife provisions for nongame guidelines. They were adamant about one point species. Although there was no authorization for the specific guidelines were too rigid. In order apply doing such a project, he undertook it on his own them to local situations, the guidelines needed to be initiative. This was the beginning of the Blue Moun- more flexible. Using the more generalized guidelines, tain Guide. It soon had the support of the forest national forest managers could evaluate alternatives, supervisors on the four Blue Mountain national make appropriate tradeoffs, and account for those forests, who saw its utility and the need for such a decisions. tool and gave direction and encouragement to carry out the task (Thomas 1 979). The BLM provided Support for and Coordination With additional financial resources for completing the Other Resource Activities guide, and the director of the Pacific Northwest Based on staffing and funding levels during the Forest and Range Experiment Station encouraged its 1970's, support and coordination activities, including completion and publication so that others could use management for threatened and endangered species, this fully developed wildlife evaluation system. constituted about two-thirds of the wildlife and fish habitat management effort and tripled between 1969 The Blue Mountains methodology grouped 378 and 1979. In 1969, about 180 FTE person-years were species of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals devoted to support and coordination activities. Most into 16 lifeforms based on the similarity and closely of the huge increase came after 1975, when FTE related habitat requirements of each group. The basic person-years were only 235 compared to 530 in objective in evaluating alternative timber 1 979 (USDA Forest Service 1 992a). management strategies and practices became the maintenance of habitat diversity. The evaluation ESA's enactment in 1 973, the Sikes Act Extension in model was based on the relationship between 1974, and NFMA in 1976, together with major fund- lifeform feeding and reproduction habitat require- ing increases that came in 1978 a direct result of ments and the plant community or vegetative type goals and funding levels proposed by the 1 975 RPA (meadow, sagebrush, juniper, aspen, ponderosa pine, program all contributed to the expansion of the or subalpine fir) and the successional stage of the wildlife and fish habitat support and coordination plant community (grass-forb, shrub-seedling, sapling- function. The Sikes Act Extension exercised its pole, young, mature, or old-growth). These influence through its mandate that the Secretaries of relationships were also developed for individual Agriculture and the Interior "work in concert with the wildlife species. The methodology analyzed and States to develop comprehensive plans ... for the summarized available biological data and biblio- conservation and rehabilitation of wildlife, fish, and graphies on the habitat relationships of each species game." Roth (1988) cited the Sikes Act Extension and and evaluated the critical role of special habitats such NFMA as "the cornerstones" of modern wildlife as riparian zones, edges, snags, and logs and unique management on national forests. habitats in geomorphic formations such as cliffs, caves, and talus. The underlying management and In the late 1960's, wildlife biologists began to advo- decisionmaking principle was that maintaining cate retention of some "snags" and dead trees which, habitat diversity was the key to restoring the variety at that time, were routinely felled to reduce the of wildlife species to the Blue Mountains ecosystem. potential hazards they posed to loggers and as wildfire ignition. These efforts, however, remained The initial highly specific guidelines prepared for largely unsuccessful until the late 1 970's when wildlife habitat protection in a timber salvage leaving snags and dead trees for birds and providing program planned for the Blue Mountains national other wildlife-related treatments became more gen- forests evolved into a generalized methodology for eral practices (Roth 1 988). The number and sizes of evaluating the impact of timber management alter- snags needed, as well as patch sizes or the need for natives on wildlife. The general guidelines emerged individual, well-spaced snags, became hot topics for

177 Chapter 5

wildlife biologists, timber planners, and managers nest structures for songbirds, hawks, and geese. and were complicated by the Department of Labor NFMA also expanded the Forest Service's authority to Occupational Safety and Health Administration use KV funds (a percentage of timber harvest receipts (OSHA) standards which essentially required that retained for resource management) for wildlife and dead snags be cut for worker safety. fish habitat management. This authorization provided an increased opportunity to improve big game In the Pacific Northwest, before the 1 9 70's, there was habitat productivity, fisheries potentials, and other little coordination of grazing and riparian area wildlife habitats on national forests (USDA Forest protection for wildlife purposes. As research in the Service 1978). middle 1970's showed that fish populations decreased approximately 50 percent if livestock were A Case in Point: Coordinating grazed next to streams, range conservationists began Timber Management and Elk to increase their efforts in the late 1 970's to keep In 1970, the elk and timber management issue in livestock away from streams and to expand the use of Montana's Little Belt Mountains led directly to a alternative stock watering systems (Roth 1988). cooperative agreement for conducting research on the effects of logging and roads on Rocky Mountain Following NFMA's passage in 1976 and the availa- elk. The cooperators initially included the National bility of the Blue Mountains Guide for integrating Forest System's Northern Region; the Intermountain habitat requirements of all wildlife and fish species Forest and Range Experiment Station; the Montana with timber management, the habitat requirements of Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks; and the nongame wildlife became more important. University of Montana's School of Forestry. The BLM Coordination included modifying timber sales to joined the agreement in 1971. The Plum Creek protect the nests of hawks, owls, and other raptors Timber Co., Inc., a major timber landowner of the and installing direct habitat improvements such as former Northern Pacific railroad grant lands, became a participant, but not a cooperator, in 1974. It had a representative at all research committee TI meetings and, after 1980, provided financial support. The study objectives were to determine certain ecological requirements of elk and the effects of logging, roads, and 5 access on elk populations in WLOLWE DEVELOPMENT AREA order to develop guidelines Thu. .u4s un .silbhiMd 5t ustriTos W°14 that would ensure intinq stun Thi CItIt*6 If. 1,5555 Lii P6S pioiit- 5u,s.t 55u55555 lit liii .fl ilit.t .1151St t F,.t 5%!?, pl.int.Iw,lhs luSh 5111151w IsiS ltIIl!SI TItt s1, 5. maximum compatibility dun cOCQu,sl5uly b Shill I o..,I llnvus SIL TI

Puanvttvsnl Ga.n, C,m,sn,.s. - between timber harvest A1tECHftPL,'tL\' 1' a practices and elk

1 uSlh management.

'S The research was initially planned for 5 years, but

I_I S . ', S it was extended twice, each

':-'-;- . 'A._--,:'s:.- time for an additional 5 years. Eight major study Area clearcut around pond and planted with special mixture of plants to improve habitat and food for deer and other wildlife, Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania. Pond was established areas were established in the as waterfowl propagation and resting area. first half of the 1970's to Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1 970 to 1 979

represent the various cover types on five national disturbing activities conditional upon the continued forests in Montana (the Lob, the Bitterroot, the improvement of fish habitat. The Chief of the Forest Beaverhead, the Flathead, and the Lewis and Clark) Service established a group of scientists known as the and the BLM Garnet Resource Area (throughout South Fork Salmon River Monitoring Committee to western and central Montana) to conduct the various ensure annual independent reviews of sediment intensive and extensive studies. Eighty-seven clearcuts management results. Several years later, in 1983, of various ages were selected throughout the heavy these reviews found that sedimentation had not timber stands and the open timber types of western declined and that fish habitats had not improved and central Montana to study elk use of various-aged since timber harvesting had resumed in 1977. These clearcuts on summer ranges. In addition, in 1980 and findings resulted in a new moratorium on timber 1 981, eight evaluation areas in Montana and three in sales in the Upper South Fork drainage. The South northern Idaho, averaging 25 miles square and Fork salmon habitat rehabilitation efforts have been divided into 3 or 4 subunits, were selected to analyze continued to the present. In the 1990's, they became cover, forage, and road density relationships that a part of the Columbia River Basin Salmon Manage- influenced elks' use of their habitat. Beginning in ment Project to restore the populations and habitats 1 974, the research produced a series of recom- of several salmon species whose populations have mendations for designing and conducting timber been seriously depleted and where habitats have sales to minimize their adverse effects on elk. These been degraded by a number of different influences recommendations were implemented as they ranging from the overharvesting of fish and water emerged. As the research advanced for another power developments to sedimentation and severe decade, feedback from the results obtained in the drought. early actual management applications often modified and clarified the initial recommendations. Endangered Species Management A 1 972 survey, entitled "Present Status and Needs of South Fork SImon River Strategy Habitat Maintenance and Improvement for Rare and In 1 964 and 1 965, on Idaho's Payette and Boise Endangered Species on Forest Service Administered National Forests, heavy rain on snow resulted in Land," found that 39 of 109 listed endangered spe- massive sedimentation of the South Fork of the cies in the United States were on or near national Salmon River. A logging moratorium and erosion forest lands. Some were already the subject of man- control efforts began immediately to contain any agement efforts to improve their habitats in ways that further erosion and sedimentation and encourage would halt further deterioration of their populations stream flushing. The 1970's rehabilitation effort and help their recovery. In 1974, to comply with focused on reducing the landslide potential of log- ESA, the Forest Service developed a comprehensive ging roads on steep slopes. Logging-road closures 5-year program to address the needs of all 39 of the continued. Revegetation and drainage system listed species. Sixteen additional domestic species improvements on main roads also continued. By that were rare or otherwise considered sensitive were 1975, erosion control measures and the natural also included in the program (USDA Forest Service stream flushing action had greatly reduced the 1974, 1975). amount of sediment in the South Fork and its tributaries. In 1974, hatchery summer Chinook smolt The early efforts emphasized inventories and surveys were released by Idaho's Fish and Game Department, essential to locating endangered and threatened spe- and by the end of the 1 970's adult summer Chinook cies. In 1 975, for example, special efforts were made were being trapped to spawn for hatchery operations. to locate bald eagle nesting sites, mainly in Florida, Arizona, California, Wisconsin, and Alaska. Several In 1 977, the improving trend in salmon habitat con- new research units were set up to assist in conserving ditions led to the resumption of timber harvesting on endangered and threatened wildlife. One unit, the upper South Fork drainage. The management working in cooperation with South Carolina's plan for the area identified anadromous fish as its Clemson University, began studying the red- most valuable resource. It also made all land- cockaded woodpecker and Backman's warbler.

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Research on other selected endangered species was initiated in Arizona and Hawaii (USDA Forest Service 1000 1976). 800 In 1977, habitat improvement efforts and management guidelines were in effect for the California condor, southern bald eagle, red-cockaded woodpecker, Mississippi sandhill crane, American peregrine falcon, and blunt-nosed leopard lizard, and for other 1::: species. Comprehensive management efforts were evolving in cooperation and consultation with the i 200 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the States. For example, studies to determine the habitat requirements for, distribution of, and future management 1970 1974 1979 direction for grizzly bear populations were expanded Year in Montana and Wyoming. Study results were expected to directly benefit the estimated 800 Figure 24. National forest area treated to provide surviving bears and provide the needed management wildlife food and cover benefits in 1970, 1974, and direction to ensure the perpetuation of the species 1979. and its populations (USDA Forest Service 1978- Source: USDA Forest Service. 1979). Continuing surveys broadened the species base for the endangered and threatened species management effort. By 1977, the surveys reported management treatments for wildlife, averaged about that more than 60 threatened species had been found 1 20,000 acres per year. Prescribed burning for wild- and identified on national forest lands (USDA Forest life habitat improvement remained below 100,000 Service 1978). acres per year. Treatments to protect key wildlife areas varied between 3,000 acres and 1 2,000 acres Habitat Improvement Activities per year. Treatments to improve the wetland habitat The installation of wildlife food and cover improve- for waterfowl, for example, varied between 3,000 ments expanded greatly during the 1970's, from and 7,000 acres per year. All of these practices 186,000 acres in 1970 to about 250,000 acres in increased significantly during the last half of the 1974. Thereafter, actual land treatment for wildlife 1 9 70's, with the largest expansion coming in the use food and cover benefits accelerated to 950,000 acres of prescribed burning specifically for wildlife habitat per year by 1 979 (fig. 24). Acreage treated improvement. accelerated even more than the funding and staffing, reflecting the growing integration of wildlife practices The foregoing wildHfe treatment acreage data related with other land treatments for silvicultural, fuel only to the actual acres treated directly for wildlife. management, and wildfire control purposes, and However, the total acreage of wildlife habitat bene- greater coordination efforts among managers and fitting from such treatments was four or five times staff experts in all resource areas. Such integration greater. Total benefitting acreage in 1970 would have was most extensive where prescribed burning was the been about a million acres compared to approx- basic tool, whether it was used primarily for imately 4 million acres in 1979. Prescribed burning silvicultural, fuel management, fire control, or was the treatment making the greatest contribution to wildlife purposes. Similar integration occurred on this multiplication of benefits. Small water reforestation projects where wildlife food planting developments such as ponds, troughs, guzzlers, and was integrated with reforestation. other wildlife water supply improvements were regularly installed at the rate of about 1,000 a year. In the early 1970's, before 1975, seeding, planting, Wildlife habitat acres benefitting per improvement and release of forage plants, the predominant land averaged about 180 acres per installation.

180 Performance of Multiple-Use Management:1970to1979

Direct habitat improve- S - 11 r fl ments for stream and lake fisheries were far less extensive than those for :11 wildlife. This was largely a ; 'I function of the relatively -r."4:, small acreage of national ,i, , forest lands occupied by / . fishable waters. Their I, management was equally :T+1'I important for protecting and maintaining environmental kl and water quality on the I, national forests and for ensuring more satisfying 1Ti recreational and commercial fishing opportunities I , where they were prac- , 4 ticable. The total visitor use of fishing opportunities on -4 national forests in the 1 9 70'sexceeded those for - 1 hunting, indicating far more intensive use of the more limited fisheries habitats and opportunities. In1978, anadromous fish produced annually from national Wildlife habitat improvement, Ocala National Forest, Florida. Instructor and Florida YCC campers forests provided for an installing a wood-duck nesting box on a tree beside the St. Johns River, 1971. annual catch of28million salmon weighing118mil- £1 lion pounds and valued at an estimated $100 million fitted in those years were87,100acres, with an (USDA Forest Service1979). average annual level of12,400acres. Actual annual benefitting waters varied from4,700acres in1977to Not included in the foregoing fish habitat treatments a record level of24,000acres in1979.Stream and improvements were the land management and improvements included channel structures and treatment activities designed to protect watersheds stabilization treatments, stream barrier removals, and riparian areas and remedy soil and water spawning bed improvements, and the establishment resource problems when they occurred as a result of of new fishing reservoirs and lakes. Fish population _.__1 i either management activities or natural phenom- control consisted mainly of the removal of rough and enon. These efforts likewise contributed to the undesirable fish from both streams and lakes. protection and maintenance of water flows and water quality as well as to fish habitats. They areII difficult to State Cooperation summarize here and are covered in the discussions of State cooperation with national forests was a major other resource activities. component of the wildlife and fish habitat support and coordination function, and States continued to Fish stream and lake improvements were measured finance about half of the direct habitat improvement regularly from1975to1 979in terms of acres ben- work as part of their continuing cooperative projects. efitting from various treatments. Total waters bene- State priorities, which had leaned heavily toward

181 Chapter 5

-f- I included provisions for range rehabilitation, ORV

- -. control, endangered or threatened species protection, and other terms and conditions that national forest managers and State officials deemed "necessary and appropriate" (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985).

NFMA reinforced the Sikes Act Extension by mandating State and Federal coordination on national forest land management planning. NFMA regulations required such coordination with State fish and wildlife agency biologists. NFMA and the Sikes Act ::.-:- Extension also required, "where appropriate," that national forests adopt State-identified threatened or i, endangered species as "indicator species" for wildlife and fisheries (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985). In .: -. r 1 978, the cooperative efforts between national forest :tM - - managers and State fish and wildlife agencies led to $ 4 the development of the first general guidelines to protect habitats for such nongame species as wood- peckers and the northern spotted owl. In the 1 980's, Tongass National forest, Alaska, biological technician using the northern spotted owl would become the object of electroshocker to survey feeder stream for salmon, which often major Federal court suits and policy issues relating to rear in the upper reaches of drainages. The electric shock the national forest's management of endangered immobilizes fish long enough to identify them and make notes. species and old-growth forests. In the 1970's, the spotted owl had not been federally listed as an game and sportfish during the previous decades, endangered species, nor had the State of Washington largely continued to govern management of wildlife classified the owl as "sensitive," nor had the State of and fish habitats. National forest managers continued Oregon listed it as "threatened." These actions were to heed the traditional policy view that the States had still to come in the 1980's (Wilkinson and Anderson the jurisdiction and responsibility for managing 1985). wildlife and fish populations as well as setting hunting or fishing regulations on the national forests. Wildlife Management Institute Study National forest managers, however, had the clear In 1 978, about the time that fish and wildlife man- responsibility for managing the forest and range agement was beginning its major expansion on vegetation and habitats for multiple-use purposes, national forests, the Forest Service contracted the including wildlife and fishery habitats. Wildlife Management Institute (WMI) to study the national forest fish and wildlife program. WMI In 1970, the Public Land Law Review Commission researchers interviewed some 900 Forest Service em- (PLLRC) recommended that formal cooperative ployees in the Intermountain, Pacific Northwest, and agreements be used to coordinate Federal and State Southern Regions. Since many of the interviewees wildlife programs (Wilkinson and Anderson 1985). had worked in other regions, the study leaders felt This recommendation was enacted into the Sikes Act their results were reasonably applicable to the entire Extension of 1974 mandating the preparation of National Forest System. The WMI researchers found "comprehensive" plans in cooperation with the States that there were managed forests with well-conceived for the conservation and rehabilitation of wildlife, wildlife plans, but that there was a general lack of fish, and game. Such jointly developed compre- firm and consistent direction from the Forest Service's hensive national forest fish and wildlife plans were Washington Office. They saw a need for national prepared cooperatively in 35 States during the late objectives to strengthen "the position of administra- 1 970's (USDA Forest Service 1 978). These plans tors interested in wildlife and fish, and place require-

182 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1 970 to 1 979

ments on those who are not so inclined" (Roth 1988). mountain lion increased during 1 970's. DalI sheep They also reported that many of the national forest remained stable. Only mountain goats decreased, comprehensive fish and wildlife plans provided from 31,000 to 23,000. Thus, big game generally under the Sikes Act Extension of 1974 were deficient appeared to have fared fairly well under the in inventory data and did not identify research needs, cooperative management arrangements worked out and that a majority of the interviewees lacked any between national forest wildlife managers and State awareness of or had not read the Sikes Act plan for game officials. their particular forests (Roth 1988). No data are available on fish populations. However, Wildlife and Fish Population Status and Trends national forests in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, Summary data on national forest wildlife and fish which had more than 10,000 miles of streams that population trends were very limited, except for big constituted "nursing waters" for the Pacific salmon, game. Generally, however, the shift of national forest estimated that they produced an annual catch of wildlife and fish management away from the domi- 28 million salmon, weighing 118 million pounds nant focus on big game toward maintaining species (USDA Forest Service 1 972, 1 978-79). richness clearly pointed to stronger efforts to sustain habitat diversity and improve the viability of fish and Population trends for small game rabbits, hares, wildlife populations. A new threatened and endan- squirrels, quail, pheasant, forest grouse, prairie gered species policy provided for management grouse, doves, and woodcocks are not available actions to reinforce and restore the viability of spe- for national forests. However, the national forest cies populations that were endangered. During the share of small game hunting tags indicates that 1 9 70's, no species losses were identified or reported national forests provided from less than 5 percent to for national forest lands. 15 percent of all small game hunting days in each national forest region. In some regions for individual Big game populations were generally maintained or species it ranged from 20 to 70 percent for exam- increased during the 1 970's (see fig. 9, chapter 3). ple: 40 to 70 percent for forest grouse in the South- The principal exceptions were deer and mountain ern, Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast Regions; goats. Mule and black-tailed deer populations were 25 percent for waterfowl in the interior West; and for at peak levels on national forests in 1 970, numbering squirrels, 40 percent in the Rocky Mountains and about 2.8 million. However, mule deer population 20 percent in the South (USDA Forest Service 1 982). collapses in the Pacific Northwest, together with State and national forest efforts elsewhere during the National Forest Land and Resource 1 960's to reduce deer herds to manageable sizes, Management Performance in the 1970's contributed to a major decline, to about 1 .9 million deer, by 1980. White-tailed deer populations at a For national forest managers, the 1 970's were marked peak level of 900,000 in 1 960 had declined during by a continuous effort to upgrade the integrated man- the 1 960's and continued to decline to less than agement of multiple uses on national forest lands 800,000 by 1980. Total deer legally harvested on the everywhere in ways that improved both total resource national forests declined from 493,000 in 1970 to a productivity and the quality of the forest environ- low of 31 2,000 in 1976 and then rose to 360,000, ment. These challenges were all the greater as the or 1 3 percent of their total population, by the end demands for timber and range resources remained at of the decade. Elk numbers continued to increase high levels and national forest resource use and the steadily during the 1 970's, from 360,000 in 1 970 American public's interest in recreation, wildlife and to 470,000 in 1 980, compared to 300,000 in1 960. fisheries, wilderness, minerals, and water expanded The number harvested in each year during the 1 970's significantly. averaged about 75,000, or 1 8 percent of the total. The record of national forest planning and on-the- Other big game populations pronghorn, black ground management activities reveals a growing bear, moose, caribou, bighorn sheep, turkey, and effort and commitment to integrating the manage-

183 Chapter 5

ment of multiple uses more effectively on the land in some instances, a leading advocate for such a trend generally consistent with improving improvements. ecosystem viability and integrity and the quality of the environment while satisfying timber, range, Implications for the 1980's and 1990's mineral, and energy resource production objectives Jack Ward Thomas's basic methodology for integra- The trend also seems to have responded to the ting wildlife and fisheries objectives with timber ecosystem management training efforts initiated in salvage among the various ecosystems of the Blue the early1 970'sand continued through the decade. Mountains laid the basis for a more universal Nevertheless, at the end of the1 970's,nuch more approach to integrating biodiversity and sustainability remained to be done. objectives more effectively into the management of multiple uses within ecosystems. Because the Changes in resource allocation, management, and generalized Blue Mountains model avoided rigid or on-the-ground conditions came perceptibly, but specific guidelines and focused on evaluating slowly, during the1 970'sfor several good reasons. management alternatives for multiple uses within Only a very small percentage of the total forest lands ecosystem capabilities on a sustainable basis, it found could be treated through management activities in prompt and wide acceptance among national forest any one year. This was a function of both the funding managers as an appropriate tool for resource and the long-term nature of forest resource pro- planning and management decisionmaking. duction, use, and management. Thomas's model, however, also revealed that while it The science and technology for change were limited, was possible to evaluate alternatives for managing and new management approaches, as they emerged, multiple uses with the many ecosystem variations, took time to introduce into the huge national forest there were enormous data shortcomings and know- management system and its organization. Thousands ledge gaps about resource relationships and ecosys- of professionals needed to be trained in the new tem responses to management. Decisionmaking approaches or needed to update their skills and called for considerable reliance on judgment, experi- capabilities to meet new goals and objectives. Often, ence, and expert advice and often left substantial the prime need to bring about desired management uncertainty about the ultimate long-term outcome changes called for new data and knowledge and new of management. These limitations led to identifying technology. Thus, research frequently became the priorities for gathering new data, conducting new principal route to finding new management research on resource relationships, and monitoring approaches. Scientific studies to develop the new ecosystem responses to management decisions. data, knowledge, and technology to successfully implement new approaches often involved several National forest management performance during the years to a decade or longer. 1 970'sclearly revealed that the Forest Service professional staff and scientific researchers had both the Change was also hampered by national policy objec- understanding and commitment to manage national tives and programs for benefittng the Nation's forest resources, uses, and ecosystems in response to economy, national housing goals, mineral and energy established policy goals and program objectives. The supplies, and Federal rangeland use. Production and basic grounding and experience in resource manage- management demands competed for the time needed ment principles and ecosystem management theory by national forest managers and experts for training existed within the National Forest System and Forest and updating technology. On the other hand, new Service Research to do so in ways that benefitted national policy and program initiatives for the environmental quality and ecosystem sustainability; environment, wilderness, wildlife, fisheries, however, many of those skills and capabilities varied recreation, water quality, and cultural resources from district to district, forest to forest, and among became driving forces that brought desirable regions. Nevertheless, the decade of the1 970'salso improvements to national forest management. Often, demonstrated that it was difficult to marshal these the Forest Service was among the supporters of and, skills and capabilities rapidly, uniformly, and

1 84 Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1970 to 1979

effectively within the huge National Forest System. Bartlett, E.T. 1994. Oral communication, December 7, With its decentralized operational organization and 1994, and December 15, 1994. Instructor of Ecosystem Management Short Course, Department stratified hierarchical leadership in a period of major of Range Science, Colorado State University, Fort shifts of public interests and policy priorities, the Collins, CO. Forest Service needed strong, clear national policy Benedict, Warren V.1 981. History of White Pine Blister guidance from the Executive Branch and the Rust Control - A Personal Account. USDA Forest Congress to address the new goals and objectives Service, Washington, DC. 47 pp. along with consistent changes in program targets and Burch, Frank. 1995. Review notes for John Fedkiw dated supporting budgets. 1 0/23/95. Division of Timber Management, USDA Forest Service, Washington Office, Washington, DC. While national forest managers could participate and Cliff, Edward P. 1971a. "The Forest Service in the sometimes play a leading role in policy issues and the 1 970's." American Forests, Volume 77: No. 1. development of new policy goals, programs, and January 1971. Reprinted from interoffice budgets, their primary role was to implement the memorandum circulated to Forest Service specific policy and programs provided by the employees in October 1970. Nation's policymakers. However, implementing such Cliff, Edward P. 1971b. "The Multiple Use Concept in policy goals and programs and budgets often became Public Land Management." Presentation to a hapless, if not hopeless, dilemma in many combined meeting of Western Association of State Game and Fish Commissioners and the Association management situations increasingly burdened by of Midwest Fish and Game Commissioners, Aspen, oversight of public interest groups and their recourse CO, July 20, 1971. to appeals and court suits to achieve their policy Coghlan, Gerald. 1995. Direct communication. Review preferences and the letter of the law for their man- comments dated January 3, 1995. Engineering Staff, agement expectations. These interventions became Washington Office, USDA Forest Service, increasingly strong driving forces for change within Washington, DC. the National Forest System, especially during the Colorado State University. Undated. Ecosystem 1 980's. National forest management on the ground Management Short Course. Compilation of papers generally moved toward greater environmental by 1 7 authors on ecosystem topics. Sponsored by the sensitivity, more effective integration of multiple uses, USDA Forest Service and the Range Science Department of Colorado State University, Fort a broader ecosystem approach to planning and Collins, CO. 114 pp. management of multiple uses and a stronger balance of amenity uses with commodity uses, however Cook, Wayne. 1994. Oral communication, December 7, 1 994. Organizer (retired) of the Ecosystem unevenly that management came among the ranger Management Short Course at Colorado State districts, national forests, and regions of the National University, Fort Collins, CO, in 1968. Fedkiw, John. Forest System. 1985. "Some Questions and Implications for Range Management Based on the Demand Outlook for Red Meat and Range Grazing." Rangelands 7(3):100- References 104.

Bailey, Robert G. 1983. "Delineation of Ecosystem Fowler, Richard F. 1993. Direct communication, June Regions." Environmental Management 7:4:365-373 1 3, 1996. Forest Pest Management, State and Private Forestry, USDA Forest Service, Washington, Bailey, Robert G. 1987a. "Suggested Hierarchy of DC. Criteria for Multi-scale Ecosystem Mapping." Fowler, Richard F. 1993. Personal correspondence to Landscape and Urban Planning 14:31 3-31 9. author, dated 6/11/93, with comments from David E. Bailey, Robert G. 1987b. Mapping Ecoregions to Ketcham, Director for Environmental Quality. Forest Manage Land. 1987 Yearbook of Agriculture. Pest Management, USDA Forest Service, Superintendent of Documents, Washington, DC. pp. Washington, DC. 81-87. Fowler, Richard F., L.F. Wilson, and D.M. Paananen. Barr, Frankie. 1 996. Direct communication, February 8, 1 986. Insect Suppression on Eastern Region National 1996. Administrative Director, National Ski Patrol, Forests: 1930-1980. Gen. Tech. Report NC-103. and School Coordinator for the National Avalanche USDA Forest Service, North Central Forest Foundation, Lakewood, CO. Experiment Station, St. Paul, MN. 56 pp.

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Hartgraves, Rex. 1 994. Direct communication, April Roth, Dennis, and Jerry Williams. 1986c. Timber 1 994. Former Supervisor of the Beaverhead National Management in the Pacific Northwest, volume 3: Forest in Montana and former Director of Land and Oral History of Jack Usher, Region 6 Employee. Resource Management Planning under the National History Unit, USDA Forest Service, Washington DC. Forest Management Act of 1976 in the USDA Forest pp. 142-186. Service Washington Office. Roth, Dennis, and Jerry Williams. 1986d. Timber Kurman, Janet. 1996. Direct communication, February 8, Management in the Pacific Northwest, volume 3: 1 996. National Recreation Specialist, Winter Sports, Oral History of John Todd, Region 6 Employee, and Recreation, Heritage and Wilderness Resources Jack Usher, Region 6 Employee. History Unit, USDA Staff, USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC. Forest Service, Washington DC. pp. 101-1 86. Murphy, Dennis. 1994. Personal interview, April 6, 1994. Schmautz, Jack E. 1979. Condition of Rangelands Timber Management Division, USDA Forest Service, Administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC. Forest Service. Discussion paper at Symposium on Rangeland Policies for the Future, Panel 1: Newport, Carl. 1973a. "The Availability of Timber Rangeland Condition. January 28-31, 1979, Tucson, Resources from National Forests and Other Federal AZ. 5 pp. Lands." In: Report of the President's Advisory Panel on Timber and the Environment. U.S. Government Sirmon, Jeff. 1994. Oral communication on November Printing Office, Washington, DC. pp. 158-217. 1 5, 1994. Forest Service retiree. Newport, Carl. 1973b. "Timber Sales Policies and Thomas, Jack Ward, ed., 1979. Wildlife Habitats in Procedures on National Forests in Relation to Short- Managed Forests: The Blue Mountains of Oregon run Timber Supply." In: Report of the President's and Washington. Agriculture Handbook No. 553. Advisory Panel on Timber and the Environment. U.S. USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC. 512 pp. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. pp. Thomas, Jack Ward, Jared Verner, L.R. Jahn, R.D. 218-228. Sparrow, D.E. Toweill, Michael Bender, and T.M. Quigley. 1985. Tabulations of Status and Trends of Peterson, R. Max. 1983. "The Evolution of Minerals U.S. Renewable Resources: Wildlife. Contributing Management in the National Forest System New agencies USDA Forest Service, U.S. Department of Challenges, Recognitions, and Needs." Presentation the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Idaho to Advanced Minerals Management Course, Fish and Game Department, Wildlife Management Marana, AZ, December 9, 1983. Minerals Division, Institute. 42 pp. USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC. 1 7 pp. Unger, David G. 1993. Memo to Regional Foresters, Poudel, Pramila. 1986. Analysis of National Forest Station Directors, Area Director, IITF Director, and Developed Recreation Sites and Facilities: Policy WO Staff dated November 5, 1993. Concerning Analysis Staff Report. USDA Forest Service, National Hierarchical Framework for Ecological Washington, DC. 109 pp. Units. Robinson, Glen 0. 1 975. The Forest Service: A Study in U.S. Congress. 1974. Proposed Forest Service Mining Public Land Management. Published for Resources Regulations: Hearings before the Subcommittee on for the Future, Inc. Johns Hopkins University Press, Public Lands of the House Committee on /nterior Baltimore, MD. 337 pp. and Insular Affairs, March 7-8. 93rd Congress, 2nd Roth, Dennis. 1 988. A History of Wildlife Management Session. in the Forest Service. Revised and edited by Gerald USDA Forest Service. 1961-1 965 and 1977-1 981. W. Williams in 1989. History Unit, USDA Forest Report of the Chief of the Forest Service for Fiscal Service, Washington, DC. 39 pp. Years 1960-1964 and 1976-1 980. Washington, DC. Roth, Dennis, and Jerry Williams. 1986a. Timber USDA Forest Service.1 969. Douglas-Fir Supply Study. Management in the Pacific Northwest, Volume 3: Regions Five and Six and the Pacific Northwest Oral History of Glen Jorgensen, Region 6 Employee. Forest and Range Experimental Station, Portland, History Unit, USDA Forest Service, Washington DC. OR. 53 pp. pp. 187-262. USDA Forest Service. 1969 and 1978-1980. Report of Roth, Dennis, and Jerry Williams. 1986b. Timber the Chief of the Forest Service for Fiscal Years 1968 Management in the Pacific Northwest, volume 2: and 1977-1979. Washington, DC. Oral History of John Todd, Region 6 Employee, and Oral History of Glen Jorgensen, Region 6 Employee. USDA Forest Service. 1970 and 1972. Annual Report of History Unit, USDA Forest Service, Washington DC. the Chief of the Forest Service for Fiscal Years 1969, pp. 187-262. 1970, and 1971. Washington, DC. Performance of Multiple-Use Management: 1970 to 1979

USDA Forest Service. 1970, 1972, and 1980. Report of USDA Forest Service. 1979-1980. Report of the Forest theChiefof the Forest Service for Fiscal Years 1969, Service for Fiscal Years 1978 and 1979. Washington, 1970, 1971, and 1979. Washington, DC. DC. USDA Forest Service. 1970-1 979. National Forest Fire USDA Forest Service. 1 980. Report of the Forest Service Reports. Washington, DC. for Fiscal Year 1979. Washington, DC.

USDA Forest Service. 1970-1 980. Report of theChiefof USDA Forest Service. 1 982. An Assessment of the Forest the Forest Service for Fiscal Years 1969-1979. and RangeLandSituation in the United States. Washington, DC. Forest Resource Report No. 22. Washington, DC. 552 pp. USDA Forest Service.1 972. Report of theChiefof the Forest Service for Fiscal Years 1970-1971. USDA Forest Service. 1981-1 984. Forest Disease and Washington, DC. Disease Conditions in the United States for the Years 1980-83. Washington DC. USDA Forest Service. 1972-1 974. Report of theChiefof the Forest Service for Fiscal Years 1970-1973. USDA Forest Service. 1 985. Tabulation of Annual Washington, DC. Allowable Harvest/Potential Yield by Regions and Fiscal Year, 1955 to 1984. Timber Management USDA Forest Service.1 9 72-1 980. Report of theChiefof Division, Washington, DC. the Forest Service for Fiscal Years 1970-1971 and 1979. Washington, DC. LISDA Forest Service. 1 988. Use of WaterRightsin Water Resource Management. Watershed and Air USDA Forest Service. 1 974a. TheRockyMountain Management Staff Report, April 4, 1988. Timber Situation. USDA For. Res. Bulletin INT-lO. Washington, DC. 6 pp. Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Ogden, UT. 77 pp. LISDA Forest Service. 1 990. Aerial Insecticide Projects for Suppression of Western Defoliators: 1970-1989. USDA Forest Service.1 974b. Report of theChiefof the Forest Pest Management, Davis, CA. 97 pp. Forest Service for Fiscal Years 1972 and 1973. Washington, DC. USDA Forest Service. 1 992 a. Tabulation of Budget Authority, Full-Time Employment, and Outputs by USDA Forest Service. 1974-1 975. Report of theChiefof Program Line Items and Fiscal Years, 1963 to 1992. the Forest Service for Fiscal Years 1972, 1973, and Washington, DC. 1974. Washington, DC. USDA Forest Service. 1992b. Timber Management USDA Forest Service.1 974-1 976. Report of theChiefof Division Tabulation and Chart on Clearcutting Trend. the Forest Service for Fiscal Years 1972 to 1975. June 1992. Washington, DC. 2 pp. Washington, DC. Hierarchical USDA Forest Service. 1 975. Report of theChiefof the USDA Forest Service. 1 993a. National Forest Service for Fiscal Year 1974. Washington, DC. Framework of Ecological Units, ECOMAP. Washington DC. 20 pp. USDA Forest Service. 1 976. Report of theChiefof the .Forest Service for Fiscal year 1975. Washington, DC. USDA Forest Service. 1 993b. Tabulation:NumberSales Volume...of Convertible Timber Sold and Cut, 1950 USDA Forest Service. 1 976 and 1977. Report of the to Date. Timber Management Division, Washington, Chief of the Forest Service for Fiscal Years 1975 and DC. 1 2 pp. 1976. Washington, DC. USDA Forest Service.1 993c. Tabulations of Recreation USDA Forest Service. 1 977. Report of theChiefof the Division. Washington, DC. Forest Service for Fiscal Year 1976. Washington, DC. USD1/USDA. 1970-1 980. Annual Reports on the Status USDA Forest Service.1 978. Report of the Forest Service of the National Wilderness Preservation System. for Fiscal Year 1977. Washington, DC. Washington, DC. USDA Forest Service. 1 978-1979. Report of the Forest Wells Associates, Inc. 1985. National Forest Trails: Service for Fiscal Year 1977 and 1978. Washington, Neglected and Disappearing. Prepared for the DC. National Trails Coalition under supervision of the USDA Forest Service.1 978-1 980. Report of the Forest Northwest Office of the Sierra Club and funded by Service for Fiscal Years 1977, 1978, and 1979. Recreation Equipment Inc., Seattle, WA. Bainbridge Washington, DC. Island, WA. 14 pp. USDA Forest Service. 1 979. Report of the Forest Service Wikstrom, U.H. 1 971. Stratification of ForestLandfor for Fiscal Year 1978. Washington, DC. Timber Management Planning on the Western

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National Forests. USDA Forest Service Research Wilkinson, Charles F., and H. Michael Anderson. 1 985. Paper INT-1086. Intermountain Forest and Range "Land and Resource Planning in the National Experiment Station, Ogden, UT. 38 pp. Forests." Oregon Law Review 64:1-2. University of Oregon, Eugene. 363 pp. Chapter 6 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995

The General Setting basis. It was intended that all multiple uses receive equal consideration as long-term planning allocated The new approach to national forest planning,them the to national forest lands for future implementa- economic and policy highlights of the 1980 to 1995 tion and that multiple-use planning reflect both the period, the expanding role of public participation, needs and demands of the American people and the and growing public confrontation are briefly capability of national forest lands and resources to described in this introductory section to provide an serve them. Guidelines for managing the multiple overview of the challenging environment for national uses would be adequate to sustain the uses and forest planning and management during the 1 980's maintain the productivity of the land and the soil. and early 1 990's. These topics are then developed in National forest planning under NFMA called for a more detail in subsequent sections. more evenhanded balancing of resource uses with each other and with national forest land and resource A New Approach to Forest Planning capabilities forcing greater attention to the inter- NFMA's final implementing regulations, issued in dependent and interactive relationships among the 1 979, initiated a new emphasis on integrated land uses and the resources on a forest-wide scale (Cawley and resource planning for multiple uses on national 1 990). NFMA planning in this way was another step forests. The implementation of NFMA was as much a toward an ecosystem approach to planning and new learning experience as a new planning experi- managing multiple uses on national forests. ence on each national forest, and during the 1 980's it continually evolved and improved on each forest. The Forest Service formally considered a fully holistic or ecosystem approach to NFMA planning as it This new approach was linked with nationally deter- evolved strategies for implementing NFMA planning, mined long-term RPA goals and called for the inte- but did not adopt the approach for several reasons. grated planning for all resource uses recreation, Federal policy attention within the Administration fish and wildlife, water, timber, range, and wilderness and in Congress throughout the 1970's had been on a forest-wide basis for the next 50 years. This strongly focused on increasing timber supplies to approach superseded and integrated the previous achieve housing goals and dampening timber pro- unit planning system, which had required 1,200 duct prices and general inflation. The Forest Service "unit" land use plans on 123 national forests, and and key Federal policy officials were optimistic that the functional planning for individual resources that national forest timber supplies could be further involved the periodic updating of 48 separate major increased through greater investments in timber and resource plans on each forest. NFMA planning other resources and appropriate management replaced these plans with regional planning guide- measures to avoid or mitigate any adverse environ- lines for each of the nine national forest regions and mental impacts. Some managers felt that they could forest-wide integrated land use and resource plans adapt their watershed planning and range and for each of the 1 23 national forests. wildlife management models to a holistic ecosystem approach for managing multiple uses. But these NFMA did not require regional guidelines, but they models and their databases were geared to answer were considered a useful step for linking the national timber suitability questions rather than questions RPA program with indivjdual forest plans. Regional about ecosystem management. guides allocated the long-term RPA goals among the forests and were intended and designed to ensure The data supporting timber planning were by far the comprehensive and consistent national and regional best developed, with watershed next. The available management direction for all national forest resource data for other resources was piecemeal and generally uses (USDA Forest Service 1 982a). insufficient. Such databases did not generally lend themselves to, and were not readily adaptable for, an The goal of NFMA planning was to reinforce a more ecosystem approach to planning. The models avail- holistic approach to national forest resource plan- able for ecosystem planning, on the other hand, ning, use, and management on a forest-by-forest would have fragmented the timber database and Chapter 6

reduced its effectiveness for timber resource plan- A viable population shall be regarded as one ning and for resolving pressing timber supply ques- which has the estimated numbers and distribution of reproductive individuals to insure its tions. This was not acceptable. Addressing the timber continued existence is well distributed ... to supply issue was a high priority and required a tradi- insure that viable populationswillbe main- tional timber-oriented planning model one that tained, habitat must be provided to support, could readily evaluate the economic efficiency of at least, a minimum number of reproductive timber management alternatives. This choice individuals and that habitat must be well reflected the Forest Service's strong belief that once distributed so that those individuals can interact with others. the timber supply issue was resolved, provisions for other resource uses would fall in line with NFMA This strengthened language was to play a major role resource and environmental standards and in the resolution of the spotted owl controversy that guidelines. was emerging in the 1 980's on national forest lands in the Pacific Northwest and California (Caldwell et The Forest Service was anxious to respond promptly to the NFMA and NEPA planning guidelines. In 1979, al. 1994). for example, final forest plans and ElS's for all but two of the 1 23 national forests were tentatively Economic and Policy Highlights scheduled for completion by the end of FY 1983 Double-digit inflation and interest rates emerged in (USDA Forest Service 1 980b). There was a lack of 1979 and 1980 and were accompanied by high rates passion and readiness to try to transform the plan- of unemployment. In response to these conditions, ning process on 123 national forests to a fully hot- the housing market in the early 1 980's dropped istic ecosystem approach although the concept sharply over the decade to about 1.7 million units did have appeal and was considered at the time. As per year, and then to an even lower level in the early it turned out, even with NFMA's limited shift toward 1990's. However, average annual softwood lumber an ecosystem approach, most of the plans were not and plywood use during the 1980's and early 1 990's finalized until after 1983, and a few not until the rose by more than 1 0 percent above the peak 1 990's. average annual use of the 1 970's, due largely to increased remodeling and repair of existing housing. In 1982, USDA policy officials under the Reagan Administration undertook the revision of the 1 979 Administration and congressional priorities for NFMA regulations to better balance economic increasing timber supplies from national forests efficiency with environmental protection. They remained strong throughout the 1980's. In the early strengthened the role of economic criteria for NFMA 1990's, however, this policy pressure abated as planning and decisionmaking and rewrote proposed housing construction fell to an average of 1 .4 million environmental guidelines to reflect the broader and units and court suits were instrumental in reducing more general direction of the NFMA legislation itself. national forest timber harvests in the Pacific North- Although the action was viewed in some circles as an west. Despite strong softwood lumber and plywood effort "intended by the Reagan Administration to demands between 1980 and 1995, their relative weaken NFMA as a statement of environmental prices remained substantially below the record price policy," the final NFMA regulations of 1982 added levels of the 1970's. This was largely due to an language that "substantially strengthened" environ- increase in timber supply a 60-percent increase mental protection for some resources (CaIdwell et al. in softwood lumber imports from Canada and a 1 994). The most significant case in point was the new 40-percent expansion in softwood lumber and language added to elaborate the 1 979 NFMA plywood production from the southern pine forests regulatory guideline "to maintain viable populations (Ulrich 1990; U.S. Bureau of the Census 1993a, of all existing native vertebrate species in the plan- 1993b; Warren 1995; Council of Economic Advisors ning area." The new language provided that: 1994).

190 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1 980 to 1995

The high inflation and high interest rates in 1979 and 1990's to less than 4.0 bbf by 1994. The decline was 1 980 also brought severe pressures to reduce Federal concentrated in the Pacific Southwest and Pacific spending and budgets. In 1 982, under the Reagan Northwest Regions, but all regions except the Eastern Administration, general inflation and interest rates Region experienced a decline in timber sale levels. In were controlled and reduced, but Federal budget the early 1 990's, timber sales in the Eastern Region, a deficits expanded dramatically during the balance predominantly hardwood region, averaged 710 mil- of the 1 980's and early 1 990's continuing the lion board feet 1 7 percent above the 1 980 level. pressure to control and reduce Federal spending. In Permitted grazing capacity remained more or less this financial climate, national forest budgets were stable at 9.8 million AUM's per year, but actual range reduced by 24 percent, from $2.8 billion in 1980 use declined from 8.7 million AUM's in 1992 to to $2.1 billion (constant 1994 dollars) in 1986, and 8.1 million AUM's in 1994. remained at reduced levels, an average of $2.4 billion, through 1 994. National forest staffing was sim- Recreation visitor day (RVD) use, including wildlife, ilarly reduced, by 26 percent, from 41 ,700 FTE's in fishery, and wilderness use, actually experienced a 1980 to 30,900 in 1988. Staffing recovered some- 4 percent decline by 1987, and then began to in- what in 1 989 and reached an average of 34,500 crease again at 3.4 percent per year to 1994 sub- FTE's between 1 992 and 1 994 (USDA Forest Service stantially faster than the 1 percent population growth 19940. rate. The overall average rate of increase for the 15-year period from 1979 to 1994 was 2.2 percent. Despite funding and staffing reductions, national forests continued to balance staffing among the NEPA and NFMA regulations and court injunctions resource disciplines and improve their capabilities increased the need for more intensive oversight of for managing multiple uses on the land in a more mining plans and operations. Mineral management integrated manner. For example, staffing for timber activities responded with more thorough environ- programs, induding timber sales, silvicultural exam- mental assessments and protection standards. The inations, resource planning, and all reforestation, number of producing gas, oil, coal, and geothermal timber stand improvement, and brush disposal activi- leases increased during this period, while the acreage ties, declined by 18 percent, from about 12,900 FTE's under lease for exploration and production in 1980 to 10,500 in 1994. Much of this reduction decreased. reflected the sharp drop in timber sales during the early 1990's. On the other hand, staffing for soil and This general respite from the dramatic increases in water programs increased by 40 percent, from 1 ,1 70 national forest use of the previous three decades, FTE's in 1980 to 1,640 FTE's in 1994. Wildlife and however, did not bring any slackening of the public controversy associated with national forest land and fish FTE's increased by 11 4 percent, from 1 ,040 to 2,230. Recreation program staffing rose by 49 per- resource planning and management or the public's cent, from 3,420 FTE's to 5,100 FTE's. Road and interest in participating in that planning and man- facility engineering staffing, as with staffing for timber agement (USDA Forest Service 1981b, 1994e, programs, also declined, by 64 percent, from 5,220 19940. FTE's to 1 ,860. Staffing for minerals management, The Role of Public Participation and however, increased from 230 to 400 FTE's, or by 66 percent. Range management staffing declined Growing Confrontation from 1 ,090 FTE's to 920, or by 1 6 percent (USDA The passage of N EPA, RPA, and NFMA legislation Forest Service 1 9941). during the 1970's greatly broadened the opportunities for a wide range of people and organizations The rapid growth of national forest use abated with highly diverse expectations and sharply differ- between 1980 and 1995. Timber sale offerings and ing values, preferences, and viewpoints to become volumes sold during the 1980's averaged 11 .5 and involved in national forest planning, decision- 1 0.7 bbf, respectively, about the same as the 1 970's making, and project implementation. These opportu- decade, then both dropped sharply during the early nities rose to new heights between 1980 and 1995

191 Chapter 6

as NFMA planning, framed by NEPA's requirements for environmental impact analysis, got under way. Table 4.Number of public input events by type of event Public participation in national forest planning activities literally exploded. NFMA planning for the Type of Event Number 1 23 national forests, as reported in 25 draft and Meetings Held 1,216 97 final forest planning environmental documents, Brochures and Newsletters Produced 650 involved more than 72,000 public input events Contacts and Consultations Made 6,651 (table 4) (Russell et al. 1 990). Letters of Response Received 63,607 Total 72,124 Many more thousands of citizens participated in meetings, in preparing brochures and newsletters, in Source: Russell et al. 1990. direct contacts and consultations with national forest managers, and in review and comment on draft [IS documents. About 90,000 copies of NFMA plans and number of challenges as individuals and groups supporting ElS documents were distributed to public turned to the press, demonstrations, the Forest policy officials, public agencies, private Service administrative appeals process, court suits, organizations, and individuals for review and and legislative actions to pursue their goals. By the comment. end of the 1 980's, the number of new appeals, for example, had risen to more than 1 ,000 per year. NEPA, RPA, and NFMA intended that the public's Such challenges focused primarily on timber harvest views and ideas on national forest planning and and management, but every resource area was decisions be solicited and taken into account during affected by them. the development of both draft and final plans and decisions. Legislators and the Forest Service hoped Plan and project appeals were directed to the decid- that a wide range of the public would be interested ing officials and, therefore, were predominantly local in forest planning and that such interest would lead 56 percent went to regional foresters and 33 per- to fewer appeals and court suits on final national cent to forest supervisors. Only 11 percent were forest plans, [IS's, and decisions. But the public's directed to the Chief of the Forest Service or the expectations were very diverse and strongly held. Secretary of Agriculture. Environmental groups believed NFMA mandated national forest management reform reform that Environmental interest groups increasingly turned would involve a change from what such groups toward appeals, national public opinion, and interviewed as a dominant commodity production focus ventions by judges and sympathetic congressional to a focus on increased protection and enhancement authorizing committees to achieve their national of noncommodity uses, especially the expansion of forest management goals. Between 1 980 and 1 995, wilderness areas. Timber industry groups looked for these groups became increasingly sophisticated and forest plans to achieve the high RPA-set timber pro- successful in pursuing their goals through court suits, duction targets more effectively to meet the national political campaigns, and legislative action a demand for wood products. Other groups identified success that was epitomized by the resolution of the success in terms of their own particular expectations northern spotted owl issue in the Pacific Northwest (Larsen et al. 1990). (Hoberg 1993). A 1993 court injunction and the Northwest Forest Plan adopted in 1 994 for the man- Growing Public Confrontation agement of the northern spotted owl habitat led to a As NFMA plans and resource management projects reduction of several billion board feet in old-growth were developed, completed, and implemented timber harvests on Pacific Northwest national forests during the 1980's, public participation grew, and in favor of maintaining a more extensive old-growth debates about the appropriate use and management environment to protect the viability of the threatened of the national forests increased and intensified. northern spotted owl populations and other old- Growth in public participation led to an increasing growth-dependent species.

192 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995

Thus, while public participation brought significant The Public Issue and Management Concern increases in public input to national forest planning The NFMA planning process was designed to respond between 1980 and 1995, it also increased and to the 1980 RPA national program goals at the local intensified issues and debates between national forest level. RPA projected modest increases in all forest managers and the public about the appropriate national forest resource uses by 1995 and major use and management of national forests. Chief increases in outdoor recreation uses, including Robertson, addressing the Lands Committee of the wildlife, fisheries, and wilderness; timber harvests; Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Association in 1 988, and mineral and energy operating plans, by the year characterized the environmental community as 2030. These projections largely reflected past "extremely vigilant" and "watching every step we national forest resource use and demand trends, make on national forests and standing ready to chal- including a strong response to the newly established lenge any decision that has a weak spot" (Robertson demand for substantial expansion of national forest 1988). wilderness. This raised both public interest and public concerns. The National Forest Planning Process and Its Performance The planning process provided a forum for addressing and resolving national forest resource use issues )nitially, many national forest managers were hopeful and management concerns that emerged from the that the NFMA planning process would be largely public's very diverse and conflicting interests. In scientific and produce scientific solutions that would practical terms, the purpose of the forest plans was to avoid political entanglements an assumption that provide answers to three questions: What is a forest tended to shape the public participation process. good for (its ecological potential)? What do people Lofty expectations accompanied this approach. Its want from the forest? and How do we meet today's goal was to inform and involve the public to give needs, while preserving future options? (Shands et al. the public information and to receive public input 1990). as opposed to problem resolution through two-way communication, negotiation, and shared decision- One of the initial steps in the planning process making. The new forest plans were expected to be established each forest's baseline or potential for more balanced in terms of resource coordination and each of the major resource uses. These capacity limits integrated management for the multiple uses and defined the outer boundaries of the forest planning better understood by the public, thereby earning process. The second step was the identification of more public support and producing fewer appeals issues and opportunities by the public and planning and litigation. National forest managers hoped, as and management concerns by national forest man- expressed by Senator Hubert Humphrey, that "forest agers. Public issues basically defined the alternatives managers could practice forestry in the forest and not to be considered. Also, they often reflected and in the courts." The public had similar high hopes. defined longstanding conflicts among competing Neither the public nor national forest managers national forest uses and user interests. In a way, they anticipated the influence that the changing values represented highly politicized public policy ques- emerging among public interest groups and the tions. Forest planning, however, tended to respond to maturing of the environmental movement would these issues as management problems and addressed have on the process. NFMA planning quickly became them through the largely scientific and technical much more confrontational and political than ever planning process (Shands et al. 1990). The commit- expected. As a result, the planning process became ment of the forest planning process to the 1980 RPA's increasingly complex and demanded and consumed long-term output goals and objectives tended to more time (Larsen et al. 1990a). orient the planning process toward traditional multiple-use planning and management. Such a technical planning approach did not respond well to the social and political content of the public issues

193 Chapter 6

and did not provide an arena for public interest planning process would have entailed advance plan- groups to confront each other and work with policy ning and decisions for 3,250 to 4,875 site-specific officials toward mutually acceptable solutions. As a projects per forest (Gippert and White 1990). consequence, external pressure on national forest planning mounted. The 1980's were marked by an Management Diredion for increased number of appeals and litigation that Implementing Alternatives focused heavily on limiting or reducing the com- The management direction for each alternative was mercial uses of national forests, particularly timber determined by its long-term goals for resource use. harvesting. It also reflected the direction given in the laws and The Role of Planning Alternatives and regulations and the influence of scientific knowledge, technology, and experience, but did not assign any Management Diredion specific forest management activities. Such manage- The public issue process revealed the public's wide ment direction likewise provided for the protection scope of expectations for national forest use and of soil productivity and environmental quality. In management. Thus, there was a corresponding addition, there were environmental guidelines and variety of alternative ways national forests cou'd be standards, referred to as "management constraints" managed. Taken collectively, these reflected the full (management requirements) to ensure viable wildlife diversity of the public's expectations, RPA program and fish populations, meet State water quality goals, and existing management plans and goals. standards, and protect endangered species. Each The preferred management alternative was deter- alternative mapped national forest lands into man- mined and selected by comparing the net public agement areas (land use "zones") reflecting different benefits (the discounted market value of all future resource conditions and potentials for use - each uses less management costs) of the alternatives and area uniform enough to have its own management how they responded to the various public issues. direction for expected uses, environmental protection, and mitigation. Most forests had about National forest planning alternatives typically 20 management areas. The planned resource goals included the existing forest plan or plans as the and uses among these management areas varied with NEPA-required "no action" alternative, and a specific each alternative, and the management direction alternative that responded to the RPA goals. Other likewise varied accordingly. alternatives could include high, moderate, and low commodity-output options and a similar set of Many forests were able to design management amenity alternatives. Still others might focus on direction in ways that mitigated or resolved certain wilderness, wildlife and fisheries, or recreation, or public issues. The most successful forests were able address a particular public issue. A few forests to distill their public issues into problem statements. included an alternative that was defined collectively The management direction for each management by conservation interests or other interest groups. area then served to resolve such issues. This approach Because of their long-term nature, forest plans were appeared to help the public visualize what would goal-oriented and did not specify actual year-by-year take place on the forest in better detail and tended on-the-ground implementation. In other words, forest to increase the public's acceptance of planning plans were not project- or site-specific. This became decisions (Bosworth et al. 1990). quite a problem for many interest groups who expected forest plans to make site-specific decisions. Principal Guidelines for Planning Multiple Uses Their expectations led to many forest plan and NFMA affirmed the management of national forests project appeals. Each year, national forests made for multiple uses. It defined many constraints that decisions on about 40,000 resource management explicitly provided for the protection of soil, water, projects - an average of 325 per national forest per and especially wildlife and fisheries. It also provided year. Over the 10- to 1 5-year expected life of a forest strong guidelines for implementing the interdisci- plan, the inclusion of such projects in the forest plinary approach.

194 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1 980 to 1 995

NFMA guidelines and regulations also focused strongly on the timber resource. Timber harvesting would be limited to forested lands where the soil, slope, and other watershed conditions would not be irreversibly damaged and where there was an assurance that the land could be successfully restocked with trees within 5 years following timber harvest. Streams, , lakes, shorelines, and other T '.- wetlands would be pro- t4t", tected from detrimental changes associated with timber harvesting. Clear- cutting would be limited to conditions where it was Forester examining silvicuitural practices on Douglas-fir, Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon, determined to be the best- suited or optimum method to meet land management objectives and not habitats be managed to maintain viable populations necessarily the one that produced the greatest dollar of existing native and desired nonnative vertebrate return or timber volume. Clearcut size would be species in the planning area to ensure that such restricted. species did not become threatened or endangered. Forest plans were also to protect and restore habitats NFMA guidelines and regulations also permitted of any endangered species that existed in the plan- increased harvest levels based on intensified manage- ning area to sustain their populations. This direction ment, but only if such management was consistent responded to ESA's policy objectives and direction. with the MUSY Act of 1960 and successfully implemented. Timber harvesting, except for salvage sales NFMA called for integrating economic analysis with or sales needed to protect other multiple-use values, biological considerations. This was achieved by was precluded on lands classed as not suited for defining alternative forest resource management timber production. practices that would satisfy NFMA's and N EPA's biological and environmental constraints and by Each forest's harvestable volume was limited to the selecting the practices that would achieve the amount that could be removed annually, in perpe- resource output goals most efficiently based on tuity, on a long-term sustained-yield basis. A forest their expected rate of return on investment costs. plan could depart from such a nondeclining flow This procedure was most useful in planning the level, but only where the increased volume provided management direction and timberland area needed by the departure helped to achieve one or more to achieve the timber management goal. other multiple-use management objectives, determined with public participation, in the forest plan. The plan's ElS was to discuss the environmental impacts for each forest plan alternative. It was also NFMA also provided for maintaining the diversity of to address social, economic, and community plant and animal communities on each national impacts as well as the biological and physical forest. Its regulations required that fish and wildlife resource effects. Although NFMA itself was vague

195 Chapter 6

about the need to assess community impacts, tion for evaluating plan alternatives and identifying a national forest managers needed to be responsive to preferred alternative. All alternatives were designed community concerns and the impacts that plan alter- to meet environmental protection objectives and natives had on a community's stability and viability. resource management constraints. Alternatives were Generally, this meant planning national forest man- compared by estimating the net public benefits of agement in a way that would avoid radical or abrupt each alternative, various indicators of each alter- changes in a community's economic and social native's response to public issues, and the RPA goals structure. for individual resources.

The Interdisciplinary Process The Preferred Alternative NFMA required that each national forest use an inter- The selection of a final alternative was based on the disciplinary team to develop its forest plan. The role public's review of and response to the forest plan's of the interdisciplinary team was to ensure that forest draft ElS and its preferred alternative. Frequently, the planning would fully consider the physical, bio- public feedback led to adjustments and modifications logical, economic, social, and other sciences in the in the preferred alternative or the selection of another long-term planning and management direction for alternative. The regional forester for each region multiple uses a requirement that was intended to selected the final alternative, issued a final ElS, and replace the strong role of the traditional multidis- documented the decision in a record of decision. ciplinary "planning by individual resource function" Such a decision could be appealed to the Chief of the approach to national forest management. The inter- Forest Service. disciplinary team requirement broadened the pro- Once plans were approved, they became the legal fessional skills available on each forest. The hiring of guide for developing annual program and budget new and more "ologists" over time contributed to a proposals. Management direction provided the more evenhanded interdisciplinary approach in starting point for implementing the management of developing forest use plans and management direc- multiple uses and their planned annual outputs on tion for each of the multiple uses in each manage- the ground. The actual implementation of forest ment area (Office of Technology Assessment 1 992). plans, however, was controlled by congressional budget allocations to national forests, which influ- In 1990, a Forest Service retrospective evaluation enced the scheduling and timing of resource outputs of the interdisciplinary process, based on comments and management practices to be used and also the and responses from 1 78 key local people in all general resource management emphasis (Bosworth et national forest regions, found that the public had al. 1990). very favorable views about the process. They generally believed that the interdisciplinary process Forest Plan Appeals allowed all resources to be appropriately considered The number of forest plans completed each year is and, in this way, helped to achieve more sound man- displayed in table 5, together with information on the agement decisions. The interdisciplinary approach number of new appeals, resolved appeals, pending also enabled more environmental issues and impacts appeals, and forest plans free of appeals (USDA Forest to be assessed than previous planning approaches. Service 1981-1995, 1995e). Both the responding public and national forest professional staff believed that the interdisciplinary As more plans were completed and final ElS's issued, process produced far better multiple-use coordina- plan appeals escalated to a peak level in 1988 and tion than earlier multidisciplinary planning methods then declined. Forest plan appeals through 1995 had (O'Neal et al. 1990). totaled 1 ,245. The number of appeals per plan or forest varied from a low of 5 to a high of 25. In 1995, The Plan Decision Process: Plan Approval, there were still1 84 appeals outstanding about Appeals, and Litigation four appeals per plan. Table 6 summarizes the The draft ElS displayed the environmental analysis resolution of forest plan appeals (USDA Forest Service process and its results and provided initial informa- 1 995e).

196 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995

Table 5. Appeals of completed forest plans by number, status, and year

Forest Plans with New Appeals Appeals Forests Free Years [IS filed with EPA Appeals Resolved Outstanding of Appeals

1983 4 - - 1984 5 24 22 2 1985 14 31 23 10 5 1986 42 230 41 199 12 1987 17 151 117 233 24 1988 8 317 184 366 39 1989 7 84 155 295 49 1990 17 182 128 349 62

1991 1 123 117 355 NA 1992 4 57 122 290 78 1993 oa 40 99 231 79 1994 NA 3 29 205 NA 1995 NA 3 24 184 NA

Total 123 1245 1061 184 -

FinalElSdelayed on four California national forests due to need to revise previously completed draft plans in response to the listing of the spottedowlas a threatened species. Source:USDAForest Service 1981-1 995, 1995e.

The record of appeal resolutions suggests that earlier completed plans and appeals made before appellants' actions were not very effective for their 1990. purposes, which belies the actual case. The contents of all appealed plans received careful evaluation in Although almost all of the planning appeals resulted the Chief's Office. In order to be prepared to provide in affirmed plans or were dismissed or withdrawn, effective responses to a Chief's Office appeal evalu- they raised issues that led to improvements in the ation, most forests reviewed their plans critically. planning process, the quality of the disclosure of the As a result, many appeals were withdrawn through environmental impacts in the final forest plan, and negotiated agreements for revisions and amendments the management direction published in the final [IS with national forest planning officials below the Chief's level. The dismissals generally reflected untimely appeal submissions, appeals for remedies Table 6. Resolution of forest land and resource management plan appeals not legally available to national forest managers, or issues that were outside the scope of the planning Resolution 1984-1989 1990-1995Total effort. The appeals on procedure (nonsubstantive of Appeal Number appeals) were concentrated on just two national forest locations the Los Padres National Forest in Appeals on Plans Remanded to Forest 37 7 44 California and those involved in the northern spotted owl issue in the Pacific Northwest and were Appeals on Plans essentially dismissed. More than 90 percent of the Affirmed 132 329 461 decisions on substantive appeals affirmed the final Appeals [IS and its selected final forest plan. Nonsubstantive 70 62 132 Appeals Dismissed 179 41 220 Only 44 of the substantive appeals were remanded to Appeals Withdrawn 127 77 204 the forests for further review and consideration of the Totals 545 516 1061 appeal issue and forest-level revision or amendment. Most of the remanded appeals (37) occurred with the Source:USDAForest Service 1995e. Chapter 6

documents. These improvements appear to be spotted owl and the salmon species issues in the reflected in the relatively fewer number of remands Pacific Northwest. All but one of these suits related to between 1990 and 1995 5.1 percent of 1 36 sub- forest plans in the Pacific Northwest or the northern stantive appeals that were not dismissed or with- Rocky Mountains. drawn compared to 21.9 percent of the substantive appeals not dismissed or withdrawn between 1 985 Project-Level Appeals and Litigation and 1 989. In addition, the number of appeals that As national forest plans were increasingly affirmed were dismissed or withdrawn dedined substantially through the appeals process and court litigation, after 1989 (table 6). However, relatively more public interest groups and individuals increasingly appeals were referred to the Chief for affirmation or turned to challenging the implementation of site- remand. This trend indicated more effective presen- specific projects to pursue their particular concerns tation of appeals by appellants and relatively fewer about national forest management. The number of negotiated settlements of appeals at the forest level. project appeals awaiting decisions rose rapidly, from 163 at the beginning of 1986 to 1,626 at the end of NEPA and NFMA Forest Planning Litigation 1 992 (table 7). Some public interest groups and individuals pursued their dissatisfaction with approved forest plans New appeals in 1986 numbered 1,081, compared through court suits and adjudication. The number of with 1,659 in 1992, and totaled 9,983 for the 1986 such suits, however, was much less than the number to 1 993 period (includes 1 ,1 44 forest plan appeals). of forest plan appeals. The first forest plan to be challenged in litigation was Table 7. Summary c)f project appeal activity, 1 986-1 992 the Rio Grande (Colo- rado) National Forest Appeal Status 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 plan. Between that initial Number of Appeals court challenge in 1987 F'ending January 1 163 563 628 1,044 1,045 1,249 1,453 and 1995, a total of 49 New Appeals 1,081 874 1,609 1,291 1,991 1,386 1,659 court suits relating to Decisions Rendered 681 809 1,193 1,290 1,787 1,182 1,486 national forest plans were Pending December31 563 628 1,044 1,045 1,249 1,453 1,626 adjudicated. This compares with the resolution Source: USDA ForestService 1 992a. of 1,061 out of 1,245 forest plan appeals without court suits during the Appeals resolved in the same period rose similarly, same period. In 39 of the 49 suits (80 percent of the from 681 to 1 ,486, but this increase was not great time), the courts upheld the forest plans. In addition enough to catch up with the growing workload of to the approval of the forest plan itself, most of the pending and new appeals. suits involved timber harvest or management issues or biological diversity, endangered species, and The appeals focused most heavily on timber sales and wildlife or fisheries management issues. Other suits management issues (table 8). For 1991 and 1992, addressed issues related to range, recreation, roadless such appeals constituted 52.6 percent of the new area evaluation, water rights, public involvement, appeals, while recreation, range, land management watershed effects, old growth, minerals, road devel- planning, minerals and geothermal management, and opment, or, in a few instances, regional guidelines, lands administration each constituted between 6 and but at a lower frequency than timber and wildlife 11 percent. Most appeals related to resource manage- issues. ment projects; only 201 related to land management planning. The 10 court suits adjudicated in favor of the plaintiffs generally involved either timber management or Many of the project-level appeals were filed by endangered species issues or both, including the interest groups and individuals pursuing issues that

198 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995

1995). This initiative contributed importantly to more Table 8. Distribution of administrative appeals related effective responses to NEPA standards and to national forest management for 1991 and 1992 requirements, as well as to better written NEPA and decision documents. Resource or Number of Percent of Management Activity Appeals Total National Action Plan To Improve NEPA Compliance Timber 1,530 52.6 In 1 988, the escalating number of project appeals Recreation 320 11.0 and the high level of adverse NEPA court suits led the Land Planning 201 6.9 Forest Service to establish a national task force Minerals 220 7.6 to determine the underlying causes of this perfor- Range 182 6.3 mance. There was a growing concern within the Lands 189 6.5 Forest Service that the trend of increasing litigation Wildlife/Fish 126 4.3 and appeals would significantly change the balance Engineering 62 2.1 of management activities on national forests and Pest Management 13 <1 disrupt timber sales and oil and gas leasing, particu- Water/Air 8 <1 larly in unroaded areas and old-growth timber. The Other 60 2.1 task force reported three basic problems requiring Total 2,991 99.4 correction to achieve more effective NEPA compliance and minimize future litigation and appeals: an Source:USDAForest Service1 992a often insufficient understanding of NEPA requirements among national forest managers and staff; they felt had not been fully responded to or resolved widespread reluctance within the Forest Service to in approved forest plans and EIS's or actions on plan prepare ElS's; and confusion about when specific appeals. The appeals were widely distributed planning, management, and NEPA-related decisions throughout the National Forest System. The greatest were made (USDA Forest Service 1 989a). Citizens concentration, almost 73 percent of all the appeals in participating in the NFMA planning process also 1 991 and 1 992, were in the major timber-producing shared the last concern. regions: Pacific Northwest (Region 6), Northern (Region 1), Southern (Region 8), and Pacific This evaluation resulted in A National Action Plan: Southwest (Region 5). Thus, public issues and appeals Improving Compliance with the National Environ- did not abate as national forest plans were approved mental Policy Act in Project Decisionmaking for implementation and as forest plan appeals were (Leonard 1989). The action plan involved formal increasingly resolved. The focal point for appeals participation of Forest Service leadership from the merely moved from forest plans to site-specific Chief down to the district ranger and all professional projects. staff involved in preparing environmental analyses. It focused on removing the obstacles national forest After 1988, litigation accelerated. The number of managers and staff faced in trying to comply with NEPA cases litigated rose from 50 between 1970 and NEPA and NFMA when analyzing, designing, and 1988 to 79 for between 1989 and 1995. However, deciding on resource management projects. Such the Forest Service success ratio on NEPA court suits obstacles included pressures brought on by heavy, rose from 20 out of 47 cases (43 percent) between time-consuming workloads and a tendency to cut 1 970 and 1 978 to 63 out of 79 cases (80 percent) corners to meet planned program and budget targets between 1 988 and 1 995 a fact that was largely particularly, but not exclusively, for timber attributed to the Forest Service's commitment, harvests; unclear signals on priorities; lack of clear, beginning in 1979, to provide Service-wide intensive accessible direction on NEPA compliance; changing training and preventive law advice on NEPA's legal interpretation and direction; paperwork overload; requirements, its related decision documents, and its and changing analysis standards for assessing effective implementation in an effort to help meet the environmental impacts. growing challenge of NEPA compliance (Bremen

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Formally implemented in the spring of 1 989, the that are not favorable to a group's or individual's National Action Plan's short-term actions included a interests. Some groups became quite sophisticated in letter to line officers with Chief's direction, followed the pursuit of these interests. One group, the up by joint Deputy Chief and regional management Wilderness Society, for example, published two meetings; regional action plans and inventories of handbooks How to Appeal Forest Service Plans and available NEPA resources and skills; national team Issues to Raise in a Forest Plan Appeal (Wilderness assistance on specific projects; a national newsletter Society 1986a, 1986b). on NEPA compliance; a national training workshop with followup on how to help interdisciplinary Revision of the Rules of National Forest Land planning teams and EIS teams; and a state-of-the-art and Resource Management Planning "answer book" with references. In March 1989, as an initial step for revising and Longer-term activities included a high-quality train- updating the existing rules for the second cycle of ing course on NEPA and NFMA appeals and litigation national forest planning under NFMA, the Forest processes and requirements as well as other, more Service undertook a comprehensive review and specialized courses, including training in conflict critique of its land management planning resolution, the development of analytical models for experience. The critique, completed in May 1 990, estimating environmental impacts, and the expansion documented what had been learned in the first cycle of the national database and library on NEPA of NFMA planning and suggested the best ways to compliance needs. respond to the planning challenges of the second cycle. A summary report, Synthesis of the Critique of The national effort to mprove NEPA compliance was Land Management Planning, Volume 1 (Larsen et al. applied effectively and energetically throughout the 1990a), and 10 other, more detailed reports National Forest System. It continues to operate, and documented the results. The critique involved more its activities have improved and expanded with time than 3,500 people inside and outside the Forest and experience. The best evidence of its effective- Service. More than 2,000 people participated in or ness is the major reversal of the ratio of appeal wins had responsibilities for planning and providing versus losses since 1988. The number of new NEPA guidance through formal workshops and interviews. appeals and suits, nevertheless, has continued to They included members of the general public, grow, indicating dissatisfaction with national forest interest groups, representatives of other resource use and management among strong residual segments management agencies, elected officials, Indian tribal of public interest groups and individuals, which leaders, forest supervisors, regional foresters, include commodity as well as environmental interests. resource specialists, and members of interdisciplin- Their attention generally focuses on commercial uses ary planning teams. An additional 1,500 interested of the forest and related environmental concerns, and people submitted written comments on the planning particularly on timber harvesting and management experience of the 1 980's. and its perceived environmental effects. In view of the progress national forests have made in meeting The findings identified six major areas where NEPA requirements and standards, it raises a question adjustments were needed: citizen, lawmaker, and about the goal of the growing number of appeals Forest Service expectations of planning; the Forest and suits. Improved national forest NEPA compliance Service attitude toward and conduct of public indicates more effective responses to Federal laws involvement; how the Forest Service conducts setting environmental standards that national forests planning; simplification and clarification of planning management must satisfy. Under these circumstances, procedures; implementation of plans, particularly to one would normally expect NEPA compliance ensure that they are followed and used; and appeals and suits to decline rather than rise. However, connections between appropriations and forest appeals and litigation are a means of stopping or plans. more thoroughly exploring management decisions

200 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1 995

Some 272 detaled recommendations were reports along with the preliminary text. Other combined into seven major recommendations: reviews and informational papers used to update the existing rule were the results of land management Reduce and clarify planning rules and direction, plan appeals and litigation, various published profes- including a planned, step-by-step approach to sional papers on the planning process, and related forest plan revision and increased responsibility papers such as the Keystone Policy Dialogue, which and authority of local resource managers. addressed biodiversity on Federal lands. The advance notice restated the Forest Service's conclusion that Inform and involve public interests early and although NFMA had some limitations, it was basically continuously; increase line officer commitment to sound policy guidance. NFMA, for example, did not planning and improve analytic tools and their specifically address the ecosystem concept and application to planning questions. management approach to national forest land and resource management planning, but the critique Ensure that planning is adequately staffed with the included a recommendation to "take an ecosystem variety of skills it needs and that research support approach to multiple-use, sustained-yield manage- is adequate to increase the effectiveness of inte- ment ... in contrast to a resources approach...." (Shands grated resource management. et al. 1990). The advance notice's proposed regulatory text moved in that direction in its purposes and Strengthen and clarify the linkage between forest principles. It emphasized the need to manage plans, programming and budgeting, and appropri- national forest multiple uses, including environmen- ation activities. tal and amenity values, in an ecologically sound manner. Under integrated resource management, the Educate the national forest staff, citizens, and proposed rule included ecological subunits such as cooperators about the RPA, NFMA, and NEPA biological communities and special habitats as man- planning processes and how they fit into the agement indicators in addition to the traditional national forest multilevel planning, decision- management indicator species. making, and management processes. The Forest Service distributed 20,000 copies of the Develop a strategy for revising forest plans and advance notice to interested persons and groups improve methods for monitoring and maintaining and invited comments on the rule. More than 600 forest plans. responses provided 4,700 comments. Business and industry interests; Federal, State, and local govern- Strengthen Forest Service quality control and ment agencies; conservation and environmental management review mechanisms and disseminate groups; and Forest Service employees each provided results together with decisions from appeals and between 9 and 11 percent of the comments, for a litigation to interested public (Federal Register total of 41 percent. Recreation and other user groups, 1991). academics, and civic organizations each provided 1 to 2 percent of the comments a total of 4 percent. The critique's findings became valuable guidance in The remaining 55 percent came from individuals. preparing the Forest Service's draft proposal to (Federal Register 1995). Following the processing of change land management planning regulations. The the comments on the 1991 advance notice, there was Forest Service published an advance notice of pro- an extended delay in publishing a proposed rule posed rulemaking in the Federal Register in February until 1995. The delay was influenced institutionally 1 991 (Federal Register 1 991), soon afterSynthesis of by a Bush Administration moratorium on the the Critiqueof Land Management Planningwas issuance of new regulations, the change in Admin- published, to solicit comments on the draft planning istrations after the November 1992 presidential regulations. The advance notice of rulemaking's text election, and a need to review the proposed rule- was strongly based on about a third of the critique. making with the new Clinton Administration policy Readers were encouraged to study the critique's officials. Chief Robertson's 1992 announcement of

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the intention to move the National Forest System work of Federal laws occasions some limitations and toward an ecosystem approach in managing multiple uncertainties for implementing ecosystem concepts, uses added a new technical dimension to NFMA rule- progress can be made within this framework. The making not addressed in the advance notice. The Forest Service believes that existing statutes may need continuing northern spotted owl controversy in the to be adjusted before the ecosystem approach can be Pacific Northwest in the early 1 990's a focal point transformed from an evolving approach to a fully for exploring ways to implement principles of eco- operational reality for the National Forest System system management remained unsettled until late (Federal Register 1 995). 1994. It created its own uncertainties and tensions about implementing an ecosystem approach to The proposed planning rule's first principle requires national forest management. There also were sub- that the National Forest System be managed to pro- stantial litigation and court decisions in this period; vide sustainable ecosystems that yield multiple bene- these continually introduced new considerations fits to present and future generations. It then defines about how and to what extent ecosystem manage- people as a part of those ecosystems and defines the ment guidelines could be introduced into the NFMA primary role of resource decisionmaking as meeting regulations (Federal Register 1995). The Forest people's needs and desires within the capacities of Service finally published its proposed rule in the those ecosystems. Federal Register in April 1995. The proposed rule included a major new Forest Service finding and Forest plans will establish direction for the inte- conclusion: "Principles of ecosystem management grated management of soil, water, fish and wild- need to be reflected in the planning regulations." life habitat, grazing, timber, oil, gas, mineral, recreation, wilderness, cultural, historic, geologic, The Forest Service has made its intention to move vegetative, air, visual, and other relevant toward an ecosystem management approach clear resources. and, in the last few years, it has actively promoted implementing ecosystem principles consistent with Management direction will focus on achieving existing laws. Other Federal agencies have acted objectives that will be described in terms of similarly. When the spotted owl controversy in the desired resource conditions, or ranges of con- Pacific Northwest was settled in 1 994, it became a ditions, associated with ecosystem variations. particular case in point. The 9th District Circuit Court upheld the validity of an ecosystem approach Objectives will be designed to achieve forest plan in sustaining the Record of Decision for the Range of goals describing desired end results in broad gen- the Northern Spotted Owl from programmatic eral terms. These forest plan goals will link broad challenge (SAS v. Lyons, No. C92-479WD [W.D. Forest Service goals expressed in the law, Executive WA Dec. 21, 1994]). Judge Dwyer, in rendering that Orders, regulations, or Forest Service directives decision, stated, "Given the current condition of the and the RPA program to the desired resource forests, there is no way the agencies could comply conditions specified in the forest plan. with environmental laws without planning on an ecosystem basis" (Federal Register 1 995). The forest plan will not specify a time period for achieving its goals and objectives. Actually, the The Forest Service recognizes that the ecosystem desired resource condition will be the basis for approach to management is an evolving concept determining the capability of local national forest and that much remains to be learned about how best ecosystems to meet the multiple uses sought by to implement its principles practically in managing national forest users. multiple uses. The Forest Service issued the proposed rule as a transitional step for incorporating the Under the proposed NFMA planning regulations, principles behind the ecosystem approach into land projections of goods and service levels or manage- and resource management planning consistent with ment activity levels would not be any part of forest NFMA. Although the existing "crazy quilt" frame- plan direction. Experience with existing plans has

202 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995

shown that such projections are not reliable or generations. Its final form will depend upon the predictable and are often not even determined by public comments on the purpose and content of the the plan; rather, they are determined by annual proposed rule closed in August 1995. A second budgets and programs, actual market demands, and proposed rule was drafted in response to the public by appeals and litigation processes and decisions comments and, as of March 1 997, had been not under the control of national forest managers. scheduled to be reissued for an additional 90-day Thus, the state of forest resource conditions desired comment period in mid-1997. It is still pending as for soils and rangelands and other vegetation, his- this book is being published. toric or cultural site retention, or visual quality or wilderness experience and the associated manage- Wilderness Designation, ment direction would determine the forests' capa- Use, and Management bility to respond to them. The proposed rule also assumes that effective ecosystem management, Between 1980 and 1995, public interests prompted properly implemented, including the management of congressional wilderness designations that more endangered, threatened, and sensitive species habi- than doubled the area of national forest wilderness tats to avoid their extirpation or listing in the case of (see fig. 1 7, chapter 5). Most of these additions had sensitive species, would automatically provide for been included in RARE II. Between 1979 and 1984, habitat diversity as well as sustainability. The pro- the designated national forest wilderness area rose posed rule focuses forest plans on achieving and by 17 million acres, from 15.1 million to 32.1 mil- sustaining desired resource conditions and respond- lion, and the number of units nearly tripled, from ing to multiple-use demands according to the cap- 110 to 327, creating a huge challenge for wilderness acity of those ecosystems to supply them. Thus, forest administration and management. Designations in plans would no longer include quantitative outputs subsequent years came more slowly. Between 1985 except in the case of timber resources. NFMA and 1993, national forest wilderness grew by explicitly requires quantitative output objectives 2.6 million acres, to 34.6 million acres, with 397 for timber. units in 38 States. Nearly 93 percent of the wilderness area (32 million acres) was distributed among Under the proposed rule, national forest manage- 254 units in 14 States in the Pacific Coast and Rocky ment would, in some ways, become more holistic, Mountain Regions and Alaska. The remaining increase its emphasis on an interdisciplinary 7.4 percent (2.6 million acres) was dispersed among approach, and seek more effective public partici- 143 units in 24 States in the eastern and central pation to integrate the management of its multiple United States. Wilderness areas constituted 18 per- resources and uses. The ecosystem approach would cent of the total National Forest System in 1 993, involve a broader geographic and landscape- 36 percent of the total National Wilderness Preserva- oriented perspective in fitting the multiple uses into tion System, and 74 percent of the wilderness in the forest ecosystems. It would also consider conditions lower 48 States. tn 1 994, Congress was considering on other public and private lands outside the forest an additional 6 million acres of national forest land plan area to ensure that national forest lands are for wilderness designation. managed from a broad, ecological perspective rather than one limited to jurisdictional boundaries. This Wilderness use grew in the 1980's, but at a slower effort will involve improved and increased public rate than during the 1970's. RVD use rose from participation to avoid impinging on the rights of 9.6 million in 1979 to 12.7 million in 1985, and private landowners and the authorities of other thereafter more or less stabilized at an average of public agencies. 12.4 million RVD's per year, varying between 11.6 million and 13.3 million per year until 1993. The proposed rule provides still another approach to integrated management of multiple uses in a way Management of Wilderness that will sustain both the forest uses and the eco- The rapid expansion of the national forest wilderness systems that support them for the benefit of future acreage and units, along with continued growth in

203 lI11 I I rness, rehabilitating m, enfordng regula- t U processes such as wild- 1 edicating users on wilderness iagernent activities to protect the ar"'ristics as solitude and t ( 4' ecologi: 'tional forest r Hiking along a trail in the Indian Peaks Wilderness on the Hiking along a trail in the Indian Peaks implementing plans for protecting wilderness quality Due to the strong emphasis on recreation use A rapaho-Roosevel( NatiOn I Forest, Colorado, 1996. A rapaho-Roosevel( NatiOn I Forest, Colorado, such w ierness and experi- unconfined opportunities for recreation encing natural resc rces in their primeval state. wilderness inclu benefits and how tions est cnished to prote:t wi,c damaged areas, maintaining inventory data for wilderness uses an' (source conditions, preparing and for the use and appreciation of future generations. through the 1980's, the actual management of wilderness continued to focus on managing people and their impacts. The greatest challenge was to provide for visitor use while protecting wilderness values and allowing natur fire to operate freely. Teaching wilderness users and (USDA created a new wilder- 1983, 1994 300 Wilderness 1 980's, action plans had FTE's by million acres. These 1981-1989). FTE's by national forest wilderness 20 196 386 to 397 1979 1994). 1 9940. By 1 994, FTE's in the Forest Service convened a National 6 1 74 1983, 204 wilderness is to provide for scientific, scenic, educa- other uses consistent with sustaining the natural conditions of the wilderness resource and protecting huge new workload to develop action plans and huge new workload for nearly implementation schedules almost ness units covering were designed to ensure quality plans and schedules of wilderness areas in ways that use and management researchers' knowledge and ness managers' and technology, and public experience, available used to determine the carrying involvement were units. Monitoring capacity of the various wilderness to be identi- tools and techniques likewise needed to protect the fied, developed, and implemented guidelines for plans also included standards and trail planning recreation use, wilderness education, management, and maintenance, grazing use, fire use, and other motorized and mechanical equipment to each aspects of use and protection specific wilderness unit (USD1/USDA increased slowly planning and management staffing from Forest Service been completed for all units (Thomas In of Idaho. This workshop produced a national guide to provide consistency and direction for improving wilderness management practices Management: A Five-Year Action Program. The workshop was a cooperative effort of citizens, organizations, research and education institutions, State agencies, commercial recreation interests, and others who had a stake in wilderness management. The guidelines developed by the workshop emphasized enlisting the cooperation of wilderness users and interests to improve wilderness management practices. The general Forest Service management goal for tional, conservation, historical, recreational, and would maintain their quahty and character. Wilder- would maintain their Wilderness wilderness from unacceptable changes. wilderness To handle the expanding workload, then rapidly doubled to at the University Wilderness Management Workshop visitor use, particularly in the early visitor use, particularly Chapter National Forest Management for Multiple Uses:1980to1995

about the nature of wilderness and how they could State; the Mt. Hood in Oregon; the Tonto in Arizona; use it and enjoy it without degrading its quality was the Wasatch-Cache-Uinta in Utah, Wyoming, and the principal national forest strategy educating Idaho; the White Mountain in New Hampshire; and wilderness users rather than regulating them to pro- the Chatahooche-Oconee in Georgia. These 1 3 tect wilderness quality. It was this "people approach forests included almost4million acres of national to wilderness management" that generally increased forest wilderness more than 10 percent of all visitors' awareness and sensitivity and persuaded national forest wilderness and were located within them to care more about the ways that they used and 1 hour's travel time of a million or more people. The enjoyed the wilderness. National forest managers management environment on these forests as a whole encouraged and received substantial assistance in was defined as chaotic, as the managers strived to their educational efforts from wilderness interest respond to the expectations of the urban user group groups, outdoor writers, and outdoor equipment while protecting wilderness ecosystems. Urban users suppliers. National forest wilderness managers also placed extremely heavy demands for immediate depended increasingly upon volunteers to accom- access to wilderness as well as to highly developed plish the annual workload. Wilderness volunteers recreation areas, recreational waters, resource grew from less than 100 person-years in1980to education, fire protection, firearm shooting areas, 1 78person-years in1 986,when visitor use began and law enforcement. In1994,these 13 forests to level off (USDA Forest Service1981-1 987). provided82million RVD's of use, including wilderness visits more than a quarter of the total Visitors concentrating at the more attractive sites and national forest RVD use of 330 million (USDA Forest desirable wilderness locations continued to be a Service Urban Forest Supervisors1 994). problem. This impacted not only visitor solitude, but also wilderness character and wilderness resources. Despite the growing management effort, reported Such visitor impacts on wilderness have always been wilderness violation incidents grew from about600 highly localized near trails, streams, lakes, and per year in1980to1,650in1986,and continued to other forest attractions and the heavily used popular increase thereafter. Most violations were illegal use of campsites often located near such attractions. The motorized vehicles and equipment. Other violations wilderness permit system was a valuable tool for included illegal outfitting and guiding, artifact and limiting and dispersing such heavy use. In the early fuelwood thefts, camping and pet violations, 1980's,the Forest Service established an approach cultivation of marijuana, destruction of Federal called "limits of acceptable change" (LAC) to assess property, failure to abide by permit terms, and van- when and where to impose use restrictions. Research dalism (primarily theft and damage to visitor vehicles began to provide information about site durability at trailheads). Search and rescue missions remained and user threshold levels beyond which user impacts more or less stable at about 300 per year. Fatalities would become substantial and difficult to reverse. ranged between 30 and50.The number of serious Such studies helped wilderness managers decide injuries was much greater. Wilderness managers where to encourage camping and other onsite uses continued to be highly responsive to search and and where to discourage them. rescue requests in such emergency situations, even though it was evident that many emergency incidents The identification of 13 national forests in1994 and occasions of lost wilderness users could have as "urban national forests" where urban values, been avoided had the visitors been properly demands, and related uses had become dominant informed or better prepared for wilderness chal- illustrated the intensifying use of wilderness areas lenges. The public, however, came to expect imme- observed throughout the1 980's.These forests diate action, such as helicopter lift-outs or rescue, included the Arapaho-Roosevelt and Pike-San Isabel which intruded into the wilderness environment and in Colorado; the Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres, the wilderness experience of other wilderness users and San Bernardino in California; the Mt. Baker- (USDA Forest Service1981-1 987). Snoqualmie and the Gifford Pinchot in Washington

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Renewed Efforts To Upgrade Wilderness together, they produced and published the Rocky Management: 1987-1995 Mountain Region statement on wilderness manage- In the late 1 980's, both the Forest Service and outside ment philosophy. It focused on wilderness values, wilderness interests became aware that a number of uses, users, and management guidelines. Most of factors were contributing to an inconsistent wilder- these have been incorporated into the Forest Service ness management philosophy and shortfalls in manual and handbooks (USDA Forest Service Rocky wilderness management. Ambiguities in wilderness Mountain Region 1989). legislation that permitted nonconforming uses, such as mining and grazing, and wilderness boundaries Congressman Bruce Vento of Minnesota, Chairman that were legislatively located next to areas of inten- of the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public sive development were two important sources of Lands of the House Committee on Interior and such inconsistency. Managers were sometimes Insular Affairs, spearheaded oversight hearings on uncertain about how such situations should be national forest wilderness management and a managed. Most managers were trained or practiced stronger thrust for upgrading wilderness management in production objectives, but were not schooled or direction and its consistent application. In March skilled in a wilderness management philosophy, 1989, Vento wrote in a letter to the Chief of the which was akin to preservation. Most focused their Forest Service that the hearing record was almost attention on managing wilderness for permitted unanimous that national forest wilderness manage- recreation uses and were responsive to the growing ment was weak and inadequate and leading to a demand for increased wilderness use. Many wilder- decline in the quality of its wilderness (Vento 1989). ness managers and users alike lacked a common His letter identified the major shortcomings docu- understanding about what constituted a quality mented in the hearing record and provided 14 rec- wilderness experience. But there was also a corre- ommendations on how to improve national forest sponding lack of services and opportunities for wilderness management. These recommendations acquiring such understanding other than through an apparently became the basic guidelines for a major extended wilderness experience itself. Limited update of the National Forest System wilderness funding and staffing tended to lead to low priorities management philosophy and standards improving for wilderness management and the use of "least the understanding and capabilities of wilderness cost" or "shortcut" technology to solve wilderness managers and bringing wilderness management to an management problems. Different interpretations of equal status with the other National Forest System wilderness laws among managers, wilderness orga- functional management areas. Congressman Vento's nization leaders, and politicians likewise contributed recommendations called for the Chief's commitment to the uncertainty and ambiguity of the wilderness and leadership in providing training to wilderness management philosophy (USDA Forest Service managers and other Forest Service employees on the Rocky Mountain Region 1989). history, philosophy, and value of wilderness; expanding the wilderness ranger staff; establishing a To gain a common understanding, acceptance, and career ladder for wilderness managers; providing support for a consistent wilderness management performance standards for all line officers responsible philosophy and to encourage wilderness managers to for wilderness management; consolidating wilderness apply it on the ground, the Rocky Mountain Region's areas fragmented by multiple-use unit boundaries; regional forester encouraged a wilderness philosophy establishing directors of wilderness in the Washington for the region. He enlisted experienced regional Office and regional offices to give wilderness an wilderness managers and the help of many people emphasis equal to that of other functional resource with a longstanding interest in and practical knowl- divisions; establishing a national public education edge about wilderness and their organizations, program on the values of wilderness and its proper including the American Wilderness Alliance, the use to reduce visitor impacts; and expanding Colorado Mountain Club, the Colorado Open Space wilderness research in cooperation with other Council, the National Audubon Society, the Univer- Federal agencies. Vento also requested that the sity of Iowa, and the Wilderness Society. Working Forest Service report to Congress every 5 years on

206 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1 995

the condition of national forest wilderness and the ness management implementation weregenerally restoration of degraded areas. His closing guidance contributing to some deterioration in wilderness advised the Forest Service to request funding to quality and that inadequate funding was a major accomplish these recommendations. contributing factor. It also reported that the full extent of the reported deterioration could not be In 1989, the Forest Service's Washington Office determined because many areas lacked baseline enunciated its commitment to manage wilderness as data on wilderness conditions as well as current an enduring resource in accordance with the follow- condition data. Some areas were in relatively good ing management principles (USDA Forest Service condition, but others often showed deterioration on 1987a): manage wilderness as a distinct resource trails and bridges and around popular camping with inseparable parts; manage the use of other areas. resources and activities within wilderness in a manner compatible with the wilderness resource; allow Congress addressed the problem of inadequate fund- natural processes to operate freely within wilderness; ing by doubling the national forest wilderness man- attain the highest level of priority of wilderness char- agement budget from $13.1 million (constant 1994 acter within legal constraints; preserve wilderness air dollars) in 1987 to $27.7 million in 1994. This com- and water quality; produce human values and bene- pared with an increase of $4.8 million, or 58 per- fits while preserving wilderness character; preserve cent, in the preceding 5 years, from $8.3 million in outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive, 1979 to $1 3.1 million in 1987. The Forest Service unconfined recreation experience in each wilderness; also took steps to improve its effectiveness and control and reduce the adverse physical and social accountability in the use of funds appropriated for impacts of human use in wilderness through edu- wilderness management. However, a 1991 GAO cation or minimum regulation; favor wilderness- wilderness management study found major weak- dependent activities when managing wilderness use; nesses in the Forest Service's use of and accounta- exclude the sight, sound, and other tangible evidence bility for wilderness management funding (GAO of motorized equipment or mechanical transport 1991). ft found that 37 percent of the wilderness wherever possible within wilderness; remove existing management funding for fiscal years 1 988, 1 989, structures and terminate uses and activities not essen- and 1 990 had been reprogrammed without the tial to wilderness management or not provided by approval of the House Committee on Appropriations law; accomplish necessary wilderness management and that less than two-thirds of the balance was work with the "minimum tool"; establish specific getting down to the ranger district level where the management objectives, with public involvement, in wilderness management practices were implemented a management plan for each wilderness; harmonize on the ground. The Forest Service responded prompt- wiiderness and adjacent land management activities; ly, and by September 1991, before the final GAO manage wilderness with interdisciplinary scientific report was published, had implemented procedures skills; and manage special exceptions provided by to ensure that wilderness management funds were wilderness legislation (for example, mining, grazing, being spent as Congress intended, that the repro- and access to private lands) with minimum impact in gramming of funds followed House Appropriations the wilderness resource. Committee reprogramming guidelines, and that there was greater accountability for the use of funding Thus, the problem with wilderness management in designated for wilderness management (GAO 1991). the late 1980's was not so much a matter of manage- The problems of inconsistency in understanding, ment objectives and principles, but a lack of consis commitment, and implementation of wilderness tency in understanding, commitment, and resources management practices were addressed through a for their full implementation. A 1989 study by the strong national training program for all national U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) addressed forest line officers, and more than 500 wilderness and confirmed these problems in their findings and managers responded. By 1994, some 400 line offi- recommendations (GAO 1989). The GAO report cers and 500 wilderness managers hadcompleted found that the shortfalls and unevenness of wilder- the course.

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Currently, line officers tend to be more involved in tion, improved management consistency across the making long-term wilderness decisions. Most entire wilderness, lower overhead costs, and, above national forest regions have provided local training all, improved opportunities to preserve and manage for wilderness rangers (the number of local training the multiple units as a single ecosystem. Congress, programs for wilderness rangers remains limited, but however, had not yet approved this proposal as of their accomplishments have increased). Wilderness the date of publication of this book. performance standards that reflect the seven goals the Chief identified for rapid wilderness manage- The second step is the proposed creation of a ment improvement are in place for all line officers national wilderness director and staff in the Wash- who manage wilderness. They will help unlock ington Office that would elevate wilderness to an managerial creativity and energy and achieve man- equal standing with other functional resource staffs agement excellence. The seven goals include inte- such as timber, fish and wildlife, range, and water- grating wilderness values, principles, and planning shed management. The wilderness director position systems with ecosystem values, principles, and was approved in 1994. As a result of downsizing in policies to promote natural, healthy, and diverse 1 996, the Chief of the Forest Service has proposed to wilderness ecosystems. WIlderness ecosystems are the Secretary of Agriculture that the wilderness staff visualized as setting an example and standard for be consolidated with the recreation and heritage the National Forest System's ecosystem approach to staffs and that the wilderness director position not be national forest management (Thomas 1994). filled. As of the date of publication of this book, the decision memo had been sent to the Secretary of In 1993, the Forest Service training program for Agriculture and no decision had yet been rendered. wilderness managers led to the establishment of the National Interagency Training Center and Research The establishment of wilderness performance Institute for Wilderness Management in Montana. standards for regional foresters is the third step for They are named, respectively, after former national increasing organizational effectiveness for wilder- forest managers Arthur Carhart and Aldo Leopold, ness management (USDA Forest Service 1994c). who contributed so much to initiation of dedicated Thus, in 1996, the Forest Service's role in national wilderness areas within the National Forest System. forest wilderness management appears to be Both are staffed and operating, and Department of emerging as guiding light in both the wilderness the Interior wilderness management agencies such stewardship movement and the development of an as the BLM, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the ecosystem approach to the management of natural National Park Service have been invited to partici- resources. pate in their work. Research Natural Areas In 1 994, the Forest Service took steps to further strengthen the organizational effectiveness of A continuing loss of natural landscapes, the wilder- National Forest System wilderness management. The ness and environmental movements, and the passage first step, still pending, was a proposal to establish the of the endangered species legislation during the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Man- 1960's and the 1970's gradually raised the awareness agement Unit, led by a single supervisor reporting of the public, special interests, and the Forest Service directly to one regional forester. This 2.4-million-acre that the window of opportunity for protecting exam- area is the largest national forest wilderness in the ples of pristine natural areas was closing. In 1 976, the lower 48 States and is currently administered by two NFMA requirements for protecting and maintaining national forest regions, six national forests, and 12 biodiversity and for monitoring national forest plan ranger districts. The consolidation of these multiple implementation on soil productivity elevated this units and hierarchical administration into a single awareness within the Forest Service and created new wilderness management unit would provide better incentives for accelerating the pace for establishing user services, more effective administrative coordina- RNA's. rhe NFMA planning process gave special

208 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses:1980to1995

consideration to identifying ded and desirable stands and sagebrush grasslands. The Mesita de los candidate natural areas. In i 1 5 years between Lad rones RNA(1 991)on New Mexico's Santa Fe

1980and 1995, the nurn er and area i A's more NaionaI Forest set aside an area of minimally than doubled. Their n' u increasec from 129 to disturbed pinyon-juniper forest stands. On 303 and their area grew from over1 38,000acres to Arkansas's Ouachita National Forest, the Gap Creek more than 300,000 acres. The emp isis on their RNA(1 990)protected upland headwater stream basic goal intensifie. to preserve arepresentative habitat for the rare paleback darter and the southern array of biodiversity within all significant natural ladyslipper growing on its banks, both of which ecosystems and, through scientific research and edu- were being reviewed for listing as threatened or cation, compare their components a d inherent pro- endangered species. On Utah's Ashley National cesses with representative man ipuated ecosystems. Forest, the Sim's Peak Pot Hole RNA(1991)pro- Thus, RNA's were seen as providing baseline data on tected excellent wetland, bog, and riparian areas ecosystem biodiversity and processes and their per- within a mixed conifer forest. The Newaygo Prairie formance n the absence of management. RNA(1 988)on Michigan's Huron-Manistee National Forest set aside an area of various native prairie The RNA additions increasingly reflected the sedges and grasses, especially little and big National Forest System's biological and ecosystem bluestem. diversity. New additions focused on aquatic and riparian, shrubland, grassland, subalpine, and alpine As the RNA system expanded and national forests ecosystems. Special efforts were also made to add turned to an ecosystem approach in managing areas representing ecosystems occupied by endan- multiple uses, new questions arose about admin- gered, threatened, and sensitive species. The Jumpoff istering and managing RNA's. To what extent should RNA(1988)on Utah's Uinta National Forest set RNA's be managed to preserve the original natural aside an area of unusual quaking aspen forest condition and habitats for endangered, threatened, and sensitive species? Protection from wildfire, for example, was altering habitats previously maintained by fire. Should prescribed fire be used to simulate the natural wildfires that have been excluded from these ecosystems? How should baseline information and the results of any non- manipulative research be effectively linked with the ecosystem approach to national forest management? How does one use the relatively site-specific information (ranging from 40 acres to 1 0,000 acres provided by RNA's) with the management of ecosystems over tens and Dave's Draw Re5earch Natural Area. established on the Pawnee National Grasslands, colorado, in 1995, preserves typical rolling shortgrass and rnidgrass prairie dissected by high-plains hundreds of thousands of wooded draw5all in excellent condition. acres? These questions are

!Ai

4II

4 Chapter 6

now being asked and addressed by Forest Service became increasingly burdened by appeals (table 7), researchers and national forest managers to increase litigation, policy challenges, public demonstrations, the effectiveness of the role of RNA's (Whitmore and even radically violent actions such as spiking 1995). trees planned for harvest, spilling sand into logging equipment motors, and slashing tires, and such Timber Resource Management nonviolent actions as obstructing logging by tree- sitting and lying down in front of moving logging National forest timber resource management experi- equipment. In 1985, USDA Assistant Secretary for enced its most challenging and difficult years during Natural Resources and the Environment Peter C. the 1980's and early 1990's. Administration and Myers expressed the view that despite the designa- congressional policy officials continued to set pro- tion of 1 7 million acres of national forest lands for gram and budget goals for timber sales at 11 to 1 2 bbf wilderness, for a total of 32.1 million acres, "it is per year throughout the 1 980's. They also supported clear that some groups still want even more lands timber management programs that included inten- designated as wilderness and are seeking to prevent sive silvicultural practices to maintain timber pro- areas in an unroaded condition from becoming ductivity and ensure that future potential yields roaded" (Myers 1986). would sustain those harvest levels in the long term. Despite these challenges, the Forest Service was At the same time, the allocation of timber lands to consistently able to prepare, offer, and sell between wilderness and other specialized dominant uses and 11 and 12 bbf of timber annually throughout the the NFMA requirement that timber lands be limited 1980's until 1989. In 1989, timber sales offered fell to those areas suitable for growing and harvesting almost 10 percent short of the congressionally timber reduced the suitable timber land base from funded target, and timber actually sold declined 75 million acres in the late 1970's to 53 million even more. These declines were primarily attributed acres in 1993 (USDA Forest Service 1993e; Liggett to a court injunction concerning the viability of the et al. 1995), concentrating the timber harvest on a northern spotted owl population in the Pacific smaller land and resource base. Throughout much Northwest, its subsequent listing as a threatened of the 1970's, this growing concentration raised species, and the need to protect its habitat, and questions and concerns as to whether existing individual timber sales appeals. Pressure from these programmed timber sale and harvest levels could sources continued to have an impact on the total be sustained while meeting the rising demands for level of national forest timber sales offered in the nontimber uses and environmental objectives such early 1 990's and, by 1 994, timber sales offered were as biodiversity. By the mid-i 980's, the relatively down to 3.4 bbf and timber actually harvested was rapid congressional designation of selected RARE II down to 4.8 bbf. study areas as wilderness on a State-by-State basis tended to ease this situation releasing nondesig- The largest part of this reduction related to timber nated roadless areas to multiple-use management harvest adjustments for wildlife and fish habitat and excluding their further consideration for wilder- objectives, particularly for protection of the habitats ness until the next NFMA planning cycle 10 to 15 of endangered, threatened, and sensitive species. years hence. However, the release of nondesignated Inventory volume adjustments, soil and watershed road less areas seemed to shift the attention of wilder- considerations, recreation requirements, and other ness and related environmental interests from the factors accounted for the balance. About half the designation of new wilderness to precluding or reduction occurred in the Pacific Northwest and delaying timber sale and harvest on the released northern California in response to the Northwest roadless areas. These efforts focused on forestalling Forest Plan (the spotted owl controversy). harvest of old-growth timber and centered in the Pacific Northwest. Timber harvest planning, sale Timber management planning and implementation preparation, and actual harvest on such lands became increasingly sensitive to NEPA requirements

210 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1 980 to 1 995

during the 1980's and was dramatically moderated toward the multiple uses in t;. national forest decisionmaking as increased weight was given to nontimber uses such as wilderness, wildlife, and recreation (Hoberg 1993; Wilkinson and Anderson 1 987). In 1992, the Forest Service embraced the ecological : approach to managing multiple uses on national forests. This step, with the help of extensive public j. I.

participation, was seen as lIT providing, in time, a more effective basis or framework

for resolving the continuing 1, public debate about the proper level and mix of national forest resource uses and their related man- Stand examiners measuring and recording tree data on timber inve ntory sample plot, Deschutes agement. A national National Forest, Oregon, 1996. hierarchical framework of ecological units was Regions, but all other regions except the Eastern established for classifying and mapping national Region also experienced a decline in average annual forest land and resources to provide an ecological timber sale levels. Eastern Region timber sales basis for data collection, resource analysis, land and increased to 810 million board feet, 1 7 percent resource management planning, and implementation of forest uses and practices (USDA Forest 1991-1 995, above the 1980 level (see fig. 14, chapter 4). 1993c; Unger 1993). Potential for Timber Supply Disruption due to Timber Volume Sold Appeals and Litigation Evaluated Total timber volume sold during the 1 980's averaged In 1 989, it became evident that national forest plan 10.7 bbf per year, slightly less than the 11 .0 bbf per and timber sales appeals and litigation were impair- year sold during the 1 970's decade. In the early ing the National Forest System's ability to meet 1990's, in response to continuing litigation and congressionally programmed targets and budgets. action over the spotted owl issue as well as indi- National forest timber actually sold during the vidual appeals, 1 994 timber sale offerings declined 1980's declined slowly, from an average 11 .3 bbf in sharply to 3.4 bbf, below the level of sales and har- 1979, 1980, and 1981 to an average of 11.1 bbf vest in 1950! Actual volume sold in 1994 dropped between 1 986 and 1 988, then dropped sharply to even lower to 3.1 bbf about the 1 945 level of 8.4 bbf in 1989. The timber harvest for the same national forest timber supply (see fig. 6, chapter 3). years rose from 9.2 bbf to 1 2.4 bbf. As a consequence, the inventory of sold-but-uncut timber During the 1990's, the decline was concentrated in declined steadily during the 1980's. These trends the Pacific Southwest and the Pacific Northwest were heavily concentrated in Washington, Oregon,

211 Chapter 6

and California, where the spotted owl and old- This strategy was carried out effectively. It improved growth had become a major national issue. The the quality of NEPA documents and the success rates Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Natural in court suits, but did not immediately stem the Resources and the Environment, George Dunlop, growth of appeals or litigation. directed the Forest Service to document this potential disruption of the national timber supply and To reduce the opportunity of appeHants to reopen identify its root causes (Dunlop 1 989). The study, issues already decided, the study recommendations "An Analysis of an Emerging Supply Description," also proposed the revision of the appeals regulations. completed in June 1990, found that the timber Postdecision appeals were a special problem because supply under contract to forest product mills that they often involved individuals who had chosen not depended on national forest timber had been to participate in the NEPA-generated predecision reduced to an average of 1 .6 years, compared with public involvement process, raised issues that the the historical level of 2 to 3 years considered neces- NEPA procedures did not address, and usually did sary to sustain normal mill operations (Larsen et al. not include earlier NEPA process participants in the 1990b). This reduction was not seen as critical from postdecision appeals negotiations. a national viewpoint, but it was on the verge of becoming critical for 20 forests with less than 1 year's In 1 992, the Forest Service proposed a revision of supp'y under contract. its administrative appeal process. It chose to limit appeals solely to final decisions approving, revising, Appeals, court decisions, and changes in policy, or significantly amending national forest land and regulation, and statute had a profound effect in resource management plans. The proposal's thrust constricting the timber sales volume in the pipeline was to expand opportunities for predecisional public and under contract. It usually takes 3 to 8 years to involvement in national forest decisionmaking. Its initiate, prepare, and offer a timber sale. Increased objective was to minimize the impacts of post- controversy had raised timber sale preparation costs decision appeals, reduce uncertainties about by 25 to 33 percent and contributed to the loss of national forest timber sale offerings, and lower the many timber sales from the preparation pipeline, number and cost of timber sale appeals (USDA thereby, raising the acres needed in some state of Forest Service 1 992c). In November 1991, the sale preparation to meet congressional timber sale Senate held hearings on the impact of appeals on targets by 40 to 60 percent. In addition, the contin- national forest timber sale programs and, in 1992, uing controversy and changes in NEPA standards enacted legislation establishing a separate appeals required reworking some 20 to 33 percent of each procedure for project-level decisions (U.S. Congress year's sales, revising or completely redoing many 1 992). This legislation did not affect the Forest EA's, and revisiting many project decisions. Service administrative appeals processes for forest Improving NEPA documentation constituted 70 per- plans and regional guides or for permits and cent of the increased workload, changing sale unit authorizations. layouts about 20 percent. (Larsen et al. 1990b). The new national forest project-level appeals legis- The timber supply reduction study uncovered a lation streamlined the public comment and appeals complex of underlying causes for the disruption of process, improved predecision information sharing the timber sales preparation pipeline and called for and the opportunity for mediating appeals with the several remedial actions: improving the effectiveness public, shortened the overall time for resolving of the public participation, including multiparty appeals, and limited appeals to people who had conflict prevention and mediation, in planning and participated in the predecision public involvement decisionmaking; increasing the clarity and under- and comment process. The final implementing regu- standing of the NEPA and NFMA processes and lations for this process became effective in January improving their application, and strengthening the 1994. They required that project-specific EA's be Forest Service's responses to appeals and litigation. made available to for a 30-day public comment

212 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995

period prior to final decision, that national forest 1980's and early 1990's, protests, appeals, lawsuits, managers respond to these comments, and that the and court rulings produced a virtual management final decision be printed in a newspaper. gridlock. The public debate intensified during those years, and its focus expanded from the old-growth The public had 45 days to appeal the final decision. needs of the spotted owl to a concern for all old- National forest managers were to offer to meet with growth-dependent species and old-growth eco- appellants within 15 days of the date of the appeal systems. Ultimately, the issue led to a drastic to attempt to mediate or resolve the appeal issue. reduction of national forest timber sales and harvests The appeal-deciding officer had 45 days from the in parts of Washington, Oregon, and California. date of the appeal to render a decision. These new procedures made the regional forester the client for Concern for the habitat and survival of the northern appeals, and depending on the regional forester's spotted owl first arose in Oregon in 1 972, when decision reduced appeals to the Chief. researchers observed and reported that the northern spotted owl was most often found in old-growth In 1 994, the first year of operation for the new forests and that timber harvesting was progressively appeals process, the number of new appeals, reducing the area of such forests. This concern was excluding those for forest plans, was down to 496, shared by the Department of the Interior's Fish and compared with a peak level of 2,631 appeals in Wildlife Service (FWS) and the BLM and the Oregon 1993 under the previous appeals process. Face-to- Wildlife Commission, who in 1 973 formed the Inter- face informed appeal resolution meetings led to agency Oregon Endangered Species Task Force to resolution or partial resolution of 36 appeals. help preclude other species from becoming threat- Twenty-four appeals were withdrawn. Fourteen were ened or endangered in Oregon. The Task Force dismissed for untimeliness, lack of agency authority, initially addressed the northern spotted owl and or absence of appellant standing. However, 1 24 recommended that State and Federal agencies appellants on 474 appeals declined to participate in reserve 300 acres of old-growth habitat around each national forest offers for informal disposition meet- spotted owl site as an interim protection measure. ings. Nine appellants took their appeals to court for The idea of site-by-site reserves became the model resolution. In most cases, the appeals were resolved for management guidelines until the late 1 980's. At within the 45-day timeframe provided by the law that time, there were 1 00 known spotted owl sites in (Unger 1995). Oregon, but both the BLM and the Forest Service deferred such action until a State-wide management goal was established (USDA Forest Service 1 993g). n 1995, the Forest Service reported that this new appeal process was promoting the open expression When the ESA was passed in 1 973, the northern of ideas and encouraging the public to join in spotted owl was not included on the Federal list of identifying and analyzing natural resource manage- threatened and endangered species. Therefore, the ment options before project-level decisions were ESA did not immediately impact the management of made. The improved public input was producing the spotted owl's habitat. However, the Oregon better decisions and contributing to higher quality Wildlife Commission endorsed its listing as "threat- NEPA decisions. ened" on Oregon's threatened and endangered species list a list that did not have any Federal The Northern Spotted Owl and Old-Growth statutory standing. NFMA regulations, on the other Management Controversy hand, required the maintenance of viable popula- Concerns about the adequacy of management for tions of all native vertebrate species in national the old-growth habitat needs of the relatively rare forest planning areas. This meant that national forest northern spotted owl in the Pacific Northwest and management could not cause the listing of any northern California the owl's general range additional species as threatened or endangered a emerged in the 1 970's. The concerns intensified and stronger requirement than that provided by the ESA, became controversial in the early 1 980's. In the late which only called for maintaining individual species.

21 Chapter 6

NFMA required maintaining the integrity of species old growth made it extremely vulnerable, and if populations and, therefore, their habitats' integrity as old-growth harvest trends continued, the owl could well (USDA Forest Service 1 993g). become listed in a short time. In 1 982, the Forest Service and BLM established the old-growth wildlife In 1 976 and 1 977, the Interagency Oregon Endan- research and development program for western Ore- gered Species Task Force recommended a long-term gon and Washington, which by 1986 had evolved goal to maintain "... 400 pairs of spotted owls on into the spotted owl research, development and public land in Oregon" and the preparation of a plan application program and included California. The to reserve habitat management areas supporting program generated a variety of studies and numer- clusters of three to six pairs with a minimum of ous reports and publications. The Pacific Northwest 1 ,200 acres of contiguous area per pair. A core of at Region's final regional guide for national forest least 300 acres of the oldest available old-growth planning was issued in 1 984. It called for assessing forest would be included for each pair. Habitat man- the effects of habitat management areas on 375 owl agement areas with multiple pairs would be no more pairs during the development of Washington and than 8 to 12 miles apart (less for single-pair areas). Oregon national forest plans. When the region Where pairs of owls within habitat areas were less modified the spacing guidelines between reserved than a mile apart, core areas for at least two pairs habitat management areas to maintain a more effec- would be included. Several other criteria were also tive distribution of owl populations, its owl target specified in terms of a range of values. The Forest was subsequently increased to 551 pairs. By the end Service's Pacific Northwest Region agreed to imple- of 1 984, a network of spotted owl habitat areas had ment these spotted owl management guidelines in also been established on national forests in north- Oregon through the national forest land and resource western California and the western Sierra Nevada management planning process. Its share of the long- (USDA Forest Service 1 993g). term goal was 290 pairs. However, where a range of habitat criteria values had been proposed, only the Late in 1984, the Wilderness Society, in concert with minimum levels were actually implemented. Even other conservation groups, initiated an administrative so, it became apparent by 1 978 that implementing appeal of the Pacific Northwest Region's habitat these guidelines would significantly impact the guidelines for the spotted owl. They argued that the annual timber harvest on Washington and Oregon guidelines were inadequate and that the decision to national forests. Nevertheless, the region increased the protect the spotted owl's habitat was a major its spotted owl surveys and extended them into Federal action requiring an ElS. The Chief of the Washington State national forests and, in 1980, the Forest Service denied the appeal, but the Depart- regional forester directed national forest managers to ment of Agriculture reversed his ruling and called for protect habitat for all confirmed owl pairs in a supplemental ElS on the northern spotted owl Washington in accord with the Oregon guidelines. standards and guidelines. In the same year, a small In 1981, he raised the goal to 112 pairs for national group of environmental activists in Oregon con- forests in Washington State. Also in 1981, the Pacific vened to develop a strategy for achieving ESA listing Southwest Region developed regional standards and of the northern spotted owl. They believed there was guidelines for spotted owl management; they largely an adequate scientific basis to do so. However, they followed the Oregon model, and implementation also felt that the public's awareness of old-growth began in 1982 under NFMA land management forests and their values was so limited that a pro- planning procedures (USDA Forest Service 1 993g). posal to list the spotted owl would cause significant political opposition. Their strategizing led them to In 1981, concerns arising from the continuing har- undertake an educational campaign of talks and vest of old-growth forests led the U.S. Fish and Wild- organized meetings with newspaper editorial boards life Service to review the northern spotted owl's and to forge a coalition with groups in Washington status. It concluded that this subspecies still did not State, where there was strong pro-environmental meet ESA listing requirements. However, its report support. observed that the owl's dependence on coniferous

214 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1 995

In 1986, a blue ribbon advisory panel, organized old-growth habitat areas for the owl that varied from by the National Audubon Society in1 985, recom- 1,000 acres per pair in southern Oregon to 3,000 mended that additional habitat be maintained to acres per pair on the Olympic Peninsula. The owl support at least 1,500 pairs of spotted owls in habitat was to be located within 1 .5 to 2.1 miles of California, Oregon, and Washington. The following the "core area" for an owl pair. Habitat areas with year, 1987, the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund three or more pairs could be no more than 1 2 miles established a Seattle office and entered into a legal apart. For single pairs, habitat areas had to be less strategy to seek an ESA listing for the spotted owl. than 6 miles apart. The Washington Department of The strategy included a legal challenge to the BLM's Wildlife, timber interests, and environmental groups decision to not prepare a supplemental [IS on the promptly appealed the decision for opposing rea- spotted owl and a series of legal suits in the Seattle sons. The Assistant Secretary of Agriculture denied District Court challenging the Pacific Northwest all of these appeals. Environmental groups then Region's strategy for meeting the NEPA and NFMA successfully sued for an injunction against timber requirements for old-growth habitat management for sales in old-growth areas near spotted owl sites the spotted owl. In the same year, the U.S. Fish and (USDA Forest Service 1993g; Hoberg 1993). Wildlife Service again reviewed the status of the spotted owl and again ruled that listing was not Congress, responding to a similar lawsuit on BLM warranted. lands, had enacted section 314 of the FY 1988 appropriations bill to exempt BLM timber sales from In 1988, environmental interests appealed that such litigation. The Dwyer injunction on national decision to the Seattle District Court and won a forest timber sales escalated the threat of further court order to readdress the listing ruling on the judicial challenge to timber sales and led the North- basis that the decision was not biologically deter- west congressional delegation to recover its control mined or sound. The Wildlife Society produced a over the issue. It organized the "Timber Summit" with biological assessment of old growth as a critical and major interest groups to collectively work out a specialized habitat for wildlife and released a posi- compromise solution a process that was aborted tion statement that identified old growth as an when the congressional delegation developed its own especially important, but decreasing, wildlife hab- compromise, known as the Hatfield-Adams Amend- itat. In this way, wilderness, environmental, and ment of 1989, and enacted it as section 318, a rider wildlife interests became increasingly involved and to the Interior Department and Related Agencies Act focused their efforts on developing the issue for for FY 1990. Environmental interests strongly listing the owl as endangered and broadening the opposed the delegation's compromises. The timber issue to include all wildlife species that were industry accepted the compromise, although they dependent on the maintenance and proper man- would have preferred a more favorable proposal and agement of old-growth ecosystems to sustain their unsuccessfully offered an alternative providing for a populations (USDA Forest Service 1993g; Hoberg harvest of 4.8 bbf per year for the region. Section 1993). 318 declared that the Forest Service supplemental [IS on the regional guidelines for spotted owls and BLM's The first climax in the northern spotted owl issue supplemental management plans for spotted owls occurred in March 1989, when Seattle District Court were sufficient environmental analysis for preparing Judge William Dwyer issued his first injunction on timber sales for FY 1990 and, in this way, preempted national forest timber sales that involved old-growth Judge Dwyer's injunction and other ongoing litiga- timber stands near spotted owl sites in Washington tion. It also significantly expanded the acreage of and Oregon. In December 1 988, the Forest Service spotted owl habitat areas on national forest and BLM had issued its final supplemental environmental lands and directed the formation of an interagency impact statement on the Pacific Northwest Region's scientific committee to develop a new spotted owl guidelines for managing spotted owl habitat. The plan in addition to authorizing the cutting of preferred alternative directed 1 3 national forests to "ecologically significant" old-growth stands, but only establish a "spotted owl habitat network" providing where they were needed to meet the legislatively

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authorized harvest levels (USDA Forest Service congressional delegation and their strategy for cir- 1993g; Hoberg 1993). cumventing environmental lawsuits against timber sales. Although the Supreme Court unanimously In 1989, the Forest Service, responding to congres- overturned the Ninth Circuit Court ruling, the efforts sional direction, established the interagency scientific of environmental groups to nationalize the spotted committee and charged it with developing a owl and old-growth issue were effective in under- "scientifically credible conservation strategy for the mining the use of the appropriation rider mechanism northern spotted owl." The 1 7-member team was to restrict the impact of environmental legislation on chaired by the Forest Service's Jack Ward Thomas national forest old-growth harvests. For example, and included representatives from the four Federal attorneys general from 1 7 States and 458 law agencies concerned with northern spotted owl professors and deans addressed the congressional habitats in Washington, Oregon, and California; leadership with letters opposing such restrictions on environmental interests; the timber industry; and the judicial review. Major national environmental university community. The committee completed and groups, including the Sierra Club, the National released A Conservation Strategy for the Northern Wildlife Federation, and the National Audubon Spotted Owl in April 1 990. It proposed a network of Society, joined the issue. Feature stories and articles habitat conservation areas (HCA's) that, for the most appeared in national magazines such as the New part, would support 20 or more owl pairs spaced at Yorker, National Geographic, and Time, placing intervals of 1 2 miles or less throughout the northern emphasis on setting aside "ancient forests" that were spotted owl's range. Timber harvests were precluded in decline and located almost entirely on national in the HCA's, and the migration routes between such forests. In these circumstances, the strong jurisdic- areas were to be managed to disperse owk between tional concerns and environmental focus of the them. The strategy provided specific guidelines to congressional committees that authorized environ- ensure that the forest canopy inside and outside the mental programs escalated their defense of the HCA's would be managed to support the northern environmental statutes that they had written. spotted owl population strategy. The strategy required National public interests in the environment and the the reservation of 5.8 million acres of timberland not spotted owl and ancient forest issue reinforced those previously reserved from timber harvesting and concerns. Thus, environmentalists were able to became a key "building block" in the development of renew their option to sue relentlessly and undermine an ecosystem approach to resource management in the regional congressional delegation's use of legis- the Pacific Northwest (USDA Forest Service 1993g). lative riders to exclude the planning and manage- In June 1 990, shortly after the release of the proposed ment of old-growth harvests on national forests from Conservation Strategy, the FWS, following its fourth judicial review (Hoberg 1993). review of the northern spotted owl's status, listed the northern spotted owl as threatened throughout its The Bush Administration, concerned about the pro- range. posed Conservation Strategy's economic impacts, appointed a task force led by the Assistant Secretary Environmental groups responded strongly to the of Agriculture for Natural Resources and the Envi- Conservation Strategy under a general theme of the ronment to review the strategy and find lower cost preservation of "ancient forests." They successfully alternatives. In lieu of any report, the task force pursued court injunctions for national forest timber issued a press release in September1990 announcing sales for noncompliance with section 318 guidelines that Pacific Northwest Region national forests would in the Seattle District Court. In 1 990, they succeeded be managed in a "manner not inconsistent with" the in a suit against section 318 itself. The Ninth Circuit Conservation Strategy proposed by the interagency Court of Appeals struck section 31 8 down as uncon- scientific committee. This decision did not have the stitutional arguing that Congress had failed to benefit of an ElS or a formal statement of adoption ir amend the statutes underlying the decision in the the Federal Register. In the fall of 1990, the Seattle litigation that section 31 8 preempted. This was a Audubon Society brought suit against the Forest severe, but temporary, setback to the Northwest Service for failing to adopt a credible conservation

216 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995

strategy meeting the requirements of ESA, NFMA, and Judge Dwyer also argued that the [IS had failed to NEPA. During the trial, the economic and social address the viability question for species other than impacts of reducing national forest timber sales in the northern spotted owl, which drastically shifted spotted owl habitats were strongly argued. The tim- the objective of the whole process to "planning for ber industry, however, joined with the Forest Service the entire biological community" rather than just for attorney and supported the soundness and adequacy the viability of the northern spotted owl populations. of the interagency scientific committee's strategy. The Although the Forest Service was justifiably taken Seattle Audubon Society argued that the strategy was aback by this profound shift in the planning objective unsound and inadequate. In May 1 991, Judge Dwyer for the spotted owl [IS, it again returned to the decided the suit in favor of the Seattle Audubon drawing board to do still another, more complex and Society and ordered the Forest Service to establish holistic ecosystem assessment of timber harvesting standards and guidelines that would ensure the and resource management to ensure the viability of northern spotted owl's viability on national forest all old-growth-dependent vertebrate species popula- lands. He also enjoined further national forest timber tions (USDA Forest Service 1 993g; Hoberg 1993). sales in northern spotted owl habitat areas until the The Forest Service named a team of agency scientists Forest Service had completed and adopted a plan for and technical experts under the direction of Jack complying with N EPA, NFMA, and ESA. The Forest Ward Thomas to develop a new [IS to evaluate the Service was given 1 0 months to adopt such a plan. impacts of timber and resource management on all In the meantime, timber sales in national forest owl species, including at-risk fish populations associated habitats within the owl's range came to a halt (USDA with old-growth forests, and recommend measures Forest Service 1993f; Hoberg 1993). Total national that ensured their viability. forest timber volume sold dropped to 6.4 bbf in1 991 and 4.6 bbf in 1992. In late 1992, the House Agriculture and Interior Committees considered alternative ways to resolve The Forest Service returned to the drawing board, as the multiple-species aspect of the northern spotted directed by Judge Dwyer's 1991 ruling, prepared a owl habitat management issue, but were unable to final [IS, released a record of decision in March come up with any substantive legislation that ensured 1 992, and selected a management alternative that protection of all vertebrate species consistent with the was the equivalent of the interagency scientific com- district court ruling and direction. Thus, the Com- mittee's strategy reflecting the 1 990 state-of-the-art mittees proposed no legislation for consideration by and scientific knowledge. In the same month, the the full House. The Bush Administration had exam- Seattle Audubon Society brought suit against the [IS ined options to review NFMA's viability regulations in and the record of decision on the basis that, contrary 1991, but could not find a way to overcome NFMA's to NEPA requirements, the final [IS had not consid- diversity concept and the legislative history or to ered new data for weighing the impact of continued ensure that the spotted owl issue would not be logging on the spotted owl habitat and their popula- redefined in ESA terms. Thus, without any feasible tions. Contrary to NFMA requirements, the [IS did congressional or executive policy options to respond not prescribe practices to protect northern spotted to the spotted owl issue and lift the judicial injunc- owl habitat, nor did it assess the viability of other tion on national forest timber sales in the Pacific old-growth-dependent species. Judge Dwyer again Northwest, northern spotted owl habitat management ruled in favor of the environmentalists and again and the related timber supply problems became a enjoined timber sales until a satisfactory plan became political issue in the 1992 Presidential election available. He found that the Forest Service had not (Hoberg 1993). During the Presidential campaign, taken into account the latest scientific data indicating Bush articulated this politicized issue as a "jobs that the spotted owl numbers were declining faster versus owls" question with a preferred solution that than previously determined, nor had the Forest would amend related environmental legislation in Service and the BLM coordinated a violation of favor of maintaining timber supplies and jobs. The N EPA. Clinton campaign played down "jobs versus environment" as a "false choice" and argued for a

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"Timber Summit" where the conflicting Pacific and maintaining rural economies and communities. Northwest interest groups could jointly work out a The planning effort was to include a range of alterna- compromise solution. tives covering a medium to a very high probability of ensuring viable populations of all vertebrate species. After the1 992election, President Clinton scheduled The FEMAT's assessment was to receive peer review a regional "Forest Conference" for April1 993to by properly credentialed reviewers. The FEMAT's convene the stakeholders and resolve the northern report, Forest Ecosystem Management: An Ecological, spotted owl issue. The shift from "timber" to "forest" Economic, and Social Assessment, was published in was made to cover more ground and more issues. 1 993as part of a draft supplemental ElS on the range The change from "summit" to "conference" was of alternatives to be considered in selecting a man- made to avoid diminishing the importance of an agement plan for the northern spotted owl. international summit meeting with the Russians immediately following the Forest Conference. The The President announced his preferred alternative as President, the Vice President, and six cabinet officers "option9."This option provided large areas as habi- were the primary conveyors. Neither the Northwest tat reserves to protect and improve northern spotted congressional delegation nor the Forest Service were owl populations and riparian reserves to protect invited to speak. The agenda consisted of a series of anadromous fishery habitats. The preferred alterna- panels made up of scientists, environmentalists, tive also established a timber sale volume of1 .2bbf loggers, mill owners, local government, American per year, which FEMAT advised was the maximum Indian tribal government representatives, union level legally feasible under the existing laws. The officials, and others. The Forest Conference received timber industry was stunned by the reduction. Envi- national attention. Interest groups each evaluated the ronmentalists, on the other hand, were "outraged" issue to reflect their particular viewpoints and that some timber sales would be permitted in the achieve their particular ends. Environmentalists reserved areas under restrictive conditions. To relieve focused their views on clean water and salmon the jobs and economic impacts of reduced timber habitat restoration objectives in old-growth manage- sales, the President's plan also included a proposal ment, in this way appealing to the more popular for a$1 .2billion economic assistance program. An environmental objectives. Timber interests empha- option to include a provision that would preclude sized the loss of jobs and related social and commu- further judicial review was also considered, but not nity impacts. adopted.

The President closed the conference with a commit- The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Wash- ment to develop a plan that was "scientifically sound, ington State Congressman Tom Foley, made it clear ecologically credible, and legally responsible within that Congress could not endorse the preferred alter- the framework of existing language and which would native and noted that congressional authorizing break the gridlock over Federal old-growth manage- committees would block any suggestions for revising ment within the range of the northern spotted owl in existing environmental laws (Hoberg1993).Follow- the Pacific Northwest and California" (Hoberg1993; ing the completion of the final supplemental ElS and FEMAT1993).He established three interagency the release of the record of decision in1 994,USDA working groups to develop the plan: the forest eco- and the Department of the Interior jointly adopted system management assessment team (FEMAT), the option9with slight modifications. Option9was labor and community assessment team, and the initially referred to as the "President's plan." This title agency coordination team. was later changed to the "Northwest Forest Plan."

He directed the FEMAT to develop an ecosystem When compared with the timber industry's1 989 approach to forest management, including restoring compromise proposal to the Northwest congressional biodiversity for late-successional and old-growth delegation for spotted owl habitat management that forests, protecting the long-term productivity of these would have permitted a timber sales level of4.8bbf forests, sustaining levels of renewable resource use, per year, the Northwest Forest Plan was an enormous

218 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses:1980to1995

achievement for environmental interests. The plan seemed to signify that the Forest Service and BLM also expanded forest management focus from main- had sufficient legal authority to apply an ecosystem taining the viability of the spotted owl population to approach to natural resource management. a more holistic ecosystem approach addressing the viability of all vertebrate species' populations depen- Two environmental groups, the Native Forest Council dent upon old-growth habitats. In addition, the and Save the West, have since filed appeals with the Northwest Forest Plan actually came very close to the Ninth Circuit Court in San Francisco for relief from environmental interest group ideal for preserving Judge Dwyer's decision on substantive grounds. The most of the remaining old growth on Federal lands Northwest Forest Resources Council has also filed suit within the northern spotted owl's range (Hoberg with the Ninth Circuit Court on procedural grounds. 1993). Both suits contribute a note of uncertainty about the finality of the Seattle District Court rulings. Nevertheless, the Seattle Audubon Society, with 1 2other environmental organizations, brought suit The Below-Cost Timber Sale Issue against it. The Sierra Club and three other environ- As the spotted owl issue unfolded during the late mental organizations filed separate suits. The envi- 1970'sand early1980's,environmental interests also ronmental complaints contended that the new plan's began to question the purpose and justification of compliance with environmental laws was still inad- below-cost timber sales on national forests sales equate and sought an order to remand the plan to the whose receipts were less than the cost of preparing agencies for further analysis and an injunction against and administering them. The below-cost timber sale all or nearly all timber sales in the meantime. The issue focused on the question of whether national environmental groups also challenged certain pro- forests should be offering timber sales that were cedures used in developing the plan. The Northwest prepared primarily for the timber market where their Forest Resources Council, representing timber costs exceeded their revenues. The issue was first interests including loggers and mill owners, also precipitated by a paper published inSciencemaga- brought suit against the plan, on both substantive zine by Marion Clawson, economist with Resources and procedural issues (U.S. District Court1994). for the Future (Clawson1976).He analyzed timber sale receipts and expenditures for each of the Judge Dwyer adjudicated the suits in late December national forests and regions and found extreme 1994in the U.S. District Court in Seattle. He upheld variances in their profitability. He concluded that the Northwest Forest Plan and the Forest Service's many sales were being made in areas where timber decision to adopt it. He denied various claims by the values were much too low to yield a net return and numerous environmental plaintiffs as well as chal- "should be abandoned for timber-growing purposes." lenges from the timber industry. He found that Fed- While such timber stands could be valuable for other eral agencies had acted within their lawful scope in uses and worth managing for those uses, he felt that adopting the Northwest Forest Plan. The question "the growing of timber was not economically sound." was not a matter of whether the court would have Dr. Clawson's analysis led to congressional hearings written the same plan, but whether the agencies and to a legislative proposal to ban timber sales acted according to the requirements of the law. The where their costs exceeded their revenues. The issue, answer to that question was "yes." This ruling, if however, became controversial and generated much upheld on appeal, marked the first time that the confusion in Congress. The Forest Service opposed Forest Service and the BLM had worked together to the proposal. It argued that such sales were justified preserve ecosystems common to their lands and by the benefits of road access, such as improvements manage northern spotted owl habitat forests under a to wildlife habitats and insect, disease, and wildfire plan ruled lawful by the courts (U.S. District Court control (Wilkinson and Anderson1986). 1 994).Judge Dwyer also noted that, "Given the current condition of the forests, there is no way the The below-cost timber sale issue became quite agencies could comply with environmental laws heated as wilderness and environmental interests without planning on an ecosystem basis." This pressed it at the national level, especially after1983,

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when Congress had largely resolved the RARE II Regions and Alaska, where the 1975 RPA program wilderness evaluations and recommendations on a had more than doubled timber sale offerings. The State-by-State basis and released roadless areas for 1 980 RPA concentrated increases to softwood multiple-use management. The issue continued to production in the Pacific Northwest, California, the harass the Forest Service throughout the 1 980's. In northern Rockies, and the South, where timber sales the 1 990's, it abated somewhat as timber sale injunc- increases could be cost-effective (USDA Forest tions and the final approved 1 994 Northwest Forest Service 1 980a). Plan brought national forest timber sales to relatively low levels and contributed to major timber stumpage In 1985, the Wilderness Society found that 30 out of price increases and a reduced incidence of below- 55 national forests with consistent below-cost sales cost timber sales. Nevertheless, in 1 994, the Clinton had issued draft or final NFMA plans proposing Administration targeted below-cost timber sales as an increased sale volumes above those offered between area for reducing unjustified Government costs. 1979 and 1984 (Emerson 1986). USDA policy officials remanded several forest plans that had proposed In 1980, Tom Barlow, working for the Natural major long-term increases in below-cost timber sales. Resources Defense Council, compared annual timber Because the final ElS's and records of decision for receipts for each forest for the 1974 to 1 978 period those forest plans had not justified the increase in with related timber harvest expenditures. He found below-cost timber sales, the remand called for their that timber stands did not recover the costs of timber rigorous justification in terms of nontimber benefits management and reforestation on more than half the or a revision of the plans (Myers 1986). forests nationally (Barlow et al. 1980). The GAO (1984) and the Congressional Research Service con- Below-cost national forest timber sales were justi- ducted similar studies (Wolf 1984; Beuter 1985). fiable where they effectively served multiple-use Although these studies used somewhat different data, purposes other than timber supply. The Ninth Circuit methods, assumptions, and time periods, their results Court of Appeals validated this principle in the were similar to Clawson's and Barlow's. In 1 985, Jersey-Jack case in 1 985. Environmental interests had Robert Repetto, using most of the foregoing study sued to enjoin the construction of a logging road into results, identified 74 national forests that consistently the Jersey-Jack Roadless Area on Idaho's Nez Perce offered below-cost timber sales. Of these forests, 45 National Forest as a violation RPA's requirement that were located in one of the four Rocky Mountain and roads meet needs in an economically and environ- Intermountain Regions, 24 were almost evenly mentally sound way. The evidence indicated that the divided between the Eastern and Southern Regions, road costs would exceed the value of the timber 5 were located in the Pacific Southwest Region, and accessed. The Ninth Circuit ruled that RPA did not two were in Alaska. None were identified in the require that timber road costs be exceeded by the Pacific Northwest Region (Repetto 1985). value of the accessed timber. It was reasonable for national forest managers to consider benefits other In the 1 9 70's and early 1 980's, the Forest Service than timber returns in determining whether the road could not determine the exact amount of timber sold was economical. The Nez Perce had claimed that the at below-cost levels. Nevertheless, Administration road would produce benefits from motorized recre- policy officials and national forest managers were not ation, fuelwood gathering, and access to the area by insensitive to the below-cost sales issue. The policy local residents. The proof of such benefits was not direction for the 1980 RPA program, for instance, questioned because the issue was whether multiple- called for increases in timber supplies from national use benefits could be considered at all, rather than forests, but constrained such increases to regions the actual worth of the benefits (Wilkinson and where they could be cost-effective. A comparison of Anderson 1986). the 1 975 and 1 980 RPA programs reveals that the timber sales projected by the 1980 RPA for 1985 and Wilderness supporters and environmentalists gen- 1995 were reduced by 20 to 30 percent. The bulk of erally recognized that below-cost timber sales could the 1 985 reductions occurred in the Rocky Mountain contribute benefits to uses other than timber supply.

220 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995

They were not opposed to below-cost timber sales and costs of the annual timber sale program and where such benefits were overriding and timber other multiple uses and reflected the Forest Service's harvesting was the lowest cost method of providing justification for defending below-cost timber sales. A them. However, they also felt there was Ha growing third component, a socioeconomic report, presented body of evidence that many alleged multiple-use the effects of the timber program and annual harvests benefits of logging did not exist or were simply too on community employment and income. These com- uncertain to justify the environmental damage and ponents were collectively referred to as the Timber costly public expenditures required to support Sale Program Information and Reporting System below-cost timber sales." Environmentalists and (TSPIRS). others expressed concern that the Forest Service was significantly overstating the multiple-use benefits of TSPIRS became operational in FY 1 989. The first logging. As a result, it was "building too many roads TSPIRS report found that 65 out of 1 23 national and logging too much land" (Emerson 1 986). The forests had timber revenues less than costs and an general Forest Service response to the below-cost average harvested volume per forest of 2.0 million issue was to point out "the fact that: timber sales board feet. The total volume of below-cost sales produce a variety of other resource benefits and made up 1 6.8 percent of the National Forest System's many costs are the result of requirements for other total timber harvest. For FYs 1 990 to 1 992, costs resources" (Stout 1 995). exceeded revenues on 66 forests. Their average harvested volume was 1 .8 million board feet (USDA Forest Service leadership at the time felt the issue Forest Service 1993f, 19950. was an effort by a few key interests to protect the remaining unroaded national forest lands for future In 1993, TSPIRS excluded forests with less than 1mil- wilderness designation (Myers 1 986; Stout 1995). lion board feet of timber sales or no commercial sales Unfortunately, the Forest Service did not have the from the below-cost category dropping below-cost documentation to justify the multiple-use, joint- sales forests to 47. In FY 1994, primarily because benefit argument for below-cost sales. As the issue timber prices had risen 50 percent, in part due to continued to be pressed, it gained a wider following. decreased supply caused by timber sale injunctions The Forest Service proposed and discussed a strategy and harvest declines in the Pacific Northwest, the for documenting the multiple-use benefits and cost of number of below-cost forests declined to 36. In 1994, below-cost timber sales, but failed to adopt one until average revenues per thousand board feet on the Congress directed it to do so in 1985. The House below-cost forests were $112.85, compared with Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior and $75.59 in FY 1993. Related Agencies decided it was time for the Forest Service and GAO to develop a separate accounting In FY 1993, the Forest Service Timber Management system that would allow the members of the Com- Division began to report on three different timber mittee and others to understand the relationship sale purpose categories in TSPIRS and in other between below-cost timber sale costs and other reports. A timber commodity component included all resource requirements (Liggett et al. 1995; Stout commercial sales where timber supply was the 1995). primary purpose of the sale (USDA Forest Service 1 9930. In FY 1 994, these made up 67 percent of the The Forest Service established a task force to develop, total harvested volume. A stewardship component field test, and evaluate procedures to account for and included timber sales designed to achieve primarily display timber sale benefits and costs. The final ecological and nontimber resource benefits vegeta- report, presented to Congress in April 1987, included tive through management 26 percent of the total a financial accounting system based on accrual timber harvest. A personal use component 7 per- accounting principles that documented cash costs cent of the total harvestincluded sales of fuelwood, and receipts of each individual forest's actual timber Christmas trees, ferns, and boughs to individuals for sales on an annual basis. A second component, an personal use and not for remanufacture or resale. economic report, estimated the long-term benefits

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Some 490,000 families and individuals used this Appropriations Committee acknowledged the Pres- component (USDA Forest Service 1 9950. ident's proposal in its report and expected that the Forest Service would establish credible rules and In FY 1993, the Clinton Administration asked the procedures for identifying and phasing out below- Department of Agriculture and the Forest Service to cost timber sales. The congressional appropriations gradually phase out below-cost timber sales. In his bill included a "sense of the Congress" statement that address "A Vision of Change for America" on such rules be issued at the earliest date possible. The February 1 7, 1993, President Clinton justified this report also advised that such rules provide regional request: foresters with the flexibility and discretion to make an orderly transition to above-cost status for timber The Nation can no longer afford subsidies and sales, be sensitive to impacts on dependent com- giveaways to those who don't need them, munities, and minimize economic impacts and and we must assure the taxpayer is fairly community disruption (U.S. House of Representa- compensated for services and resources tives 1994a). provided by the government.... Timber sales from some national forests do not cover the cost to the Government of making the timber The Senate Appropriations Committee in its report available for sale. further advised that any below-cost phaseout proposal take account of all cost factors that influenced The President's FY 1994 budget proposal included a the profitability of the national forest timber sales. It 4-year phaseout of below-cost sales an estimated noted that interests opposed to timber sales have no cost savings of $46 million for FY 1994 and $86 mil- incentive to minimize timber sale costs for environ- lion by FY 1998 (USDA Forest Service 1993h). The mental standards, archeological protection, and the Department of Agriculture, in a hearing before the multiple laws for a wide variety of objectives that Senate Subcommittee on Agricultural Research, drive costs upward increasing the possibility of Conservation, and Forestry, testified that it was com- below-cost sales. The shift to an ecosystem approach mitted to meeting the President's goal, but that the to management may also drive costs upward, but Forest Service would have to proceed slowly in the timber values may not increase correspondingly. first year because it had to develop data and informa- Thus, the likelihood of below-cost sales rises (U.S. tion to achieve the goal. That information included Senate 1994). The conference report advised the the nature and extent of below-cost timber sales and Forest Service to continue implementing its efforts to TSPIRS's adequacy to provide such information. achieve cost savings in its timber program (U.S. TSPIRS was a forest-level information tool on the House of Representatives 1 994b). annual performance of the overall timber program and did not provide data on individual sales. Phasing Timber Harvests out below-cost sales would require sorting out indiv- During the 1980's, despite the interests of wilderness idual below-cost sales. Stewardship and personal-use and environmental groups and the growing pressures sales would presumably be excluded. The sorting from appeals, litigation, and demonstrations to would be limited to commercial timber sales and reduce national forest timber sales and harvests, the require both reliable allocation of costs to individual average annual timber sales and harvest nationally sales and credible prediction of timber sale prices were largely sustained. Timber harvests declined and revenues. It would also involve determining the sharply in the early 1 980's, as housing starts and causes of below-cost sales to evaluate potential cost timber demands responded to double-digit interest reductions and increase the efficiency of the overall rates, averaging 8.3 bbf per year through 1 983 timber program. (compared to an annual average sales volume of 11 .0 bbO. However, as housing and timber demands Although there were several 1 992 and 1 993 congres- began to recover in 1984, the harvested volume rose sional hearings on phasing out below-cost sales, to 12.7 bbf in 1987 and remained at or above including President Clinton's proposal for the FY 1994 12.0 bbf in 1988 and 1989. As a result, the total budget, no definitive action emerged. The House

222 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses:1980to1995

timber harvested for the decade was about equal to tice a drop of74percent, from329,000acres in that sold,1 07bbf (see fig.1 5,chapter5). 1986to86,000acres in1993.However, this sharp decline in planned clearcuts did not set in until after In the early1990's,timber actually harvested 1988,when the Chief demanded that clearcutting be declined precipitously, from10.5bbf in1990to reduced (Murphy1994). 4.8bbf in1994,as injunctions against timber sales in the spotted owl range took hold and the Northwest In1 992,when Chief Dale F. Robertson committed Forest Plan became effective. An even greater reduc- the Forest Service to adopt an ecosystem approach tion in actual timber sold from an average of for managing multiple uses, he simultaneously 10.7bbf per year in the1980'sto less than3.1bbf announced that clearcutting on national forest lands in1994indicated further declines in the regular would be reduced by70percent from the1988level. harvest of standing live timber. Although more than80percent of this objective had been accomplished by1991,it was unclear how Clearcuffing much of this achievement was attributable to injunc- Clearcutting on national forests declined sharply with tions on timber sales in the northern spotted owl's the reduction in timber harvest because many of the range. The Chief's directive called for greater use of timber sales and much of the harvest volume carried individual tree and group selection, green tree reten- silvicultural prescriptions for clearcutting old-growth tion, seed trees, and other regeneration systems that and overmature timber stands and establishing new collectively would provide more visually pleasing stands. Between1 978and1 993,the area clearcut and more diverse vegetational conditions on a forest- declined from310,000acres to133,000acres wide basis. Clearcutting was specifically limited to (table9).Total area harvested rose from a low of one or more of the following forest plan objectives or 61 3,000acres in1986to a peak of904,000acres in management guidelines: improve wildlife habitat, 1990and then dropped to732,000acres in1993. especially for threatened, endangered, and sensitive The percentage of harvested area clearcut dropped species, or improve water yield values and provide even more dramatically from more than38per- for recreation, scenic vistas, utility line and road cent in1986to18.4percent in1993.The area of corridors, facility sites, reservoirs, and similar devel- timber sold with a clearcutting silvicultural system opments; minimize the occurrence of potentially reveals an even stronger trend away from this prac- adverse impacts from insect or disease infestations, windthrow, logging damage, and other factors affecting forest health and to Table 9. Trend in clearcutting and total area harvested on national forests, rehabilitate lands actually 1984-1993 damaged by such factors; provide for the regeneration Fiscal Clearcutting TotalArea Harvested and growth of preferred tree Year Area Sold Area Harvested Thousand Acns Percent Clearcut species or other vegetative thousand acres species that are shade 1984 N/A 243 N/A - intolerant; rehabilitate stands 1985 N/A 250 N/A - poorly stocked due to past 1986 329 236 613 38.4 management practices or 1987 320 257 673 38.2 natural events; or meet 1988 324 283 728 38.9 research needs. 1989 248 257 839 30.6 1990 204 229 904 25.4 Road Construdion 1991 138 187 796 23.4 The direction, criteria, and 1992 95 163 756 21.5 procedures for selecting road 1993 86 133 732 18.4 design standards were revised in1 982to comply Source:USDAForest Service1 995g.

223 Chapter 6

more closely to actual forest use needs. The new tor roads were 20 percent of the total system and direction minimized reconstruction of existing roads, linked to local roads 75 percent of the total road reduced road standards, restricted the amount of system within a watershed or timberland to resurfacing, reduced slash disposal levels on road arterial roads. rights-of-way, and closed some roads when timber sales were completed. The transportation program About 55 percent of the road system was being was also directed to areas where limited road invest- maintained for use by high-clearance vehicles such ments were needed in the short term to continue as pickup trucks, four-wheel drive vehicles, and current management and use. This was a partial effort logging equipment, and about 25 percent for use by to reduce the double-digit inflation and, in the longer low-clearance passenger cars. The balance, about term, to design roads that met forest use standards to 20 percent of the roads, was permanently closed to reduce long-term road costs a substantial motorized traffic. To prevent undesirable resource contributor to below-cost sales (USDA Forest Service impacts, reduce reconstruction and maintenance 1983). The leveling off and actual decline in national costs, and avoid unnecessary road damage, roads forest recreation use in the mid-i 980's helped this were closed or restricted to motorized traffic needed effort, as it reduced the pressure for constructing and to achieve resource management objectives. More reconstructing roads for recreation. specifically, restrictions and closures were used to protect wildlife during migration, mating, birthing, Road construction dropped to 8,730 miles in 1982, or rearing periods; reduce the risk of wildfires; avoid compared with more than 10,000 miles per year in risks to public safety during periods of high fire the preceding 5 years, and continued to drop in the danger; protect road investments during inclement balance of the 1980's to a low level of 5,540 miles in weather and unstable road conditions; and protect 1989. This progressive decline was facilitated by the the public during periods of heavy timber sale activ- near completion of the national forest arterial access ity (USDA Forest Service 1987b). system in all regions except the Northern Region. The same was generally true for collector roads, Those roads no longer needed to manage national except in the few forests with large unroaded areas forests were being obliterated and revegetated. In where some new road construction was still required 1992, for example, 4,000 miles were obliterated. In (USDA Forest Service 1 987b). The typical forest road the same year, special appropriation language auth- project in the latter 1980's and early 1 990's was the orized the use of road maintenance funds for this construction and reconstruction of relatively low- purpose. Often, road obliteration contributed to standard local roads single lane, 12 to 14 feet riparian area restoration, water quality improvement, wide, with dirt or gravel surfacing to provide tim- and wildlife habitat improvement (USDA Forest ber sale access. In future years, many of these roads Service 1993c). In 1993 and 1994, an additional would be used for the recreation purposes and 4,422 miles of roadways were obliterated. management of other resources and uses. Road Analysis and Display System As timber harvests declined sharply in the early In 1986, USDA completed a 10-year analysis (1 975 1990's, road construction dropped to even lower to 1985) of annual cost variability per mile (unit levels, reaching 3,400 miles in 1993. New construc- costs) of road engineering, construction, and related tion declined more than reconstruction, from 38 per- support activities among forests and regions (Fedkiw cent of the total miles constructed and reconstructed 1 986). The results revealed more variation in unit in 1986 to 24 percent of the total in 1993. Total road costs than could be explained or understood. To system growth slowed accordingly. !t rose from about control such costs and evaluate the cost efficiency 300,000 miles in 1 980 to 343,000 miles in 1 985 and and consistency of these unit costs, the Forest Ser-

increased only 25,000 miles over the next 8 years1 to vice's Engineering Division designed and imple- a total of 369,000 miles in 1993. Arterial roads made mented the Road Analysis and Display System up about 5 percent of the total road mileage. Collec- (ROADS) in 1987.

224 225 was increased. In with lower design standards than with lower design In the 1980's, silvicultural examinations increasingly In the 1980's, silvicultural examinations the necessary became the primary means to provide management. They now provide data on the existing size, health and vigor; use capabilities; and forest management areas. The data are used to develop site-specific integrated land and resource management prescriptions that meet forest plan management Silvicultural examinations were first formally scheduled and reported in 1975, when they covered Road design direction was revised in 1982. National Road design direction managers successfully reduced forest road system less demanding design cri- road costs by applying and more rigorous land use teria and standards For example, when intensive planning for roads. revealed that perennial use of new land use planning the proportion of intermit- roads was not necessary, tent-use roads use roads built for continuous roads were heavily some regions, intermittent to serve seeded to grasses or other native vegetation as linear wildlife openings. Other improvements costs by using included deferring road construction roads in favor of fewer surfacing materials on new years. Costs more frequent reconstruction in later the construction of were transferred to users through and other steeper grades, rougher running surfaces, traffic cost-saving standards that met projected safety consid- requirements and environmental and General (OIG) erations. A USDA Office of Inspector that national audit during 1986 and 1987 found controls forest managers had established reasonable and had made over road system design and costs (USDA Forest significant progress in reducing them Service 1 988b). Silvicultural Examinations and Pradices such as timber data for planning site-specific projects sales, reforestation, and timber stand improvement, and to integrate these practices with other overlapping and complementary uses of the same lands and adjoining areas. In the 1 990's, silvicultural examinations were adapted to and became an important tool for fitting timber management practices with the ecosystem approach to forest land and resource ecological habitat; tree stand conditions such as age, growth and mortality trends for specific use and area direction. 4.8 million acres. They achieved a peak level of National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995 for Multiple Uses: Management National Forest '1r 'r.r ;q vt II. ' Examples of national forest road design and standards: from top, 'I arterial or high, collector or intermediate, and local or low. Chapter 6

N 9.0 million acres in 1979, when NFMA planning was ir implemented throughout the National Forest System. They averaged 6.8 million acres per year during the height of the NFMA , planning effort, from 1980 to 1985. Thereafter, they dropped to the normal management needs, an average of 5.2 million acres per year. In 1993 and 1994, as timber sales and harvests were reduced to their lowest

levels in modern times, I' silvicultural examinations declined to 2.5 million acres per year (USDA Forest Service 19940. 1,

Reforestation Reforestation practices include planting, seeding, Recently thinned young pole timber in even-aged hardwood management unit, Daniel Boone and natural regeneration National Forest, Kentucky, 1991. with or without site preparation. The acres I reforested declined from 434,000 acres in 1980 to At the close of 1 985, 820,000 acres needed regener-HA1 370,000 in 1 985 the year the Forest Service ation representing a normal 2-year reforestation reported that it had eliminated the national forest level at the early 1980's average. (It usually takes regeneration backlog. The initial backlog in the 2 years of lead time to prepare a site and grow seed- 1970's was estimated to be 3.1 million acres. In the lings adapted to it.) After 1 985, reforestation needs decade between 1 975 and 1 985, a total of about rose sharply, to a peak of 1.2 million acres in 1990 1 million acres of the backlog were successfully as timber harvest escalated to near record levels and reforested or seeded; 700,000 acres were examined wildfires between 1987 and 1989 caused extreme and found to be satisfactorily stocked and not in need fire damage in the western regions. Stand losses from of reforestation; another 1 million acres were with- a 1988 Utah bark beetle outbreak also contributed to drawn due to changes in land use classification such this acceleration. The acres actually reforested as wilderness designation; 200,000 acres were allo- between 1989 and 1992 reached a historic peak of cated for multiple-use purposes such as retention of nearly 500,000 acres per year. In 1 993, only wildlife forage areas; and 100,000 acres were with- 441,000 acres were reforested, and in 1994 refor- drawn for other reasons, such as land exchanges estation dropped to a more normal level of 300,000 (USDA Forest Service 1 985). During the 5 years acres as timber harvest levels were reduced and the between 1 980 and 1 984, an average of 87 percent area damaged by wildfire was reforested. of all regeneration treatments successfully met stocking objectives. In 1993, the average percentage of Annual seedling production at national forest nur- success 3 years after planting rose to 90 percent series rose from an average of 118 million seedlings (USDA Forest Service 1 985, 1 994e). per year in the latter 1970's to 136 million per year

226 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995

as the national forests worked to reduce the reforestation backlog. Seedling production dropped to an I,1 average of 1 22 million per year from 1986, after the D Growth Harvest IMortality: backlog reforestation was completed, to 1994, except for 1990 and 1991, when seedling produc- 3.0 tion averaged 134 million per year to meet the in- U- creased reforestation needs due to increased timber harvest acreage and extensive wildfire damage in the 02.0 C late 1980's. 0 cü Timber Stand Improvement 1.0 In 1980, timber stand improvement opportunities were estimated to be 1.7 million acres. This total ['XII was reduced to 1 .25 million acres by 1991 as the 1952 1962 1970 1976 1986 1991 area treated each year an average of 375,000 Year acres per year equaled or exceeded the accumulation of new opportunities. Between 1 991 and 1 994, Figure 25. National forest timber growth, harvest, and timber stand improvement treatments fell to 264,000 mortality, 1952-1991 acres per year. By the end of 1 994, because new Source: USDA Forest Service; Waddell et al. 1989; Powell et al. needs increased more than treatments, the total 1993. timber stand improvement opportunities rose to 1 .4 million acres (USDA Forest Service 1 995c). Pre- commercial thinnings, mainly in coniferous planta- softwoods and hardwoods (Powell et al. 1993; tions, made up 60 percent of these treatments. Waddell et al. 1989). Release and weeding constituted 30 percent, fertilization 8 percent, and pruning 2 percent. Regional patterns for timber growth and mortality are similar to the general national pattern for all Forest Growth, Mortality and Potential Yield Trends national forest regions except those on the Pacific Net annual national forest timber growth continued Coast, including Alaska. Net timber growth, pri- to increase, as it had since 1 952 and before (fig. 25). marily softwoods, continued to increase in the latter It reached a peak level of 3.4 billion cubic feet per regions to a peak of 1 .1 billion cubic feet per year in year in 1986 and then declined slightly, by 3.2 per- 1991, while mortality continued to decline to a low cent, to 3.3 billion cubic feet per year by 1991. This 400 million cubic feet per year as the old growth slight decline largely reflects increased mortality was increasingly harvested. National forest timber rather than actual growth decline after 1986. harvests in the Pacific Coast regions were just equal National forest timber mortality reached a low point to the net growth of 1.1 billion cubic feet per year. of 1.01 billion cubic feet per year in 1976 and then With the major reduction of old-growth Pacific Coast began to increase to 1 .05 billion cubic feet per year timber harvests in 1991, this balance of net growth, in 1986 and 1.20 billion cubic feet per year in 1991, mortality, and harvests is likely to involve increased indicating an accelerating increase. National forest mortality and slower net growth in future years. timber harvests in 1991 were 2.0 billion cubic feet Increased wildfire losses can also be expected. less than 59 percent of the net growth. The sharp decline in timber sales and harvests in the early The long-term sustained-yield capacity (LTSYC) for 1990's signaled a continuing rise in mortality and timber harvest on national forests is estimated to be further decreases in net growth. These trends do not 1 2.16 bbf per year. The LTSYC is the estimated contribute to the improvement of overall forest annual net forest growth for a fully managed health, which has become a new public issue in national forest condition with current management recent years. The national patterns are similar for intensity and practices. This is reflected in forest

227 Chapter 6

plans for all regions except the Pacific Northwest less than 1 percent of the national forest lands. An Region, where LTSYC is based on the Final Supple- even smaller area was treated with insecticides or mental F/S on Management of Habitat for Late- fungicides, about 550,000 acres per year between Successional and Old Growth Forest Related Species 1 980 and 1 988 and then less than 200,000 acres per within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl. year between 1989 and 1992. This sharp drop in Table 1 0 shows the distribution of the LTSYC by pesticide use resulted directly from the 1988 forest national forest regions. The comparison of LTSYC health strategic plan. with the estimated current allowable sale quantity (ASQ) 7.56 bbf- indicates that the current ASQ The 1988 forest health plan recommended increased is well below the growing capacity (potential yields) forest-level staffing for pest monitoring, detection, of a fully managed condition of national forests, with and evaluation; improved support and decision sys- today's management intensity in every national tems for integrated pest management; and increased forest region. emphasis on maintaining and restoring forest health through silvicultural management and practices, including integrated pest Table 10. National Forest System long-term sustained-yield capacity and management (1PM) the allowable sale quantity by region, 1994. decisionmaking and action process for incorporating Long-term Sustained Allowable Sale ASQ as a Percent biological, economic, and Region Yield Capacity (LTSYC) Quantity (ASQ) of LTSYC environmental evaluation (billion board feet) of pest-host systems to Northern 1.99 1.12 .56 manage pest populations Rocky Mountain 0.79 .44 .56 (USDA Forest Service Southwest 0.85 .44 .52 1981-1995; 1988a). Intermountain 0.65 .39 .60 Pacific Southwest 1.43 1.12 .78 The 1992 Forest Health Pacific Northwest 1 .63 1 .38 .85 Strategic Plan Southern 2.56 1 .34 Eastern 1 .52 .87 .59 Another forest health Alaska 0.72 .47 .65 strategic plan was Total 12.16 7.56 .62 prepared in 1992 as a direct response to five Source:USDAForest Service Timber Management Staff. 1992 congressional hearings that focused on the health of western forests that had been altered by successful fire Pest Management and Forest Health control and other practices and were now being severely damaged by drought, pest epidemics, and State and Private Forestry continued to lead national wildfires. Congress wanted to know and asked how forest pest management activities and directly coordi- forests so damaged could be restored and how nate cooperative pest management activities with similar future damage could be prevented (USDA other ownerships that shared common pest problems Forest Service 1993b; 1994b). The Forest Service with the national forests. During the 1980's and established a forest health steering committee and early 1990's, pest detection and evaluation surveys task team to respond to this request. In addition to were conducted on a relatively stable average area National Forest System, Research, and State and of 120 million acres each year. Pest outbreak pre- Private Forestry experts, it included several State vention and suppression activities continued to be foresters and one State entomologist. The 1 992 conducted on only the highest priority areas, which Forest health strategic plan, which was published in varied from 500,000 to 1 .5 million acres per year 1993, built on the background of the 1 988 plan and

228 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995

linked forest health with the ecosystem approach to identify approaches to restore western forested management. It recognized that outbreaks of some ecosystem health. The team addressed all forested natural pests were exceeding historic levels often western lands national forests, industrial, non- due to past management practices, including wildfire industrial private, and other public lands. It gathered suppression, which had created favorable conditions and evaluated forest health management project for pest populations. It also recognized the linkage information from all 92 western national forests, between pest outbreaks and fuel buildups and the 16 States, all research facilities, and tribal govern- increasing intensity of wildfires. ments. This evaluation found that not all forests were threatened by insects or disease, nor were they all in The 1988 forest health plan cited the following immediate risk of catastrophic change by fire. How- factors that contributed to more destructive pest ever, forest health problems were widespread and all outbreaks: stand ages exceeding the existing tree could not be immediately addressed on all lands. species entomological and pathological rotation The practical approach was to treat those landscape ages, planting and regenerating disease-prone vari- segments that were most at risk to fire, insect, and eties in areas where the same disease is known to disease damage and to ensure the fullest protection occur, letting stand densities increase, planting or of the landscape, especially in those areas with the naturally regenerating extensive monocultures, fail- highest risk of habitat loss to threatened, endangered, ing to remove infected overstory trees during timber and sensitive species population recovery. The team harvest, and failing to provide a substitute for the identified three hazard reduction categories: areas of forest mosaic created by uncontrolled natural wild- potential catastrophic loss of key ecosystem struc- fires (USDA Forest Service 1988a). ture, composition, and processes; areas requiring restoration of critical ecosystem processes; and The eight components of the 1 988 forest health plan stressed sites in need of rehabilitation (USDA Forest were decentralizing pest management to the forest Service 1994b). level to work more directly with resource managers in developing and implementing forest plans, effec- In 1 994, in response to this assessment, western tive public communication and involvement, the forest managers scheduled the implementation of role of integrated pest management, funding for pest 335 high-priority forest health projects. By 1 995, suppression, environmental analyses of pest-host 64 of these projects had been completed; 248 were interactions, availability of acceptable pesticides, the expected to continue, with completion dates extend- development of new technology, and forest health ng from 1996 to 2000; and 23 were withdrawn due monitoring. to lack of funds or excessive deterioration of salvage- able, fire-damaged timber (USDA Forest Service The four new components proposed by the 1992 1 996a). The total area of the projects covered 2 mil- plan were restoring forest health in the ecosystem lion acres. Individual projects ranged from less than management framework, managing introduced 500 acres to more than 1 50,000 acres about a pests, excluding exotic pests, and providing for inter- third were less than 500 acres. The average project national cooperation in forest health protection. The size was almost 6,000 acres. Projects involving tim- 1992 plan identified the desired state of forest health ber management, primarily reforestation (34 percent); as a condition where natural and nonnatural influ- fuel management (1 6 percent); habitat management ences such as pests, atmospheric deposition, silvi- (6 percent); watershed improvement (4 percent); cultural treatments, and harvest practices do not range improvement (2 percent); various combinations threaten long-term resource management objectives. of management activities (37 percent); and other This linkage integrates forest health directly into (1 percent) were implemented. In addition, national national forest land and resource management plans. forest managers also began implementing some 40 western forest health initiative team recommenda- Western Forest Health Initiative tions to restructure existing procedures that could In September 1 994, Chief Jack Ward Thomas prevent timely and effective responses to forest chartered a western forest health initiative team to health problems. These recommendations called for

229 Chapter 6

improving communication and coordination with Vegetation and Animal Control related internal Forest Service interests and external The Forest Service reduced herbicide use to control organizations, increasing the flexibility of budget unwanted vegetation on rights-of-way and forest and and program planning, and changing existing laws range management areas by 50 percent, to less than or obtaining new legislation on matters affecting 1 20,000 acres. The use of chemicals for animal dam- national forest management. age control was reduced from 115,000 acres in 1983 to less than 7,000 acres by 1992 (USDA Forest Ser- In 1994, the national forest land ethic incorporated vice 1981-1995). the objective for sustaining healthy ecosystems: "Management of the national forests to meet human Fire and Fuel Management needs while maintaining the health, diversity, and productivity of ecosystems." Chief Thomas declared Wildfire damage during the early 1980's was below "ensuring ecosystem health as a foundation for all average. Between 1 980 and 1 984, the average life, a concept that builds on Leopold's definition of annual burn was 11 8,644 acres less than 1per- land health as a vigorous state of self-renewal a first cent of the total National Forest System. Favorable priority in managing national forests for multiple weather and soil moisture conditions which were uses" (Thomas 1 995; USDA Forest Service 1 994d). not conducive to wildfire ignition or spread were important contributors. The most dramatic fire event Exotic Pests and Log Imports was the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1 980 and the The discovery of three new exotic forest pests fires it ignited. National forest managers were faced the Asian gypsy moth, the common European shoot with a unique problem of keeping fires from moving beetle, and Eurasian poplar leaf rust in the United out of the devastated area and protecting the health States in 1991 and 1992 and the recent industrial and safety of firefighters in the hazard zones. A com- expansion of log imports from foreign lands elevated prehensive action plan and command center for risks for protecting the Nation's forest health. The directing and coordinating the firefighting teams United States has typically not been a big importer helped suppress the wildfires. (USDA Forest Service of logs. However, domestic log supply reduction 1981b). on the West Coast opened its markets for timber imports. Pest assessments for larch logs from the During the first half of the 1980's, the average Russian Far East, Monterey pine from New Zealand, annual number of fires reported on national forest and Monterey pine and native hardwoods from lands was 9,000. Nationwide, half were lightning- Chile revealed a serious risk of introducing dam- caused and half were human-caused. However, the aging new pests to U.S. forests. (Fowler 1996). ratio between human- and lightning-caused fires differed enormously between the western national The far eastern Russia risk assessment revealed the forests, where 80 percent were lightning-caused, and threat of the Asian gypsy moth. It is a greater threat the southern national forests, where 80 percent were to North American forests than the established human-caused. Among the human-caused fires, European gypsy moth. The Asian gypsy moth feeds arson was the most frequent cause, at 32 percent; on a larger number of hosts and can disperse more campfires caused 21 percent; and smoking, 11 per- quickly because the females can fly. The first Asian cent. Various other human causes, each at 9 percent gypsy moth infestations on the West Coast were or less, accounted for the remaining 36 percent. located near the ports of Portland, Oregon, and Tacoma, Washington. These infestations have been As directed by Congress in 1 978, the Forest Service eradicated, but the fact that the moth came into the undertook a comprehensive analysis of national country aboard Russian grain ships elevates con- forest fire management policy and implementation cerns and risks. The United States and Russia have strategies to develop an economic model for plan- developed a monitoring and inspection program to ning fire management. The model, completed in reduce the chance of future introductions. (Fowler 1 980, compared alternative wildfire responses for 1996). each national forest with the corresponding sum of

230 *- 7 231 1 1 934 and ushered in 5 more years of extreme drought 1 934 and ushered more severe fire seasons. The in the West and even of people and equipment. interagency mobilization moved more people and (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho, broader geographical area in the resources over a were mobilized at one time. The 17,000 firefighters 463,950 acres. national forest area burned totaled Forest Service 1986). than 295,000 one, but the area burned was less the "Fires of acres. The 1987 fire season, particularly overall fire situation required a massive response overall fire situation Nation and set a record for from all parts of the Fire Coordination Center The National Interagency in its 20-year history. More than shortest time period was a fortuitous The 1985 fire season in many ways there were far experience in firefighting logistic, for 1988 (USDA worse seasons to come in 1987 and was another severe The 1 986 national wildfire season Severe wildfire damage associated with heavy fuels, Colville National Forest, Washington, 1988. National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995 for Multiple Uses: Management National Forest n 1984, despite the extensive lightning activity and implemented during the early 1 980's. It uses the implemented during the early 1 980's. National Fire Management Analysis System (NFMAS), National Fire Management nationwide, particularly in the South and West, since ignitions, the total area burned on national forests was very low, less than 99,000 acres, and the smokejumper program achieved the historic mark of 1 00,000 jumps. During the 1 984 fire season, national forests fully used smokejumper capability to respond to major lightning-caused wildfires throughout the Pacific Northwest. In the same season, nationa' forest managers monitored 65 lightning- caused prescribed wilderness fires. The National Interagency Incident Management The National Interagency Incident command System (NIIMS), which uses an incident and com- organization, interagency coordination to all munications, and a terminology common to be wildland firefighting agencies, continued for each most cost-effective firefighting resources It was, situation, regardless of agency jurisdiction. wildfires and and still is, used to manage larger Service led produces substantial savings. The Forest training and the development of NUMS by providing and by trans- guidance for participating agencies fighting, search ferring NIIMS technology to wildfire relief, law and rescue efforts, hurricane disaster natural disasters enforcement, and planning for other system has (USDA Forest Service 1986). The NIIMS also been successfully used in plane crashes and is now being used internationally as part of International Forestry's disaster assistance support program. the estimated suppression costs and the value of the estimated suppression lost to those fires. The optimum natural resources and fire management budget level response strategy produced the lowest sum of costs was the one that This planning system, the plus resource losses. 1981 to allocate a $174 million was first used in Some forests received budget for fire management. some received lower than higher budget allocations, and others received their traditional allocations, has been about the same. Each year's experience improve its perfor- added to the model's database to mance over time. Wildfires Worsen After 1984 The 1 985 fire season was the worst experienced - fire personnel were a level not exceeded - - : 41,000 emergency firefighters were also

: 4,000 ests experienced more than 11,000 fires that burned ests experienced more than 11,000 nearly 1 .5 million acres since 1919, when 2 million national forest acres were burned. More than mobilized in 1988, including trained crews from 39 States and Canada. Some 5,600 military personnel and trained and mobilized. Ninety percent of all fire starts on national forests were suppressed at 1 0 acres or less as a direct result of planned and available fire protection forces. The most intensive fire situation developed in the Greater Yellowstone Area - mainly inside Yellow- stone National Park. A combination of severe drought, natural fuel accumulations, and insect- killed trees created extreme fire behavior conditions with high rates of spread. Strong ember-carrying winds started new fires. Intense fires completely consumed fuels and threatened several communities. throughout the western United States. National for- throughout the western United States. Conflagration. A very hot, intense fire through a stand of mature timber destroyed ground cover and damaged A very hot, intense fire through a stand of Montana, during the 1988 West Yellowstone Area soil on the West Yellowstone Ranger District, a ratio acres of damaged watershed areas 4,000 232 The 1 988 season continued the extreme fire activity that began in August 1987. Continuing severe drought created an extremely high fire potential lightning strikes compared fire per 100 strikes. NIFC mobilized more than 25,000 people and record amounts of supporting equipment and aircraft during the peak of the firefighting. Almost 3 bbf of damaging wildlife habitats, range forage, visual resources, and cultural forces resources. In some situations, suppression forest had to be shifted from protecting national and developed resources to protecting human life property. Tragically, 12 firefighters lost their lives. (USDA Forest Service 1 988b). Efforts to rehabilitate damaged watersheds began as soon as the fires were controlled. Thousands of acres were seeded to grass to prevent erosion, 1 05 miles of stream channels were cleared, and erosion control structures were installed on damaged watershed sites to stabilize soil and protect downstream water uses. Several hundred culverts were installed to improve drainage on nearly 2,000 miles of road to avoid erosion. Trees were felled on the contour on more than to check erosion. most destructive national than 1929, burning more Rainfall 1,066,000 acres. September, more than 11,000 lightning strikes ignited 1,900 fires of one fire for every six with a typical ratio of one timber were destroyed, September," became the September," became since forest fire season normal 25 percent below created extremely con- dangerous burning ditions in northern California and southwest Oregon. In late August and Chapter 6 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995

/ 1989 was another droughty year. National forests prepared contingency plans for areas with extreme fire risks, q'; provided supplemental - funding for early emergency

"M H fire planning training, and hi F. 'A J1Cb. ' firefighting equipment; in- ,' ,. I creased tools and equipment in all fire caches; and accelerated contracts for aircraft, fire retardant chem- I Al. icals, caterers, shower units,

Tj and other suppression Re resources. In 1 989, western national forests had 6 percent fewer wildfires. Most were ignited by lightning. Advanced preparation and rapid mobilization kept these fires small, and favor-

4. able weather closed the fire season by the end of August. The area burned was Residence destroyed by intense wildfires, Los Padres National Forest, California, 1990. 424,000 acres.

National forest firefighting forces played a major role An improved version of the NFMAS was introduced in suppressing eight major fires covering more than in 1990. It determined the most efficient fire manage- 1.1 million acres in Yellowstone National Park and ment organization as one that minimized the sum of 566,600 acres of national forest outside Yellowstone presuppression costs, suppression costs, and resource (USDA Forest Service 1989c). losses. This improved the allocation of fire management budgets and increased fire management effi- The severity of the 1988 fire season particularly ciency at the national forest level. the fact that several wildfires that began as natural fires had been allowed to burn in national forest wil- From 1990 to 1993, drought conditions persisted derness areas and in Yellowstone led the Secre- with some abatement in 1991, when only 143,000 taries of Agriculture and the Interior to review the acres burned, and in 1993, when a return of moist wilderness "let burn" fire management policy. Wilder- weather conditions kept the burn to 239,000 acres. ness fire policy became a major public issue. The Even so, the average annual area burned was review improved coordination among the Forest 310,000 acres, 1.7 times the average burn in the Service, Department of the Interior agencies, and 40 years between 1 945 and 1 984, before the con- the National Association of State Foresters and com- flagrations of the late 1 980's. National incident man- munication with the public. It endorsed the existing agement teams were dispatched to 20 major fires on prescribed natural wildfire policy and recommended national forests in 1990 and 26 in 1992. Six fire- preparing regional and national contingency plans to fighters lost their lives on Arizona's Tonto National constrain natural fires under extreme burning con- Forest in 1990 when wildfire overran their crew. It ditions and planned ignitions to supplement natural became clear in these years that fuel buildup on prescribed fires in reducing heavy hazardous fuel national forests needed special attention and could accumulations (USDA Forest Service 1990b).

233 Chapter 6

only get worse in future years. (USDA Forest Service 1991-1995).

The most severe and damaging wildfire season on national forests in recent times came in 1 994. More than 14,400 fires were fought on almost 1 .5 million acres. Forty-nine States supported national forest suppression efforts by .r supplying firefighting crews. JJ It I! The military provided more than 4,000 troops. More than 100 major fires were suppressed in the six western national forest regions. At the peak of the firefighting activity in August, more than 25,000 firefighters were assigned to fires at one time. Large fire- damaged areas accom- Heavy fuel (middle ground) of beetle-killed lodgepole old-growth, green old-growth in panied the tragic loss of background, and young lodgepole regeneration with low fuel buildup in the foreground, Gallatin National Forest, 1980. The area largely escaped the 1988 Yellowstone fires except for a fringe of 28 lives across the West intense burn in the foreground. (USDA Forest Service 1995d). National forest fire management expenditures in 1994 reached a directly funded fuel management program increased recordbreaking total of nearly $1 billion. These from 347,000 acres to 385,000 acres it had extraordinary costs became a special concern to previously averaged less than 300,000 acres per year. policy officials because real dollar expenditures (after inflation) for national forest fire suppression had not The directly funded program's focus was to reduce increased since 1970 (Bell et al. 1995). the inflammable material buildup on forest floors in areas with a history of large, costly, and destructive Fuel Management fires and the potential for the recurrence of such fires. During most of the 1 980's and early 1 990's, fuels Brush disposal and the prescribed fires and mech- were reduced on about 950,000 acres per year. This anical biomass reductions for wildlife habitat and effort included three components: the direct fuel range improvement supplemented the direct management program, timber sale brush disposal, program's achievements. However, the western and the prescribed burns and mechanical fuel forest fires between 1 986 and 1 992 made it obvious reductions for range and wildlife habitat improve- that the scale of such efforts was not matching the ments. On average, each component made up about scale of the national forest fuel hazard problem. a third of the total average annual achievement. Brush disposal declined from 352,000 acres to The 1 987 "Fires of September" demonstrated that 225,000 acres as national forest timber harvests were fire crews could directly attack wildfires and contain reduced in the early 1990's. In the same period, the them in areas that had received intensive fuel treat-

234 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995

ment. However, direct attack was not an option on clarifying responsibilities by renegotiating coopera- areas that had not had intensive fuel treatments. The tive fire agreements with States and local communi- combination of high fuel loadings and extremely dry ties and other partners at the wldland-urban interface, weather caused high spread rates, high fire intensi- and phasing out the Forest Service's current role as ties, and dangerous fire behavior conditions too the primary fire protection agency in urbanized and dangerous for fire crews to attack directly. The fire developing rural areas. These recommendations experiences of 1 987 to 1992 made it clear that with clearly elevated the role of fire management in pro- current fuel management treatment levels, it would tecting and managing national forest ecosystems in take many, many more years to make wildfires easier the future and set new directions and strategies for to control (USDA Forest Service 1 992b). fire and fuel management on national forests in the 21st century. In 1994, Chief Jack Ward Thomas, alerted by the disastrous loss of life, resources, and costs in fighting Management of Rangelands wildfires in that year and the preceding decade, asked for a Forest Service assessment of its fire man- In 1980, 102 million acres, or 55 percent, of national agement strategy (USDA Forest Service 1 995h). That forest lands were in grazing allotments: 58 million report basically recommended shifting fire manage- acres were "forested" rangeland and 44 million ment away from its traditional focus on control and acres were classified as "rangeland." (USDA Forest suppression to become a working tool in the eco- Service 1981a). National forest range managers system approach to management, establishing continued to improve range and rangeland water- cooperative agreements for fighting wildfires on the shed conditions to increase national forest allotment- wildland-urban interface, and improving leadership's forage and browse-grazing capacity in keeping with ability and workforce capabilities to respond to water quantity and quality, wildlife habitat, scenic wildfires. quality, and wild free-roaming horses and burros resource objectives. For 1 984, the goal was equiva- Two studies elaborated on these broad recommenda- lent to 10 million animal unit months (AUM's) of tions (USDA Forest Service 1995b; Bell et al. 1995). livestock grazing. This goal was attained; authorized They reported that timber cutting, domestic livestock allotment grazing use rose to 10.1 million AUM's in grazing, insect control, and prolonged absence of 1 983 and was sustained through 1 987 (USDA Forest periodic low-intensity burning had resulted in Service 1981-1 995). changes in species composition and stand structure that had disposed about 39 million acres of fire- Domestic Livestock Use adapted forests to insect and disease attacks and Actual grazing use, however, remained at a stable severe stand-replacement wildfires. Both studies 8.8 million AUM's through 1986 and then dropped recommended increasing mechanical and pre- to 7.7 million AUM's by 1992, responding to persis- scribed burning to 2 or 3 million acres per year to tent severe drought conditions. The authorized or reduce fuel loadings in fire-adapted forests. They permitted grazing likewise declined after 1986 to also recommended that forest plans address wildfire about 9.1 million AUM's by 1993 (USDA Forest consequences and set mechanical treatment and Service 1981-1995). prescribed burning objectives for areas with excessive fuel loads. They also recommended developing The number of cattle grazed on national forests an interdisciplinary workforce capable of maintain- remained very stable at 1 .3 million per year between ing, restoring, and protecting fire-adapted forests and 1980 and 1988, but it declined by 100,000 by training, qualifying, and making 75 percent of the 1 993. The number of sheep grazed in 1980 likewise total national forest workforce available to respond was 1 .3 million, but their numbers began to decline to fire emergencies by the year 2000. Other recom- in 1983; by 1993, they numbered less than 1 million, mendations included intensifying line officer training a drop of 300,000 sheep (USDA Forest Service to better redeem fire management responsibilities, 1981-1 995).

235 Chapter 6

Range Management Adivities tion. The new approach focused on vegetation man- In 1980, there were 10,754 grazing allotments en- agement objectives that the new national forest plans compassing the entire 102 million acres of national had established for national forest grazing forest rangelands. However, only the 52 million allotments. acres classed as suitable rangeland were used to determine the carrying capacity for domestic live- Under the new approach, epitomized as "Change on stock grazing. The number of allotments increased to the Range," national forest managers introduced 11,069 in 1982, but steadily declined thereafter, to new measures for rangeland vegetation analysis and 9,343 in 1 993. The number of paid permits and forest plan vegetation objectives to reflect an ecosys- permittees also declined, from more than 15,000 to tem approach to management (USDA Forest Service 9,11 3. Since the area of suitable rangeland remained 1 989c). Range condition assessments related to the about the same, the reduction in allotment numbers full gamut of rangeland use and management objec- represented a consolidation of some units for man- tives. Cattle forage would no longer be the sole cri- agement efficiency. terion for range condition. This approach reduced the area suitable for livestock grazing to less than Many small grazing operators withdrew from the 50 mitlion acres (USDA Forest Service 1989c). cattle industry as beef consumption declined steadily, from its peak 28 billion pounds in 1976 to 24 bil- In 1993, forest plans included 97 million acres where lion in 1993. Per capita beef consumption declined grazing was authorized by permits 5 percent less even more: from 128 pounds in 1976 to 93 pounds than in 1 980. These plans identified range vegetation in 1993. Total cattle numbers declined similarly, management objectives on 74.3 million acres. from a peak of 132 million in 1975 to 99 million in Resource objectives were being met on 34 percent 1 993. Most of the waived grazing capacity was of this area largely through livestock management. picked up by larger operators who remained in the An additional 30 percent was progressing toward cattle business (USDA Forest Service 1981 1 995, meeting forest plan objectives. About 1 5 percent 1986-1 994). The decline in permittee numbers also was not meeting or progressing toward forest plan reflected a shift from counting individual permittees objectives and required revised allotment plans, and holding grazing association permits on national 21 percent was still being evaluated to determine its grasslands to just counting association permits. status (USDA Forest Service 1 994e).

The number of allotments where the prescribed "Change on the Range" separately identified and treatments in approved allotment management plans assessed riparian areas within grazing allotments. In were being implemented ranged between 7,400 and 1993, grazing allotments included nearly 2.5 million 7,600 generally tending to increase. In 1991, acres of riparian areas, 60 percent of which was 7,600 allotments were implementing approved plans meeting or moving toward forest plan objectives. and 400 more plans were ready to be implemented. An additional 1 6 percent was not doing so, and the Almost 82 percent of the allotments were or would remaining 24 percent was being evaluated (USDA be under satisfactory management. In 1992, national Forest Service 1 994e). forest range managers changed their method of assessing the adequacy of range management within Rangeland conditions and productivity were main- grazing allotments (USDA Forest Service 1989c). tained and improved by both structures and vegeta- These changes increased attention to multiple uses, tive management. National forests typically installed delegated more management authority to local about 1,300 miles of range fencing; water develop- managers, and added new measures for assessing ments at 1,600 sites, including about 260 miles of range health and applying an ecological approach to water pipelines; and 300 other site-specific practices vegetation analysis. These changes helped a growing each year. About 140,000 acres of seeding and number of public groups and individuals interested fertilizing and mechanical, controlied burning or in range uses other than livestock grazing to focus chemical brush and range plant treatments were their attention on the management of range vegeta-

236 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995

In the early 1990's, the effort to contain the spread of noxious weeds on national forests doubled, to an average of 41,000 acres per year (USDA Forest Ser- vice 1981-1 995). In 1995, the Forest Service undertook the lead for developing a USDA interagency strategy for noxious weed control to integrate noxious weed management with ecosystem analysis, resource assessment, and national forest planning. It recognizes the primary importance of cooperation with all parties affected by noxious weed infestations and the increasing threat that noxious weeds pose to wildland ecosystem integrity especially Rider moves cattle to another rotational grazing unit, Big Horn National Forest, Wyoming, 1990. wilderness and research natural areas (USDA Forest applied each year. Some 1 .5 to 2.5 million acres of Service 1 996b). rangeland were benefitted each year. Role of Public Participation Noxious Weed Control During the 1980's, range users, wildlife groups, and Noxious weed infestations continued to spread on other resource interests increasingly participated in national forest lands. They adversely affected wil- national forest range planning and management Ihis derness, soil conditions, aesthetic quality, riparian approach improved cooperation among the interest areas, aquatic ecosystems, hydrology, and land groups and helped to identify neededforage and productivity, as well as the forage supply and its structural improvements and to accelerate their nutritional values to wild and domestic animals. implementation to protect and improve range During the 1980's, national forest managers treated vegetation and achieve a better distribution of noxious weeds on about 21,000 acres per year grazing and foraging animals. Public issues and (USDA Forest Service 1981-1 995) management concerns about range conditions, the spread of noxious weeds, the impacts of national In 1983, the principal noxious weeds were estimated forest plans, and about water quality, riparian areas, to infest 1 .6 million acres and were spreading at the wildlife, and scenic beauty nevertheless grew during rate of 7 percent per year (USDA Forest Service the 1 980's and were an important factor in bringing 1987b). By 1995, that acreage had increased to 6 to about "Change on the Range." Public concerns were 7 million acres (Clark 1996). This not only reflected underscored by GAO reports on range conditions, the continuing spread of noxious weeds, but also particularly on overstocked allotments and riparian increases in the number of species and changes in the areas (GAO 1988a, 1988b). Under"Change on the definitions and criteria for noxious weeds (Clark Range," national forest managers emphasized 1996). restoring rangeland riparian areas, improving

237 Chapter 6

rangeland conditions, and developing new partner- mits were categorized by range allotment conditions ships with interested groups and individuals. In 1989, and unacceptable environmental effects from the for the first time, national forests collected data on allotment management plans. Where permit issu- deteriorated riparian areas that were receiving ance required mitigation measures that reduced treatment to improve their vegetative condition and livestock or any other allotment management plan reported 42,727 such acres for that year (USDA adjustments, they would be implemented in the Forest Service 1 986-1 990). interim until a new NEPA analysis could be completed. However, in the summer of 1995, the In 1990, representatives of the Forest Service, live- Rescissions Act (P.L. 1 04-1 9) required national forest stock organizations, and wildlife interests called a managers to issue new grazing permits when existing joint conference to review how effectively forest permits expired or when current permittees sold base plans were addressing the longstanding conflict holdings and to schedule new NEPA analyses for all between livestock and wildlife. As a result, the grazing allotments. The legislation extended the Forest Service in 1 992 launched "Seeking Common timeframe for updating grazing allotment NEPA Ground" in the Western States. It sought project analyses to 201 0 (Clark 1996). proposals from Government agencies, livestock producers, and wildlife organizations to demonstrate Emergence of the "County Supremacy" practical solutions to big game and livestock man- Movement on Federal Lands agement issues. A panel of experts evaluated the In the early 1990's, grazing interests were a strong proposals. Selected proposals were implemented in and dominant force in the emergence of the current 1993 with both public and private funds. These on- "County Supremacy" or "Home Rule" movement on the-ground project achievements will be monitored western national forests and BLM lands. In more and reported on when they are fully implemented. recent years, a number of western counties adopted (USDA Forest Service 1991-1 995). ordinances declaring that the Federal Government has no authority to manage Federal lands. Their Issuance of New Grazing Permits contention, under the "Equal Footing Doctrine," was In 1994, as national forest managers anticipated the that States, at the time they were admitted to the expiration of some 4,000 grazing permits between Union, acquired administrative authority over any 1995 and 1997, a question about the need for NEPA Federal lands that remained open and unclaimed analysis for grazing allotment plans and issuance of (Clark 1 996). This movement, however, received a grazing permits arose. A growing number of lawsuits serious setback in 1 996 when the U.S. District Court involving NEPA and the issuing of grazing permits in Las Vegas, Nevada, ruled that ordinances adopted had been decided in the plaintiffs' favor. The USDA by the Nye County Nevada, County Commission did Office of General Counsel (OGC) advised the Forest not apply to Federal lands and that Federal agencies Service to develop procedures to expeditiously com- had complete regulatory control over the lands they plete NEPA analyses before grazing permits were were charged to administer (U.S. District Court, Las reissued. Because there was no legal requirement to Vegas, NV 1 996). issue a permit when the existing permit expired even though the current permittees legally had the The expansion and persistence of the "County first opportunity to receive such a permit the Supremacy" movement has raised questions about OGC saw the issuing of a permit as a discretionary how the Forest Service and other Federal agencies act and, therefore, within the purview of NEPA. can more effectively involve local communities and National forest range managers, on the other hand, whether new legal tools are needed to provide local believed grazing permits implemented the decisions communities with a more effective voice in the man- made in NEPA-based allotment and forest plans. agement process. National forest managers for the They felt that grazing permits did not require Humboldt and Toiyabe National Forests, the locus additional NEPA evaluation or documentation. The of the Nye County suit, have proactively sought Forest Service, however, followed OGC's interpreta- formal written agreements with Nevada counties in tion and streamlined the NEPA process. Existing per- hopes that such agreements will lead to greater National Forest Management for Multiple Uses:1 980to1995

understanding and better working relationships. documents where significant environmental impacts (Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests1996;Howell were possible. 1996). Oil and Gas leases Mineral Exploration and Development About half of the aforementioned reviews were conducted for oil and gas leases. The number of acres of national forest land leased for oil and gas exploration The Forest Service's role in managing mineral explor- and potential development rose from1 8million ation and development continued to be focused on acres in1977to a peak of35million acres in1983. protecting surface resources and ensuring that min- Thereafter, as the energy supply situation eased and eral exploration and mining activities did not have the 1 0-year leases expired, the leased acreage significant adverse environmental impacts. This work dropped to18million acres in1987and to less was closely coordinated with the BLM and the Geo- than6million acres by1994.The number of leases logical Survey, who have the administrative and tech- declined similarly, from24,600in1983to8,800by nical responsibilities for subsurface resources under 1994(fig.26)(USDA Forest Service1981-1 995). Federal mineral laws. National forest managers annually conducted25,000reviews and evaluations The number of oil- and gas-producing leases, how- for lease applications, prospecting permits, notices of ever, rose steadily, from500in1980to2,014in intent, operating plans, actual mining operations, 1994. Oilproduction rose from8million barrels in mineral claim validations, geophysical exploration 1977to a peak of22million barrels in1988,then permits, and surface resource use permits for mining declined to12million barrels by1994.Gas produc- of private mineral estates and on reserved outstand- tion was sustained throughout this period at about ing mineral rights on national forest lands purchased 210billion cubic feet per year to1993.In1994,gas under the Weeks Act of1911.These reviews and production increased by more than50percent, to evaluations included appropriate environmental 325billion cubic feet.

(a) Number of acres leased (b) Number of leases

40 30 -J

30 : - 20 Co Ja) 20 C

0 10 iI]

0 I 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 Year Year

Figure 26. Oil and gas leases on national forests,1983-1 994 Source: USDA Forest Service, Minerals and Geology Management Area tabulation.

239 Chapter 6

In 1987, Congress enacted the Federal Onshore Oil Coal and Geothermal Leasing and Gas Leasing Reform Act, which gave the Forest Coal leasing expanded similarly. Leased acres rose Service authority to regulate and approve all surface- from less than 1 50,000 in the 1970's to 208,000 in disturbing activities for gas and oil leases and lease 1986 and then declined to 122,000 acres in 1988 as operations rather than just making recommendations leases expired more rapidly than they were renewed to the BLM. The Secretary of the Interior's authority or new leases were issued. Thereafter, the leased to issue oil and gas leases on national forest lands acreage rose again and reached almost 197,000 acres was made contingent on Forest Service determina- in 1 994 (fig. 27). In 1 994, coal leases on national for- tion that such lands were suitable for leasing. This est lands were producing 114 million tons, compared determination required a pre-lease NEPA environ- to 7 million tons in 1980. One surface coal mine on mental analysis and followup compliance inspections national forest lands in Wyoming, the largest surface and enforcement. The new responsibility gave coal mine in the world, was producing 3 percent of national forest managers the initiative to identify the all coal mined in the United States (USDA Forest highest priority tracts and put them on the market Service 1981-1 995). rather than respond to industry initiatives to apply for oil and gas leases (Robertson 1988). The Forest In 1983, geothermal energy leases occupied more Service's implementing regulations for the Act were effective in 1990, but by that time the demand than 700,000 national forest acres. By 1 986, the leased acreage had risen to more than 1 .2 million. pressure for oil and gas exploration and development In 1994, however, geothermal leasing was down to on national forest lands had fallen to its lowest level in 20 years. 286,000 acres, a result of lower oil prices. The first geothermal power facilities on national forest lands The new regulations allowed the Forest Service to began operation in1 981. By 1 994, three geothermal use staged decisionmaking and environmental powerplants were operating on national forest lands. analysis at each step of the permitting process an approach that made it possible to defer environmen- Minerals Leased on tal analysis of production plans and activities for Acquired National Forest Lands areas with unknown potential, speculative interest, Lead and phosphate are leased on acquired national or no history of drilling or production until the forest land primarily in the Eastern States. In 1 993, operations stage (USDA Forest Service 1 989b). national forests were producing 95 percent of the

(a) Numberofacres leased (b) Production

250 125

200 100 C-)

150

100 !; :: C 0 Q 25 I-

1980 1985 1990 1994 1980 1985 1990 1994 Year Year

Figure 27. Coal leases and production on national forests, 1 980-1 994 Source:USDAForest Service.

240 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses:1980to1995

Nation's lead output, and phosphate mines were pro- resource management staffs they assisted. The ducing a total of5.5million tons. benefits of this coordination came largely in the form of avoiding undesirable or adverse impacts on locatable Minerals national forest soils, waters, and airspace. Over the nine decades of national forest management, the Locatable minerals include gold, silver, copper, zinc, absence of major widespread problems with soil molybdenum, and other minerals. Out of7,000 productivity, watersheds, waterflows, and water active, locatable mineral mine sites, only 1,200 are quality on national forests has largely been a reflec- currently producing. tion and measure of the quality of soil and water resource coordination and management. From the The passage of the Federal Land Policy and Manage- time of Gifford Pinchot, the long-term protection of ment Act of1 976(FLPMA) required owners of soil and water resources has been the primary con- unpatented lode and placer mining claims located cern of national forest managers. before1976to file a record in the office where the original claim notice was filed, with a copy to the Coordinating Resource Management With BLM, along with a "notice of intent" to hold and Soil and Water Objectives work the claim by1 980.This requirement made it More than50percent of the total workload of the possible, in the early1 980's,for the Forest Service to soil and water program has been providing technical identify legitimate claims and have BLM null and assistance and coordination to timber management, void claims where location notices had not been minerals exploration and development, range man- filed. agement, engineering, and other resource activities to protect soil productivity, waterfiows, and water Mineral Materials quality. Timber sale planning, including roads, has constituted the largest share; mineral exploration Mineral materials include sand, gravel, stone, pum- and development was the next largest component. ice, cinders, and other fairly commonplace materials Such coordination integrates soii and water objec- used for local construction, road construction and tives into the planning for all other national forest maintenance, and landscaping. National forests resources and uses and recommends ways to pre- managed more than 1 ,000 pits and quarries and sold vent soil loss or damage and water quality impair- these materials to the private sector (public sector use ment from land-disturbing resource management was free). National forest managers took care to en- activities. As both timber harvests and mineral sure that lands disturbed in extracting these materials exploration and development declined in the1990's, were properly reclaimed. these efforts were scaled down to less than30per- cent of the soil, water, and air management work- Soil, Water, and Air Resources load (USDA Forest Service1981-1 995).The dominant workload shifted to inventorying and During the1 980'sand early1 990's,the primary role protecting long-term soil resources and riparian of soil, water, and air resources management was to areas; ensuring adequate stream flows for fisheries, coordinate the protection of soil productivity, water- recreation, and municipal watersheds; improving sheds, waterflows, and air quality with other resource watersheds; and protecting wilderness resources management activities. This role, including inventory, from air pollution (Bryant1996). monitoring, and land management planning activities, constituted88percent of the total soil, water, In1988,while States were developing regulations to and air workload (USDA Forest Service1 9940.The control nonpoint pollution under section319of the balance was devoted to installing soil and water Clean Water Act, the Forest Service approved a improvements. Much of the management and coor- strategy to minimize nonpoint sources from national dination input that the soil, water, and air resources forest land and resource management activities. This staff provided was directly implemented by the strategy provided for the design and application of

241 -

. ! r ri II :. I managers increasingly used to make more informed managers increasingly used to make activities decisions on sensitive land management potential such as planning timber sales, locating and how to use recreation sites, determining where prescribed fire, identifying the sites and routes most suitable for road construction, estimating soil productivity for range forage, and many others. During the latter 1 980's, many national forests began to monitor timber management effects on soil productivity. In 1991, for example, Oregon's Maiheur National Forest monitored soil quality to determine the effects of timber management on soil compaction. The results indicated that the regional soil compaction standards were being exceeded and potentially were impacting soil productivity on many acres. National forest managers adopted best management practices to avoid or mitigate such excessive 1 989 and 1990, Louisiana's Kisatchie National Forest monitored soil erosion following site preparation "it'I compaction (USDA Forest Service 1981-1 995). In with a roller drum chopper and slash burning on Volunteers in a community replanting project on the Wasatch Forest in the area of an arson- Volunteers in a community replanting project caused fire, Uinta National Forest, Utah. Followup monitoring was "best management prac- "best management to tices" (BMP), monitoring were in ensure the practices and place and effective, mea- applying mitigation sures where unacceptable or impacts had occurred forest could occur. National managers developed responsibilities of each in preventing nonpoint pollu- handbooks for minimizing nonpoint pollution. The Forest Service 1 989c; Bryant 1996). Chapter 6 242 Soil and Water Inventories Between 1950 and 1993, soil surveys were completed for almost 70 percent of national forest lands. productivity, and reforestation potentials; erosion line information to monitor changes caused by man- produced maps and interpretations that resource exemplified by the water monitoring stations on exemplified by the water monitoring below 21 timber Arkansas's Ouachita National Forest found unacceptable stands, where resource managers application herbicide contamination. As a result, methods and herbicide mixing locations were modified to maintain water quality. On Alaska's Chugach National Forest, monitoring of placer mining's effects on anadromous fish streams led to ponds to meet State water quality standards. cooperative agreements with State agencies that spelled out the roles and tion sources. The national forest regions developed guidelines in these handbooks were incorporated by reference into national forest land and resource management plans (USDA They included the determination of soil suitability, and soil stability problem areas; soil and vegetation effects on water yields and water quality; and base- agement activities. Soil inventory work and analysis the installation of additional sediment-collection National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995

selected reforestation areas. The initial results showed address an ecosystem approach to national forest that erosion was within the tolerable loss limits resource management. rhey also developed a defined in the forest plan. national ecological database to manage information from expanding ecological inventories. The National Long-Term Soil Productivity Study Initiated Hierarchical Framework of Ecological Units was In 1990, the National Forest System and Forest Ser- completed in 1993 and the Chief's Office directed vice Research established a nationwide cooperative national forest managers to use it in developing an study to identify and quantify the kinds of changes ecological approach to future land and resource different soils could sustain without losing long-term planning (Unger 1993). productivity and to set soil compaction and organic matter content threshold standards on benchmarks "Ecological units" are terrestrial mapping units deter- for designing forest practices, monitoring soil con- mined by macrod i mate, geomorphology, geology, dition trends, and assessing the effectiveness of soil soils, and potential natural vegetation and reflect and water conservation. The project sought to better predictable and uniform capabilities and responses understand the basic relationships between soil to management. The National Hierarchical Frame- properties and the long-term productivity of the work built on earlier work by Robert C. Bailey, Nation's major forest ecosystems. In 1991 and 1992, "Ecoregions of the United States," compiled in 1976, the Forest Service installed study plots in Louisiana, and by W.A. Wertz and U.F. Arnold, "Land Systems North Carolina, Minnesota, Michigan, California, Inventory," completed in 1972 is a way of map- and Idaho. Universities, other agencies, Canada, and ping and using ecological units at several different New Zealand expressed interest in cooperating in scales. In 1995, the ecological mapping effort added this study as it was being put in place (USDA Forest a hierarchical framework of aquatic ecological units Service 1991-1 993). In 1995, information was being to identify and differentiate aquatic ecosystem compiled on early findings and the current status of components (Bryant 1 996). this widespread study effort. Water Resource Surveys Shift Toward an Ecological Approach and Emphasis National forests conducted watershed condition Some national forests began to introduce an ecologi- surveys on more than 35 million acres to assess cal approach to soil inventories in the late 1980's water quality conditions, predict the timing and and early 1990's. In 1990, Michigan's Huron- amount of runoff, and prevent floods. This informa- Manistee National Forest applied the Integrated tion was used to identify and prioritize opportunities Ecological Classification System to 80,000 acres to to improve the management of activities that could improve resource capability determinations and to adversely impact water quality. increase its knowledge of the linkages between ecological processes and land management. This In 1 988, national forests classified and assessed the ecological approach added vegetation and some- condition of 1 7,600 miles of stream channels. In the times hydrologic information to the soils data, mak- same year, the Northern and Intermountain Regions, ing interpretations of ecological processes easier and in cooperation with the State of Idaho's effort to more reliable. Other regions and forests introduced quantify water uses, inventoried 30 percent of the similar approaches. In 1 991 and 1 992, Idaho's water uses and improvement needs on Idaho's Snak Targhee National Forest and Wyoming's Bridger- River. These inventories identified fish, recreation, Teton National Forest classified vegetative types and wildlife, timber, watershed, and range improvement designed ecosystem unit maps that could be linked needs and provided a quantitative basis for national with the soil inventories (USDA Forest Service forest water rights claims for streamflows in the 1991-1993). Snake River Basin (USDA Forest Service 1 989c).

In 1992, Forest Service researchers working with In 1 993, the Forest Service opened the Stream national forest managers developed a draft National System Techno'ogy Center at Fort Collins, Colorado, Hierarchical Framework for Ecological Units to to improve the basic knowledge of mountain stream

243 Chapter 6

systems and processes and to develop operational During the 1980's, national forest managers gave tools, provide training, and give land managers increasing attention to improving management and technical support as they worked to secure "favor- protection of riparian areas and wetlands. The public able conditions of waterf low" and maintain stream- increasingly saw these areas as key to productive flow conditions provided in the 1 897 Organic Act. fisheries and wildlife habitat, diverse scenery and recreation sites, flood reduction, quality water for Soil and Water Monitoring downstream users, and continued groundwater Monitoring determined whether resource manage- recharge. Forest plans introduced standards and ment prescriptions were being properly designed guidelines to maintain and improve them. Regions and fulfilling soil, water, and air resource objectives and forests developed forest plan implementation and covered a wide range of practices throughout approaches that stressed riparian values. The Inter- the National Forest System. In 1986, for example, mountain Region prepared a 1988-1 992 riparian monitoring timber sale operations on the Goat Creek action program defining its goals and objectives for Drainage on Washington State's Gifford Pinchot improving riparian area management. By 1990, all National Forest confirmed that BMP's such as regions had begun to implement riparian area strat- removing floating logging residues, suspending logs egies on areas and sites with unsatisfactory con- over stream channels, and leaving all embedded ditions to achieve forest plan standards. In the same logs in the channels were effective in preventing year, an analysis of 359,000 riparian area miles in unacceptable stream turbidity increases (USDA the six contiguous western national forest regions Forest Service 1 987b). Monitoring determined that found that only 57 percent met current forest plan ripping compacted soils and seeding to grass was goals. The balance were classed as moving toward effective in restoring more permeable soil conditions or failing to meet the goals (Bryant 1996). on California's Los Padres National Forest (USDA Forest Service 1 987b). In 1 987, water quality mon- A 1991 national strategy for improving riparian areas itoring at 200 Pacific Northwest Region sites estab- called for an integrated approach in applying forest lished that timber harvesting BMP's were effectively plan standards to riparian areas and wetlands. It set meeting State water quality standards (USDA Forest national, regional, and forest on-the-ground riparian Service 1988b). Sample monitoring on eight Califor- goals, including the completion of an inventory of nia national forests demonstrated that properly the ecological health of riparian areas by 1 995. This applied BMP's on ski slopes, offroad vehicle trails, inventory had not been completed as this book was timber harvest areas, and roads were at least 95 per- published. cent effective in preventing nonpoint source pollution (USDA Forest Service 1 988b). These examples The Quinn River riparian rehabilitation demonstra- illustrate that in soil and water monitoring is becom- tion project on Nevada's Humboldt National Forest ing a tool to ensure that environmental quality was initiated with the cooperation of the EPA and the standards are met in managing multiple uses and Nevada Department of Environmental Protection. that they are effective in maintaining or restoring National forest managers installed in-stream struc- ecosystems over time. tures, stabilized streambanks, planted willows, and fenced off a riparian pasture to improve riparian Riparian and Wetlands Management conditions. They also monitored a channel cross- Riparian and wetland areas make up about 5 percent section for water chemistry, temperature, and macro- of the national forest land base. Over half of this invertebrates to assess the area's future responses to area is in Alaska. Most of the balance is located on the management (USDA Forest Service 1991-1 995). the eastern and southern national forests. In the extensively arid low-rainfall areas of the Western Water Rights States, this percentage is closer to 2 percent. In the In response to the 1978 Supreme Court ruling in Southern Region, it is 8 percent; in the Eastern New Mexico v. United States (the Rio Mimbres case) Region, it is 7 percent. and the growing realization of the importance of

244 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1 980 to 1 995

both consumptive and in-stream flow-water uses on In 1 980, 38,000 acres of soil and water resource national forest lands, the Forest Service in the 1 980's improvements were installed. This level dropped to began to file claims for beneficial water uses in vari- about 11,000 acres per year by 1 986 as the staffing ous Western States. Policy and case law had previ- and fundáng for such improvements was heavily ously encouraged regional foresters to simply notify retrenched. Inventory and resource coordination States of their Federal reserved water rights and uses staffing, however, was maintained and integrated without quantifying them. With increasing competi- with other resource activities to meet soil, water, and tion for water and shifts in the relationship between air resource objectives. With the restoration of soil the Federal Government and States over water man- and water staffing and funding in the early 1 990's, agement, the Forest Service had to quantify its water- soil and water improvements were again being rights claims in all adjudications and defend them installed on 35,000 to 40,000 acres per year (USDA against legal attacks by other water users and the Forest Service 1981-1995). States themselves. In 1 992 and 1 993, for example, the Forest Service was involved in water-rights Emergency rehabilitation following wildfires and adjudications in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, floods has also made important contributions to Colorado, and several other Western States (USDA restoring and maintaining water quality and soil pro- Forest Service 1981-1 995; Glasser 1996). ductivity. Depending upon weather conditions, such damage varies widely from year to year. During the Soil and Water Resource Improvements severe drought conditions in the latter 1980's and National forest soil and water improvements are early 1990's, emergency rehabilitation exceeded usually applied to situations where resources have 100,000 acres per year for 6 years. In more normal been impaired or are seriously threatened. The first years, such measures would range from a few hun- priorities are to maintain and restore degraded or dred to 50,000 acres. Flood damage on national threatened water quality and to maintain or restore forest lands ordinarily is less extensive than wildfire damaged or threatened soil productivity. Improve- damage. The most intensive emergency flood rehab- ments are funded with appropriated funds and ilitation work was in 1985, when unusual weather Knutson-Vandenberg Act funds (also known as KV patterns caused major floods and severe damage to funds) from timber harvest receipts. KV funds are national forest watersheds, stream channels, trans- applied to correct and improve watershed conditions portation systems, and recreation and administrative only on timber sale areas. These improvements facilities in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and increase water's infiltration into the soil and reduce Utah, involving about 25,000 acres of restoration overland waterflow, which can potentially erode the work (USDA Forest Service 1981-1 995). soil, reduce productivity, and increase stream sedimentation. KV-funded range, wildlife, and fish hab- Air Quality Management itat improvements such as livestock fencing, fish In 1 977, the Clean Water Act gave national forest pools, and reseeding vegetation are also designed to managers special air quality protection responsibili- improve watershed conditions. ties at 88 congressionally designated class I areas in national forest wilderness (areas that were wilder- The Forest Service has also cooperated with States, ness in 1977 and larger than 50,000 acres). All using funds authorized by the Surface Mining Con- regions developed screening processes to determine trol and Reclamation Act to make improvements to which air quality values should be protected and abandoned coal mine sites. The work on many of monitored and how to evaluate the potential air these projects has been done by human-resource quality impacts from atmospheric emissions orig- programs and volunteers. There are still more than inating from national forest activities and from 25,000 abandoned mines on national forest lands, nonpoint sources. Using automatic cameras, they but only about 10 percent involve hazardous situa- assessed effects on visibility and terrestrial and tions. Some still need treatment to meet the Clean aquatic habitats in class I airsheds. National forest Water Act standards (Bryant 1996). managers notified State officials when monitoring

245 Chapter 6

showed adverse effects of air pollution on visibility visual environments) network sites and developed or water quality or foliar damage from ozone in any lichen monitoring and ozone leaf damage protocols of the class I airsheds. States had the lead in deter- that most regions are implementing (USDA Forest mining mitigation measures and further study needs Service 1981-1995). to remedy such situations. Some class I airsheds already had existing adverse effects from air pollu- In 1988, national forest and EPA specialists sampled tion. These were documented. National forest airborne chemical pollution in 888 acid-sensitive managers and States cooperated to develop State lakes where air pollutants had significantly degraded implementation plans (SIP's) to meet air quality the lake's buffering capacity for such pollutants. rhis guidelines and protect resources and environmental monitoring continues at the most sensitive sites. quality in these cases. National forest specialists also collected acid rain data as a part of the national acid deposition pro- The emergence of prescribed fire as a major resource gram and network (Bryant 1 996). and ecosystem management tool raised the paradox of actually producing some air pollution (smoke In 1994, the Forest Service developed the National from prescribed fires) while working to improve the Strategic Plan for Air Resource Management to health, productivity, and resilience of certain national ensure that air resources were considered in the forest resources and ecosystems. The National Forest ecosystem approach to resource management. The System and many external interests have accepted strategy provided for stronger coordination and this apparent contradiction between preserving air continuity in air quality management efforts across quality and the need to create limited air pollution. the National Forest System and directed resource But there are outstanding issues, particularly in managers to become more proactive and less heavily populated areas with air quality problems reactive in carrying out their role. The strategy gave from other sources, where the citizens feel that forest managers a consistent approach for addressing national forest smoke management is not sufficient interregional air issues affecting the management of to satisfy local air quality goals. Often, however, national forest ecosystems and gave the regions a communities are ready to accept the smoke from framework for their local strategic plans. Its five prescribed fires as a favorable or even tradeoff with guiding principles included integrating air resource smoke from wildfires. management with other disciplines, basing recommended actions on science, forming partnerships to Each year, national forest managers review with achieve resource management goals and sharing States some 40 to 80 applications, received from them with other Federal agencies, striving for excel- major oil, gas, and other commercial developments lence, and obeying the law (USDA Forest Service on or near national forests, for new facility emissions 1 994g). source permits for prevention of significant deterioration of air quality (USDA Forest Service 1981-1995). Weather Monitoring Program In such cases, national forest managers, working A national weather monitoring program was estab- together with the EPA, States, and the involved indus- lished in 1986 to incorporate meteorological exper- tries, affirm that air quality values on national forest tise and weather and climate information into overall lands are protected. These determinations often lead management of multiple uses and to help improve to improved control measures for proposed facilities the existing fire danger rating system. To improve to mitigate or prevent any further degradation. accuracy and reliability, this program improved the siting, coordination, and maintenance of about 300 More Forest Service specialists monitored air quality remote automatic weather stations. By 1 988, the and visibility at selected sites across the Nation Forest Service had completed a comprehensive increasing from 32 in the early 1 980's to more than Service-wide weather information communication 55 in 1993. In cooperation with States, the EPA, and needs assessment and selected specifications for a the National Park Service, they also operated nine new Weather Information Management System IMPROVE (interagency monitoring of protected (WIMS) to gather, process, distribute, and store

246 247 1 995 to percent 60 1980 It was I 1980's. percent. The per- hours, increased from hours, increased hours or less of travel percent, while trips 4

2 I 21 The cause of this shift 72 - t C to 1990). 43 hours of travel time decreased from percent to percent. Visits longer than a day percent. Visits longer percent. 8 70 48 6 1988).

and continued into the rv. percent of the total visits. The number of visits percent of the total percent to percent to 77 1976 beginning to rise again. Some of the decline can be beginning to rise forests rose from Repeat visits to national less than of shorter duration, 14 23 visitor use including the national parks, although lands began declines on some Federal recreation on national earlier and ended earlier than those forests (Cordell et al. appears to be and the temporary decline in RVD's time that began associated with a decline in leisure in and two- attributed to an increase in urbanization to take shorter worker households. People began (Domestic Policy vacations at places closer to home Council attributed to changes in RVD counting, but major attributed to changes use patterns also contributed. shifts in recreation to dropped from involving centage of all trips time increased from with more than Federal lands, These patterns were common to all National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: Management National Forest years and 5 Forest staff issuing special use permit for gathering wild matsutake mushrooms growing on the Forest staff issuing special use permit for gathering wild matsutake mushrooms growing Chemult Ranger District, Winema National Forest, Oregon. national forests offered at the National Infor- 3), 1 993 1990's, million and percent of 225 chapter remote automatic weather stations. remote automatic 80 and Management before percent of the 8, Nationwide, the Forest Service operates Nationwide, the Forest million RVD's in 1980's 80 500 Outdoor Recreation Use 1985 236 (see fig. Recreation Use of National Forests national forests reached a peak of linked with the National Weather Service telecom- linked with the National 1981-1 995). During the The spectrum United States for the American people. from skiing high historical sites to whitewater rafting; mountain slopes to hiking more than 100,000 miles of projects; and from swimming located in all parts of the more than national forests are located 1981 RVD's in Outdoor recreation use on became operational in became operational Center in Kansas City. WIMS is mation Technology that supplies integrated weather munications network information for resource manage- data and climate (USDA Forest Service ment and fire management more than outdoor recreation the most extensive and diversified within the opportunities, activities, and experiences from pristine of outdoor recreation activities ranged sports; from wilderness challenges to urban team hunting and organized group activities to individual through scenic fishing trips; from guided auto tours cultural, and corridors with distinctive aesthetic, trails; from birdwatching to volunteers exploring and developing archeological and boating to hang gliding. These opportunities were country, but were concentrated in the West, where and more than the RVD's occur. then declined to weather data and information. The new WIMS was weather data and during the next developed and tested Chapter 6

Between 1 980 and 1 986, V dispersed recreation use, including hiking, snowmobiling, skiing, hunting, fishing, driving for pleasure, and wilderness experiences, were 64 percent of the total national RVD use. The other 36 percent occurred at developed sites: campgrounds, picnic areas, boat landings, ski slopes, private resorts, recreation residences, concession sites, swimming beaches, observation sites, and visitor centers. Private facilities such as lodges, resorts, and recreation residences provided 43 percent of the developed site use, while Forest Service employees discussing national forest universal accessibility with local community user interests, 1990.tc national forest facilities provided 57 percent.

Even with the visitor use decline in the early 1 980's, declined by only 4 percent while the capacity of servicing and maintaining developed national forest forest-operated facilities declined by 22 percent. sites became a major management challenge as rec- However, this decrease was partially offset as vol- reation management funding was reduced by 1 8 per- unteers and human-resource programs provided cent between 1 980 and 1986. This funding was not Vmaintenance and services for 1 0 to 1 5 percent of fully restored until 1 990 (USDA Forest Service the total capacity in addition to the services of the 19940. Recreation management staffing had national forest programs (USDA Forest Service declined by 24 percent by 1986, and likewise was 1981-1 995). not restored until 1 990. As a result, the visitor capacity of forest-operated facilities that remained open to RVD use began to rise again in 1987, to 238 million, public use declined by 22 percent between 1 980 and and continued to grow, to 296 million visitor days in 1986. In addition, the capacity of open facilities with 1993 an average annual rate of 3.9 percent com- full services decreased from 65 percent in 1980 to 29 pared with a 1 .2-percent population growth rate for percent in 1985. (USDA Forest Service 1981-1 995). the same period. After 1986, funding for recreation management grew by 7.9 percent per year and staff- Between 1980 and 1986, funding for recreation site ing by 8.1 percent per year. The annual developed construction was reduced by a third, with most of the site capacity grew by 3.4 percent per year. Annual available funds being used to upgrade health and developed site use rose to 116 million RVD's and safety (drinking water and sanitation) at developed constituted more than 39 percent of the total RVD sites. These management efforts increased visitor use use. The Forest Service attributes much of this sud- and comfort, although the quality of the visftor's den reversal in RVD trends to the development and experience may have been reduced with more implementation of the new national recreation strat- people using the available facilities. For example, egy in 1 988 to improve the effective use of in the early 1 980's, visitor use at developed sites national forest recreation opportunities.

248 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995

system became operational and served 367 campsites in 1 989. In 1990, it was serving almost 600. By 1990, many national forests were installing "sweet-smelling toilets" in response to visitors' number-one com- II plaint. The Forest Service II was also developing local national forest visitor maps to meet user information needs.

Universal Access to - Tj Recreation Opportunities liii!,I1IT In 1987, the Forest Service adopted "universal design principles" to ensure access to all recreation users, especially children, the elderly, and people with sensory, cognitive, or mobility disabilities. In the Fishing dock on Be/Ia ire Lake, Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest,Colorado provides safer following years, national access for wheelchair users. forests conducted accessibility surveys and more National Recreation Strategy than 1 00 training workshops on access surveys, The National Recreation Strategy emerged as a awareness of people's needs, and "universal design." national initiative in response to the priorities set in The Forest Service developed partnerships for access completed national forest land and resource manage- with more than 90 community organizations to comment plans. The primary objective was to improve plete more than 600 accessibility projects across the the quality of the user experience through better Nation. The Forest Service developed and published services and more effective maintenance of recrea- Universal Access to Outdoor Recreation: A Design tion sites and facilities. The ultimate goal was greater Guide as a tool for guiding outdoor recreation access user satisfaction. A secondary objective was to planning and design in a partnership with Project expand partnerships with other recreational agencies Play and Learning in Adaptable Environments, Inc. and private enterprises using incentive grants to A new chapter was added in 1 993 to help designers encourage their participative funding of national and planners apply the design guide's technical forest recreation opportunities and services. The specifications to existing and new recreation sites. strategy's third dimension was to improve the The Forest Service developed a partnership with American public's awareness, understanding, and Wilderness Inquiry and American Outdoors to pro- appreciation of the management of multiple uses duce a manual that would help outfitters and guides and use opportunities on the national forests (USDA apply universal design principles in their programs Forest Service 1 987-1 995). and services (USDA Forest Service 1987-1 995).

Implementation plans focused on expanding recrea- Scenic Byways and Tourism on National Forests tion use and improving user satisfaction in "urban" In 1 988, the Forest Service designated its first scenic national forests. A national campground reservation byway a national forest travel route that traverses

249 Chapter 6

scenic corridors of outstanding aesthetic, cultural, and L historical interest on Tennessee's Cherokee National Forest. This initiative responded to the largest recreational use among national forest vis-

itors: driving for pleasure _i and viewing scenery, which represented 32 percent of the total RVD use. Ten scenic byways were designated in 1988. By 1990 there were 75, and they I totaled 3,800 miles of scenic roadway and a ferry

system (the Alaska Marine :, I Highway) spread across 31 : States from Alaska to Florida and from New Hampshire Scenic opening on the Sandia Crest Scenic Byway, Cibola National Forest, New Mexico. to California. By 1993 there were 1 20 national forest scenic byways covering more than 6,900 miles in 1 3 recognized urban national forests. All except the 34 States. Visitors driving for pleasure and viewing two most recently designated, the White Mountain scenery increased by 31 percent from 1987 to 1993, National Forest in New Hampshire and the Chatta- while total visitor use of national forests increased by hoochee-Oconee National Forest in Georgia, were only 24 percent (USDA Forest Service 1987-1 995). in the West. One out of every seven Americans is within a 2-hour drive of these urban forests. Popula- In a parallel initiative, national forest managers tions within a 2-hour drive of these forests ranged developed tourism partnerships with local, regional, from 2 million at the Mt. Hood National Forest near and State organizations to help diversify and Portland, Oregon, to 1 5 million at the Angeles and strengthen the economies of rural communities. The Los Padres National Forests in southern California. tourism initiative focused on the role national forests could play as special attractions, scenic backdrops Because of their complex relationships with adjacent to many rural communities, and suppliers of camp- governments, interest groups, and large, diverse pop- grounds, trails, resorts, ski areas, and scenic vistas. In ulations, these forests are unique. RVD use at these 1992, the Forest Service sponsored an interagency forests exceeded 73 mIllion in 1993 and concen- conference on tourism. The Forest Service, Depart- trated one quarter of the total national forest RVD ment of the Interior agencies, the Army Corps of use on just about 1 0 percent of its land base. The Engineers, and the Travel and Tourism Administra- urban national forests provide dramatic mountain- tion endorsed a memorandum of understanding to scapes and scenic backdrops for Los Angeles, Seattle, work together to promote tourism. Portland, and Salt Lake City, where they become an integral part of those cities' images as desirable places Urban National Forests to live. Urban national forests, those with a million or more people living within about a 1-hour drive, were Frequently, recreation use on many urban national given special recognition and separately classified forests has the appearance of a "city park." Yet often, in 1987. By 1995, the National Forest System had these heavily used areas are not providing the level

250 251 H by staying longer and repeating visits. The State of by staying longer State ferry fleet (the Alaska preters on board the which travels between Belling- Marine Highway), and Skagway, Alaska, through the ham, Washington, Interpreters provide talks, films, scenic Inside Passage. cultural, and natural resources. Passage's historical, Jackson, Wyoming, fund inter- Dude ranches near National Forest to preters from the Bridger-Teton trail rides provide evening programs and interpretive Northwest local civic groups work with the Pacific trails and fishing national forests to build interpretive signs for people platforms and to erect interpretive staff, many are are administered by national forest partnerships, heavily dependent upon volunteers, and many nonprofit interpretive associations. Alaska formed a partnership to provide forest inter- Alaska formed a partnership and narration about the Inside children's programs, and Washing- sponsored by the ranches. In Oregon Pioneers ton, Mobility International USA, Telephone of Oregon, and of America, the Easter Seal Society services with disabilities. Although some interpretive National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995 for Multiple Uses: Management National Forest I I Washington, 1992. Forest Service interpreter assists visitors at overlook site, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Forest Service interpreter assists visitors at overlook site, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Interpretive Services interpretive During the 1980's and early 1990's, learn about the outdoors National forest interpreters lake resorts and local local sawmills, and provide in many places. The traditional rural setting and in many places. The of rural interests, and lations, meeting preferences services matured into a broad national educational services matured into a broad national effort to better acquaint Americans with national forests and the extraordinary opportunities to and enjoy the wide diversity of recreation, aesthetic, and educational experiences it provides. guide visitors on field visits and trips that introduce them to the natural and cultural wonders of the national forests and grasslands and how they are managed. Their interpretive services cover a wide variety of partnerships. In northern Minnesota, several small foundations work with the Superior National Forest to place forest interpreters at resorts to lead hikes, tour educational programs. Their customers have responded of services metropolitan people desire. Some sites of services metropolitan severe heavy-use impacts. Riparian are now showing historically popular with metro- areas have been their use has been compromised politan visitors, but forest management has not orientation of national forests effectively. Finding a always served urban serving large metropolitan popu- balance between and environment on these protecting the resources Planning man- forests presents a difficult challenge. demands is agement that will effectively meet such forest an important step in protecting national ensuring their resources and their environment and future genera- sustainable management and use by National Forest tions (USDA Forest Service, Urban Supervisors 1994). Chapter 6

Nonprofit interpretive associations have been estab- In 1 989, the Federal portion of Challenge Cost-Share lished as public service organizations to further the increased to $3 million, and partners responded with interpretation and understanding of natural resources more than $7 million. This approach has continued and their management on national forests. These to grow; in 1993, the partners contributed $34.2 mil- associations provide visitor center staffs, sell maps lion and the Federal Government $16.6 million. and books at visitor centers and national forest The total partnership contribution since 1 988 has offices, prepare brochures and a wide range of other been $90 million, and the Federal share has been publications, and purchase new equipment for inter- $45 million. pretive programs. There were 44 nonprofit interpretive associations in 1 988 and 57 in 1 995. National Volunteer Services Contribute to forests use the net revenues of these associations, Recreation Program mainly from sales of maps and books, for recreation In addition to the partnerships in the early 1 990's, improvements. Such contributions rose from volunteers and participants in the "Touch America $170,000 in 1985 to more than $2 million by the Project" a volunteer program that gives youth early 1990's (USDA Forest Service 1981-1 995). between 14 and 1 7 job experience and environ mental awareness through work on public lands were "Challenge Cost-Share" Program contributing work valued at about $25 million per Expands Recreation Partnerships year to recreation-related projects. This contribution In 1988, as an initial part of the National Recreation was almost two-thirds of the total work contributed Strategy, the Forest Service launched the $500,000 by all Forest Service volunteer programs (USDA pilot "Challenge Cost-Share" program to encourage Forest Service 1 992b). Thus, while volunteers were partnerships with private and other public interests an important component of the National Recreation on recreation improvement projects. The response to Strategy's implementation, they contributed in their Challenge Cost-Share was spontaneous and strong as own way to educating the American public about partnerships emerged with local, county, State, and national forest and grassland services and benefits. national agencies, plus private interest groups, senior citizens, people with disabilities, veterans, correc- tional facility inmates, students, utility companies, recreation industries, timber operations, interpretive / associations, and private S businesses. The partners provided more than -- $900,000 for recreation k - improvements, nearly $2foreach Federal dollar (USDA Forest Service 1 987-1 995). They provided natural resources education, r: improved campground access for visitors with disabilities, developed interpretive sites, investi- gated archeological sites, and prepared and funded Regional Forester Elizabeth Estill (at right), Rocky Mountain Region, Denver, Colorado, consulting many publications. with Human Resources Staff, 1996.

252 T 4 / 253 4. Volunteers assist at a Passport in Time project site in Strawberry Valley, Uinta National Forest, Utah. 1 20 Passport in Time projects on 68 national forests 1 20 Passport in Time more than 101,000 trail miles In 1980, there were 7 national scenic national forests included parts of 1 (Schamel 1994). During 1994, some 1,200 volun- (Schamel 1994). more than 57,000 hours to teers contributed 1 995d). (USDA Forest Service Trails including 301 national recrea- on national forests, more than 3,500 miles and parts tion trails totaling or historic trails. National of eight national scenic the Pacific forests administered two of the latter: Scenic Crest and the Continental Divide National By 1 987, Trails (USDA Forest Service 1 981 b). four of them. The on historic trails and administered National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995 for Multiple Uses: Management National Forest jI_ 1 989, a In 1991, the "Passport in Time" initiative offered national forest visitors an opportunity to work with professional archeologists and historians on excava- 21,000 hours on 49 projects nationwide. By 1993, national forests had 1,300 volunteers working on brochure for the summer-fall season invited volun- Between 1 980 and 1 994, heritage programs staff Between 1 980 and 1 994, heritage histori- surveyed 40 million acres for archeological, were listed in artifacts were identified, and hundreds was intro- new initiative, "Windows of the Past," Its objectives recreation opportunities for visitors. strengthen the historic, and cultural resources; to resources; and to public's interest in protecting those projects. Historic cabins, lighthouses, bridges, and archeological sites were stabilized and protected, making hundreds of new recreational and educa- pretive services to improve visitor experiences. Heritage Management and early 1 990's, heritage man- During the 1 980's cultural resources management) agement (formerly recreation initiative to evolved into a progressive and archeological artifacts make cultural, historical, education and enjoyment. accessible for visitor focused largely on surveys and Earlier efforts had and protect these artifacts inventories to preserve management activities might where land-disturbing destroyed them. Heritage manage- have damaged or 1 59 FTE's in ment staffing steadily increased from Forest Service 1980 to 410 FTE's in 1994 (USDA rapidly, from 19940. Funding increased even more $7.6 million to $28.3 million. tion and restoration projects, oral history collections, and surveys. In that year, 600 volunteers contributed 92 projects. Because volunteer interest was so strong, a second season of archeological and historical exca- vation and restoration offered 1 5 to 20 winter projects. In 1994, the Passport in Time recruitment teers to assist with 86 projects on 62 national forests cal, and cultural artifacts. Tens of thousands of such cal, and cultural artifacts. Tens of thousands In the National Register of Historic Places. Strategy duced as a part of the National Recreation artifacts into to convert the preservation of cultural of archeological, were to increase visitor awareness to get develop partnerships and recruit volunteers contributed the job done. "Windows of the Past" to heritage thousands of person-hours of work tional opportunities available and providing inter- Chapter 6

additional trails were the Nez Perce National His- 4. toric Trail (1,1 70 miles), designated in 1 983, and the Florida National Scenic Trail, (1,300 miles), designated in 1986 (USDA Forest Service 1981-1 987). -

During the period of retrenched outdoor recreation funding, actual useable trail mileage declined to less than 100,000 miles, even though the total miles of trail built and rebuilt exceeded 6,000 miles. The decline was due to reduced maintenance support and a 36-percent reduction in trail construction and - reconstruction funding. During this period, trails that could not be maintained to acceptable standards were simply closed. Human resource programs and volunteers built or rebuilt fully a third of the total trail miles (USDA Forest Service 1981-1 987). As the new National Recreation Strategy was implemented,

trail construction and reconstruction funding %j increased each year, and by 1994 was four times its average early-i 980's level (USDA Forest Service 19940. Trail maintenance was likewise improved. .1 Many closed trails were reopened. By 1994, the total available trail miles had risen to more than 1 21,000 miles (USDA Forest Service 1987-1 995).

National forest trails were used by cross-country skiers, hikers, horseback riders, offroad vehicle riders Visitors enjoy giant Ross Crest cedars on the Kooteni NtionI (including motorcyclists and snowmobilers), Forest in Montn, 1992. bicyclists, and recreationists with disabilities. RVD use of trails rose from about 21 million per year in Tread Lightly, Inc., that promotes environmentally the early 1980's to 30 million in 1993 from less sound ORV use on public and private lands. It also than 9 percent to more than 1 0 percent of total produces and distributes outdoor conservation ethic RVD's. Trail rehabilitation, together with the creation brochures to ORV users (USDA Forest Service 1987- of loop trails to access vistas and historical sites, and 1995). joining forest trails with urban park trails were among the trail construction priorities (USDA Forest Leave No Trace Service 1 981-1 995). In 1 992, the Forest Service joined the BLM, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, Tread Lightly and the Fish and Wildlife Service in the "Take Pride The Forest Service and the BLM developed the in America" campaign to expand the scope of the "Tread Lightly" initiative to educate motorized "Leave No Trace" program a Forest Service- equipment users about proper trail and primitive initiated user ethics program directed primarily to road use and care. It received strong support from backcountry users. These agencies developed a organized offroad vehicle (ORV) users, vehicle memorandum of understanding with the National manufacturers, and other public land management Outdoor Leadership School to explain the "Leave agencies. In 1 990, the Forest Service, the BLM, ORV No Trace" ethic to Forest Service employees and use organizations, vehicle manufacturers, conserva- public-land visitors engaged in nonmotorized recre- tion groups, and ORV users successfully founded a ation activities. It emphasizes responsible wildland nonprofit, privately funded educational corporation, use among urban populations and encourages train-

254 I' t - * 255 ,,: "llL located in the East and the South, with the balance located in the East scenic areas were located in the West. The national Virginia, and Washington (one in California, Georgia, in 1 989; and the Pinchot National Forest, dedicated on Oregon's Newberry National Volcanic Monument forest national recreation areas and two special forest national recreation areas. By 1 994, there were management emphasis special recreation areas 51 legislatively designated than 8.4 million acres. The with a total of more included 11 national recreation 41 additional areas scenic areas, and 4 national monu- areas, 7 national new national recreation areas were ments. Six of the The area each) and in Oklahoma (two areas). National Scenic seventh, the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon Area, included parts of national forests and Washington. Admiralty Island The four national monuments were National Forest, and Misty Fiords on Alaska's Tongas National dedicated in 1 980; the Mount St. Helens State's Gifford Volcanic Monument on Washington

National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995 for Multiple Uses: Management National Forest -- '., ., -L t: p ': - ' : ------, -:- '- ; i- Family and friends enjoy a nature trail specially designed for comfortable travel by persons with Family and friends enjoy a nature trail specially designed for comfortable travel by visual or other disabilities, George Washington National Forest, Virginia, 1991. about a quarter of all wild river seg- Federal lands within informs users about the care rights. A permit system is used to keep the use of the most popular wild, scenic, 1994e). National forests managed 27 percent of all 1994e). National forests managed Special Recreation Areas At the beginning of 1980, there were eight national The National Forest System's goal in managing wild and scenic rivers is to enhance the qualities that led to their designation and avoid any degradation. This goal permits recreation activities, a variety of agricultural practices, and residential development on nondesignated river corridors. It of designated river segments and alerts them to respect other property owners' and recreational river segments within their carrying capacities (U.S. Geological Survey 1992). river segments in the National Wild and Scenic River river segments in 2,300 miles. By 1 993, the System, totaling almost to Scenic River System had grown National Wild and 10,410 miles. 1 53 rivers or river segments, totaling rivers or river National forests managed 96 of these more than 41 per- segments, totaling 4,316 miles, or River System cent of the National Wild and Scenic mileage was on mileage. Thirty-two percent of this wild rivers Forest Service ments in the national system (USDA forest-managed scenic rivers. The balance of national called recreational wild and scenic river segments are rivers. (National Park Service 1 994). ing and research on proper practices to minimize ing and research Wild, Scenic, and Recreational Rivers Wild, Scenic, and 1 980, there were 23 designated At the beginning of wildland use impacts. This led to the establishment wildland use impacts. funded education corpora- of a nonprofit, privately Inc., in 1 995. tion, Leave No Trace, Chapter 6

Law Enforcement

The rapid visitor use expansion brought increased law enforcement responsibihties a challenge that was met, in part, by educating the public about national forest use and care. The Forest I- Service revised public use regulations to make them more understandable and less burdensome to users and to improve the pro- V tection they provided to national forest resources, property, and employees.

National forest managers carried out Federal laws National forest interpretive specialist leads workshop on the Oregon Dunes National Recreation on national forests. Local Area, Siuslaw National Forest, Oregon, 1987. law enforcement officers, primarily county sheriffs, Deschutes National Forest, dedicated in1 991.The protected visitors and their property. During the remaining1 9additions were designated as special 1 980'sand early1 990's,the Forest Service com- emphasis areas to respond to local rather than national pensated about 400 law enforcement agencies out interests. Ten were very unique roadless areas on of some750eligible jurisdictions for the help they Alaska's Tongas National Forest that had failed to provided under the cooperative law enforcement achieve wUderness designation. Others were in the program (USDA Forest Service1981-1 995).Law Lake Tahoe Basin Management Area in California, the enforcement incidents and violations grew through- Oregon Cascade Recreation Area, the Green Spring out the1 980'sand1 990's,but the most rapid growth Special Management Area in Missouri, and the Lee occurred after1988.Reported incidents and viola- Metcalf Recreation and Wildlife Area in Montana. tions rose from about5,000per year in1 988to The legislative dedication of these special recreation 112,000in1992.Violations included vandalism, and management areas ensures priority management timber theft, wildiand arson, unlawful removal of attention to their recreational use and qualities and archeological artifacts, prohibited vehicle use, illegal that other uses will not detract from them. occupancy and use (including the cultivation and manufacture of illegal drugs), and activities hazar- Wilderness, wild, scenic, and recreational rivers and dous to user health and safety. About1 70special special area designations, together with the extension agents and600uniformed civil law officers per- of the trail system and the many components of the formed investigations and enforcement. In the first National Recreation Strategy, gave outdoor recrea- half of the1 980's,the Forest Service sent more than tion management the strongest, most aggressive thrust 100 employees per year to the Federal Law Enforce- yet experienced in90years of managing national ment Training Center for high-quality law enforce- forest use. They were accompanied by informational ment courses such as "Criminal Investigation" and and educational efforts that addressed the multiple- "Law Enforcement for Land Management Agencies." use aspects of national forest management and The Forest Service staffed three instructor positions at aggressively sought to improve the public's under- the center to plan and offer interagency courses. In standing of the management of multiple uses. the early1 990's,the Forest Service was sponsoring

256 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995

basic and advanced law enforcement training for Wildlife and Fisheries Management 300 to 500 staff and line people per year. In the 1980's and 1990's, the National Forest System The investigation and prosecution of vandalism to provided a wide variety of habitats for more than archeological and cultural resources, pollution, 3,000 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, and illegal digging, and theft began in the mid-i 970's amphibians, and for more than 10,000 plant species. and remained a great and growing concern through During the first half of this period, wildlife and fish- the 1980's and early 1990's. In 1986, for example, eries management focused on maintaining the viabil- the Utah interagency task force cooperated with ity of native vertebrate populations. This involved national forest officers to recover some 300 items of protecting special habitats such as old growth, ripar- archeological significance, including 14 baskets ian areas, trout streams, snags, and wetlands, and valued at a quarter of a million dollars. ensuring the productivity of selected species such as elk, deer, turkeys, bear, and salmon for recreational Marijuana Cultivation on National Forests and commercial uses. It also required preparing Illegal marijuana cultivation became a problem and recovery strategies for threatened and endangered concern on national forest lands in the late 1 970's. species such as the bald eagle, red-cockaded wood- The primary concern was the risk national forest pecker, northern spotted owl, grizzly bear, black- visitors, contractors, and employees encountered footed ferret, and others. The number of listed from the growers tending or guarding their high- threatened and endangered animal and plant species value, illegal crops. Despite Forest Service efforts to occurring on national forests rose from 90 in 1980 to eradicate it, the area cultivated on national forests more than 290 in 1 995. Three basic strategies were grew rapidly, from an estimated 220,000 acres in used to achieve this objective: multiple-use manage- 1980 to more than 1.5 million acres in 1982. In ment coordination with timber, range, and mineral 1 983, the area cultivated had been reduced by more management to ensure the consistent application of than 50 percent, to 692,000 acres, through eradica- practices with wildlife and fishery uses and objectives tion efforts. Sustained effort further reduced the area on the disturbed lands; habitat investments to miti- to 573,000 acres in 1984. But in 1985, the acreage gate the offsite impacts of other resource activities; almost doubled, to 946,000 (USDA Forest Service and targeting conservation and recovery strategies to 1981-1995). address the needs of threatened, endangered, and sensitive species (USDA Forest Service 1981-1 995). The enactment of the National Forest Drug Control Act of 1 986 strengthened the Forest Service's role in During most of the 1980's, the full integration of marijuana eradication. It authorized the arrest of wildlife and fisheries management with timber, people suspected of producing illicit drugs on range, and mineral resource activities received the national forest lands. Between 1986 and 1989, the highest priority. For example, when wildlife and Forest Service apprehended 200 to 250 suspects per fishery staffing and funding were reduced between year and destroyed 200,000 to 250,000 marijuana 1980 and 1986, staffing and direct funding for plants. In the 1 990's, the marijuana investigation resource coordination and integration and threat- intensified. By 1993, more than 600,000 plants were ened and endangered species actually increased. being eradicated annually from more than 8,000 The reductions occurred in direct habitat improve- sites. There were more than 1,000 arrests per year. ment funds. Some reductions were offset by increased By 1 994, a total of 1 ,800 special agents and 433 use of KV-funded wildlife and fishery improvements. full-time law enforcement officers were performing These rose from 49,000 acres in 1 980 to 200,000 investigations and enforcement activities (USDA acres by 1986. KV funding and intensified coordina- Forest Service 1981-1 995). tion for wildlife and fishing purposes made timber management a particularly important factor in meeting deer, elk, and turkey habitat objectives. Some timber sales, for example, were planned to improve elk habitat by harvesting in areas that would provide

257 Chapter 6

forage closer to cover. National forest elk popula- River Delta on Alaska's Chugach National Forest, tions increased by 70,000 through this period. The where the 1 964 earthquake and tidal flooding had declines in white-tailed and mule or black-tailed destroyed existing natural waterfowl nesting sites deer, mountain goat, and black bear populations (USDA Forest Service 1985). bottomed out in 1980, and these species were on the increase by 1987. Moose, caribou, pronghorn, In 1986, Congress enacted the wildlife and fisheries antelope, bighorn sheep, and mountain lion popu- Challenge Cost-Share program. More than 1 00 con- lations continued their upward trend on national servation organizations participating in the program's forest lands through the 1 980's (Thomas 1 988). first year, 1986, contributed $2 for each $1 of Fed- eral funding, or $67 million in money, materials, and Management Practices: 1980-1986 services. Among the first of the Challenge Cost-Share projects was one improving 4,000 acres of bighorn The total direct habitat improvement treatments, sheep habitat in the Wyoming and Colorado Rockies. including those funded by Ky, declined from a peak Cooperators included the Foundation for North of more than 600,000 acres in 1 980 and 1 981 to American Wild Sheep, Martin Marietta Aerospace, 350,000 acres in 1986. These acres do not include the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the Wyoming resource protection and mitigation achieved through Game and Fish Department, and the Rocky Mountain multiple-use coordination and integration efforts that Bighorn Sheep Society. Cooperators participated in a modified timber, range, and mineral management wide range of projects that included forest habitat practices to meet wildlife and fishery objectives improvements for deer, elk, grouse, turkey, songbirds, (USDA Forest Service 1981-1 987). Forty percent of and other forest mammals; wetland development; such coordination and habitat improvement was reintroduction of the peregrine falcon; nest-box con- associated with timber management activities (USDA struction; road closures to protect bald eagle nests; Forest Service 1 982 a). Nearly 85 percent of the and wild turkey and grouse openings (USDA Forest direct practices and treatments maintained and Service 1 987b). improved habitats for wildlife populations with a strong public hunting demand: elk, bear, deer, wild Fisheries Management turkey, grouse, waterfowl, squirrel, and other small National forest fisheries and aquatic resources are game species. Prescribed burning, one of the least located in 42 States and Puerto Rico. They include costly habitat treatments, accounted for the largest 200,000 miles of streams and rivers; 2.2 million amount of acres treated. It improved forage for mule acres of ponds, lakes, and reservoirs; and 1 6,500 deer and elk in the West and white-railed deer in the miles of coasts and shorelines. National forest waters East and South. provide habitats for salmon, trout, catfish, pike, muskellunge, bass, walleye, and sunfish, as well as Wildlife managers on Lake States, Southwest, and for hundreds of nongame species. In California, California national forests implemented wetland Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, for example, habitat improvements, including nesting islands and national forests provide more than 50 percent of sites, and created and enlarged ponds. In 1 984, the freshwater spawning and rearing habitat for ana- when Ducks Unlimited, Inc., desired to expand their dromous fish on 15,000 miles of streams. In Alaska, waterfowl habitat protection and improvement activ- 27 percent of the freshwater habitat for salmon and ities to public lands, the USDA entered into a memo- steelhead is located in 30,000 miles of national forest randum of understanding to authorize cooperative streams (USDA Forest Service 1 988c). projects funded by Ducks Unlimited on national forest wetlands. The first three cooperative wetland Fishery habitat improvements annually involve hab- habitat improvement projects were completed on itat work on 10,000 to 20,000 acres, and installing Minnesota's Chippewa National Forest. In 1985, 3,000 to 5,000 habitat improvement structures. Ducks Unlimited entered into a cooperative agree- Managers target anadromous, cold-water, and warm- ment to install 200 artificial islands as nesting habitat water fish habitats, mainly for salmon and steelhead, for the dusky Canada goose on ponds in the Copper trout, and bass. In response to 1980 RPA policy

258 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1 980 to 1995

direction, anadromous fish habitat improvement in Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho received the highest priority. Management practices included stream habitat development, providing for fish passage to upstream habitats, and lake fertilization. In the Columbia River Basin, the Bonneville Power Administration supplemented national forest investments. In the Southern Region, a conservation camp for fishery and wildlife volunteers was established with a cost-share grant. Working with the conservation groups and State fish and game agencies, volunteers restored numerous stream habitats Forest workers checking for buffalo berry bushes, essential forage for grizzly bears, Lewis and destroyed or damaged by Clark National Forest, Montana, 1990. The unit was harvested in 1989 to encourage buffalo 1985 floods and installed berry. fish attractors in lakes and reservoirs. Fishery management coordination and national emphasis and the grizzly bear, spotted owl, integration with other resource activities protected and Puerto Rican parrot regional emphasis. Other fish and wildlife habitat areas from erosion and emphasized species were the mountain caribou, sedimentation and protected riparian areas and California condor, Kirtland's warbler, Lahontan streambanks. cutthroat trout, and Oregon silver spot butterfly, as well as several plant species (USDA Forest Service Threatened and Endangered Species 1981-1987). Nationally listed threatened and endangered animal species on national forest lands rose to 141 in 1986 Bald eagle populations were stabilized or increasing 30 percent of all U.S. listed species. This growth on most national forests due to proper management in the number of listed species was more an out- of their nesting and wintering sites and retention of growth of the increasing emphasis on endangered suitable habitat. Populations of peregrine falcons species protection and improved wildlife and were also increasing as a captive-breeding and fisheries inventories than habitat degradation. stocking program reintroduced them into unoccupied habitats in California, Colorado, Arizona, New By 1986, national forest managers had written 60 Mexico, Minnesota, and New Hampshire. Declining ESA-required draft or final recovery plans for these residual levels of DDT and other persistent chlori- species. Each year, about 1 0 percent of the habitat nated hydrocarbon pesticides, a result of the U.S. improvement work (35,000 acres) was targeted to ban on their use, reinforced these efforts. Eggshell protect listed species. Management emphasis, how- thinning attributed to such pesticides was being ever, was concentrated on about 1 0 priority species. reduced in many areas. The bald eagle and the peregrine falcon received

259 Chapter 6

In the early 1980's, grazing allotment plans on to shorter vacations and holiday trips to places closer national forests in Idaho were revised to protect to home, and an increase in households where both grizzly bears and their habitats. In Montana, national parents worked outside the home. The decline forests changed road designs and closed roads to occurred in hunting, fishing, and nonconsumptive protect both grizzly bear and gray wolf habitats. n wildlife and fish uses and was reflected in all sub- 1 983, the Northern, Intermountain, and Pacific sectors: big game, small game, and waterfowl hunt- Northwest Region national forests were emphasizing ing, and in both cold-water and warm-water fishing grizzly bear management with policy support from (Flather and Hoekstra 1989). the Departments of Agriculture and the interior. The Departments co-signed a memorandum of under- Wildlife and Fishery Habitat Relationships: standing establishing a national interagency grizzly Modeling Efforts bear committee to encourage and implement grizzly During the 1 980's, a considerable effort was directed bear recovery. To protect both backcountry users and toward developing new wildlife and fishery habitat grizzlies, national forests undertook an intensive relationship models to determine the cumulative information campaign on proper human conduct in effects of wildlife and fishery habitat changes and to grizzly habitats to reduce conflicts between bears evaluate wildlife and fishery population viability and humans and eliminate unnecessary killing of standards. This required expanding habitat capability grizz lies. The mapping of grizzly bear habitat rose to models to include more species and areas. Habitat more than 2 million acres per year by 1 986. Inter- capability models integrated wildlife and fishery agency guidelines approved for grizzly bear man- objectives into the management and use of other agement were implemented in1 987. resources. They also made it possible to quantify wildlife and fishery resource relationships in ways In the Southern Region, census and monitoring that provided more reliable and consistent informa- techniques for the red-cockaded woodpecker were tion for conserving biodiversity, managing viable improved. In California, a combination of land pur- populations, managing featured species habitat, and chases; road, trail, and campground relocations; and producing wildlife and fish to meet public demand. public access restrictions protected the California condor and its habitat. In Michigan, 1,000 acres of The Northern Region deveioped a model to assess habitat were improved for the endangered Kirtland's the cumulative effects of sediment on fish popu- warbler, a songbird which nests only in young Jack lations on Montana and Idaho national forests. pine stands (USDA Forest Service 1981-1 987). Alaska's Tongas National Forest developed two types of models to improve Sitka black-tailed deer habitat Threatened, endangered, and sensitive species staff- planning and management. National forest planning ing increased from 19 to 47 FTE's between 1979 and and management in Washington and Oregon used a 1 986 (USDA Forest Service 1 9940. In addition to spotted owl assessment model. By 1987, the National mplementing special management practices for Forest System was using 21 habitat capability models listed species, regional foresters identified "sensitive to evaluate wildlife and fish habitat relationships species" and coordinated and integrated manage- (USDA Forest Service 1981-1 987). ment to help ensure the continued viability of their populations with an emphasis on avoiding impacts In the following years, the wildlife and fishery that would cause them to become threatened or habitat relationship program, housed at Utah State endangered. University in Logan, continued to work with national forest wildlife and fisheries managers and Forest Wildlife and Fishery Use: 1980-1986 Service Research to improve the wildlife and fishery WFUD's, like RVD's, declined from their peak of habitat relationship models. In 1992, this program 34.9 million in 1981 to 32.0 million in 1986 an developed new wildlife, fish, and rare plant inven- 8.3-percent decline slightly more than the decline tory techniques for habitat evaluation models that for total RVD use. The causes were probably much provided more accurate habitat capability assess- the same as for RVD's reduced leisure time, a shift ments. It assisted field units in developing databases

260 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995

and geographic information system applications to 1990's. WFUD's use rose from 32 million in 1986 monitor and inventory habitat conditions. The wild- to 36.3 million in 1993. The rate of increase in life and fishery habitat relationship program also WFUD's was less rapid than that for total RVD use, offered entry-level and mid-career professionals but still nearly twice as great as national population continuing education on state-of-the-art information growth. and technical skills. In 1992, they offered courses on basic surveys and their application, program man- Fisheries Management agement for biologists, and management of forest The "Rise to the Future" program, initiated in 1987, structure and composition to 430 Forest Service, provided for more effective fishery management, BLM, and State biologists (USDA Forest Service encouraged fishing on national forests, and ensured 1987-1995). equal consideration of fisheries with other national forest resources. To implement this new emphasis, Wildlife and Fishery Management and Use: the number of national forest fish biologists was 1987-1995 increased by 34 percent over 2 years (1986 to 1988). After 1986, wildlife and fishery management shifted By 1995 there were 374, an average of three fishery toward a more holistic approach to maintaining and biologists per national forest (USDA Forest Service managing healthy ecosystems. This approach con- 1990a, 1995a). Rise to the Future focused on sidered the broader dimensions of ecosystems in System-wide use of BMP's, relied on cumulative project activities and management. It involved more effects analyses to identify the positive and negative aggressive pursuit of goals for producing wildlife and effects of land use and management on fisheries, fish; protecting threatened, endangered, and sensitive and resulted in improved aquatic inventory and species; and providing hunters, anglers, amateur classification methods and expanded inventory and naturalists, photographers, and all other national classification work. forest users more attractive opportunities. National forest wildlife and fishery management staffing National forest resource managers pursued and increased in all activities, rising from 854 FTE's in strengthened partnerships with States, Federal agen- 1986 to 2,231 in 1994. Funding increased from cies, tribal governments, conservation groups, and $48 million in 1986 to $121 million in 1994 (in other interested public organizations, all of which constant 1994 dollars) (USDA Forest Service 19940. expanded their participation and share in funding and implementing habitat improvements. Volunteers Specific programmatic titles were introduced for also participated in fish habitat improvement. One of many wildlife and fishery activities and publicized the early Rise to the Future projects was a massive with colorful brochures to encourage public use, effort to restore Canyon Creek on Arizona's Tonto participation, and support for national forest wildlife National Forest an effort that involved working and fisheries. "Rise to the Future" was launched in with ranchers on livestock control, riparian fencing, 1987 to market fishing opportunities, communicate willow and cottonwood plantings, and many stream fish habitat improvement opportunities, and elevate habitat structures built with large logs and bolts of fish habitat management awareness, both internally wood. Several hundred volunteers and partners and with fishery cooperators. "Get Wild" achieved worked on this project. In 1987, on Idaho's Boise similar objectives for wildlife habitat improvement National Forest, the concerned participation of Gem and use. "Every Species Counts" focused internal State Fly Fishers and Idaho Salmon and Steelhead Forest Service and public interest on maintaining Unlimited members halted erosion along 200 feet of and improving threatened, endangered, and sensitive Johnson Creek, which was delivering sediment into species habitats. the South Fork of the Salmon River's prime spawning and rearing habitat for summer Chinook salmon As public communication and participation and (USDA Forest Service 1988b). funding improved after 1986, the total acres of annual habitat improvement rose from 355,000 In 1964 and 1965, large storms caused massive acres to nearly 450,000 acres per year in the early landslides that dumped approximately 240,000 tons

261 Chapter 6

of sediment into the South Fork of the Salmon River, (50 acres) on the Mississippi national forests (USDA causing catastrophic damage to Chinook salmon Forest Service 1 990b). The average annual level of spawning and rearing habitat. By 1990, an average fish habitat improvements during the first half of the of 78 percent of the accumulated sediment storage 1 990's rose to 23,000 acres per year and 1 0,000 (since 1965) over the entire river system had been structures about double the average annual reduced. There were even greater reductions in such achievements in the 1980's of 1 2,000 acres per year key spawning areas as the Poverty Reach, where and 5,000 structures (USDA Forest Service 1981- sediment deposits were reduced by 89 percent (Lee 1986, 1987-1 995). et al. 1 993). Comparisons of the long-term trends in the number of redds (spawning nests) in the South Every Species Counts Fork with those on the less-disturbed Middle Fork of "Every Species Counts" was introduced in 1 990 the Salmon River and Johnson Creek, a major tribu- to intensify the management of nationa' forest habi- tary of the South Fork, revealed that stresses from tats for threatened, endangered, and sensitive species downriver sources were the probable dominant by bringing the resources, energy, and commitment causes of the long-term decline in returning spawn- of the Forest Service, other Federal agencies, State ing salmon and redd counts in all three streams and resource departments, private organizations, and the entire Salmon River system regardless of individuals together. This initiative implemented a landslide activities in the associated watersheds. 1989 task force plan to match the management effort (The Middle Fork is located largely within the Frank for improving the recovery and conservation of Church River of No Return Wilderness and its threatened, endangered, and sensitive species with watershed had not been roaded or logged; Johnson the urgency of the challenge. In that year, listed Creek's watershed had fewer roads and much less species with habitats on national forests rose to 1 71 logging than the upper South Fork). All three streams 30 percent of the total U.S. listed species. By then, showed similar long-term trends in the decline of regional foresters had designated more than 900 redd counts between 1957 and 1991. Except for the sensitive species that needed special management catastrophic decline on the South Fork after 1964, coordination to avoid their listing as threatened or they also had similar levels of redd counts in the endangered. This high proportion of listed and latter years of the 1 957 to 1 991 study period. The sensitive species with national forest habitats often Idaho Department of Fish and Game maintained reflects the better survival of such species in, or their records of the number of redds constructed each retreat to, the undeveloped and less fragmented year for all three streams (Lee et al. 1993). habitats found on many national forests. In 1 994, the number of listed species with national forest habitats In 1988, efforts with the New Mexico Department of rose to 283 31 percent of the 919 U.S. listed Game and Fish, New Mexico State University, and species: 11 0 plants; 52 fishes; 40 snails, mussels, and the Fish and Wildlife Service on New Mexico's Gila crustaceans; 31 birds; 27 mammals; 14 reptiles and National Forest improved the endangered Gila trout's amphibians; and 9 insects. By 1 993, regional recovery process by introducing it into the waters of foresters had designated more than 2,300 sensitive the Trail Canyon area. This cooperative effort nearly species (USDA Forest Service 1987-1 995, 1993a). doubled the Big Thompson River's fish productivity by installing 45 habitat structures in seven stream Staffing for threatened, endangered, and sensitive sections and accelerating natural vegetation by species management increased enormously from planting willow shoots on streambanks (USDA Forest 47 FTE's in 1986 to 590 FTE's in 1994 -- more than Service 1989c). In 1989, the Mississippi Department 12 times the 1986 staffing. Funding increased sim- of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks; the Chickasaw Bass ilarly from $3 million in 1986 to nearly $39 million Club; and Lunkers Unlimited Bass Club installed fish in 1994 (constant 1994 dollars) (USDA Forest Ser- cover and spawning gravel structures made of vice 19940. The average annual habitat improve- concrete blocks, tires, and treetops, which increased ment for listed and sensitive species rose from the catch of larger fish and doubled the catch per 35,000 acres per year in the mid-i 980's to nearly angler on Davis Lake (200 acres) and Brentes Lake 100,000 acres per year in the mid-i 990's (USDA

262 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995

parrot nesting sites and reduce predation and competition from the pearly eyed thrasher by modifying natural cavities and installing artificial nest structures. Cavities are closed during the summer months to pre- 1 vent honeybee swarms from using them. Captive birds have been bred to produce young parrots that have been substituted for wild chicks in the nest (cross- fostering) to improve genetic diversity. In 1 989, when this endangered species population had grown to 47 birds, it was suddenly and drastically reduced to 23 by Hurricane Hugo which severely altered half of the parrots' prime habitat (USDAForest Service Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon, wildlife biologists examining feathers from a nest box during 1993a, 1994a). Since Hugo, a survey to determine which species used the nestbox. researchers and national forest managers and biolo- Forest Service 1981-1995). The number of structures gists have attempted to rehabilitate the species' installed to improve listed and sensitive species hab- damaged habitat, and the number of wild birds has itats rose from a few hundred per year in 1 986 to increased to the pre-hurricane level. Six wild breed- more than 2,800 per year in 1994. The number of ing pairs have nested successfully. Half of the breed- threatened and endangered species recovery plans ing population has used the improved or artificial rose from 80 in 1987 to more than 1 50 in 1993. nesting structures(USDAForest Service 1 993a). Recovery strategies were developed for listed species where specificESArecovery plans were not required. Hurricane Hugo also damaged South Carolina's Francis Marion National Forest, where it devastated Protecting Endangered Species the habitat of the second largest population of the After Natural Disasters endangered red-cockaded woodpecker the only The Puerto Rican parrot, found only on Puerto Rico's population growing in numbers. In some colonies, Caribbean National Forest, is the last native parrot in hurricane winds snapped nearly 90 percent of the the United States and its territories. In 1972, this trees that held woodpecker cavities. In 1 990, the year species had been reduced to a single population of after the hurricane, about 70 percent of the total red- 1 4 birds. Most of the parrot's old-growth tropical cockaded woodpecker population had disappeared. forest habitat had been destroyed by the island's The Francis Marion immediately undertook a crash development activities. Predators, low numbers, and effort, using creative substitutes, to provide the birds lack of nesting sites hampered the reproduction of with new nesting and roosting cavities. Techniques the remaining birds. Forest Service research scientists ranged from drilling completed cavities and start and Fish and Wildlife Service and Forest Service holes that the birds could enlarge to cavity size, to biologists have worked together to provide suitable installing cedar blocks with predrilled cavities into

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holes cut into standing trees. In 1994, 66 percent of all The causes of these declines varied by species and red-cockaded woodpecker nests were in these artificial location, but generally reflected some combination cavities. The number of adult birds increased from the of hydroelectric development and operation, over- post-hurricane level of 579 in 1990 to 775 in1 992 fishing, hatchery influences on disease and genetic (USDA Forest Service 1 993c, 1 994a). fitness, and habitat conditions. In 1992, the importance of this issue to a wide diversity of interests Habitat Management for Endangered Species led the Forest Service to develop a coordinated, Reintroduction and Recovery comprehensive strategy for managing Pacific In 1992, the Nebraska National Forest completed a salmon and steelhead habitats on national forests survey to determine the presence of black-footed throughout the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. ferrets on national forest lands. Reintroducing them National forest managers manage half of the fresh- was assessed in an EIS. Although once found through- water anadromous fish spawning and rearing hab- out the Great Plains of North America, the black-footed itat in the lower 48 States and more than a quarter ferret by 1 991 existed only in captivity and in one of such habitat in Alaska. For stocks threatened by group that had been released to the wild in that same factors other than habitat, the quality of national year. Black-footed ferret colonies depend on prairie forest habitats would play an important role in dogs for 80 percent of their food supply and rely' moderating their rate of decline and provide time entirely on empty prairie dog burrows for shelter and to resolve the primary problems associated with to rear their young. The Nebraska National Forest hydroelectric operations, hatcheries, and fish har- evaluated four units suitable for ferret reintroduction vests (Pacific Salmon Work Group and Field Team and conducted a public forum on the reintroduction 1992). process. (USDA Forest Service 1 993a, 1 993c). After 1992, as more salmon were federally listed PACFISH Strategy for Endangered Salmon as threatened or endangered, the Forest Service Emerges in the Pacific Northwest joined with BLM to develop the PACFISH strategy. In 1 991, the American Fisheries Society assessed the Using available science, PACFISH took a pro- viability of more than 400 Pacific salmon and steel- active ecosystem approach to managing anadro- head stocks dependent upon spawning habitats in mous fish habitats in the Columbia and Snake Washington, Oregon, California, and Idaho (Nehlsen River systems of eastern Oregon and Washington, et al. 1991). (A stock is defined as a group of fish that Idaho, and parts of California. Riparian corridors spawn on a particular river system or segment during a along sensitive streams were managed under particular season and that do not interbreed to any interim conservation guidelines while researchers substantial degree with any other group of fish.) This identified ways to restore and sustain the ecologi- study reported that 24 percent of the stocks had cal processes that gave rise to the once-thriving become extinct; 23 percent were at high risk of salmon habitats and populations (USDA Forest extinction; 1 3 percent were at moderate risk; 1 2 per- 1 994e). cent were of special concern not presently at risk, but probably in decline from known threats; and It is clear that threatened, endangered, and sensi- 27 percent secure stable or increasing stocks not tive species management has become an important subject to any known threats. The report found that component in implementing an ecosystem about 1 70 of the high risk, moderate risk, and special approach to managing multiple uses on national concern stocks were associated with national forest forests. The conservation of species is central to streams and lands. Of those, four stocks were listed as sustaining ecosystems. Accommodation of multiple endangered. National forest managers had identified uses makes this an extremely complex task. With other stocks as sensitive. the current limitations of available ecosystem management science, resource management, and The 76 stocks found on national forests and rated as recovery strategies for threatened, endangered, and high risk for extinction, but not federally listed, sensitive species, conservation almost always occurred in 51 stream systems on 16 national forests. involves exploring still-unknown aspects of

264 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1 995

species, habitat, and ecological relationships. It also developed on northeastern Colorado's Pawnee calls for creativity in discovering new ways to manage National Grassland, an area annually visited by multiple uses while sustaining healthy air, land, water, thousands of birding enthusiasts to observe the more and related biological resources and their unique than 200 bird species that pass through or nest on expressions of biodiversity. the grasslands. Cooperators, including the Greeley Chapter of the Audubon Society, the Colorado Get Wild Audubon Council, and the Colorado Division of "Get Wild" was introduced in 1988, with the overall Wildlife, published a tour brochure covering 13 tour objective to protect and improve habitats for national route stops and installed interpretive signs at each forest wildlife and to attract the public's broad partici- stop. By 1992, "Eyes on Wildlife" included 114 pro- pation in projects benefitting game and nongame jects (USDA Forest Service 1991-1 993). wildlife and wildlife-related national forest recreation opportunities. It expanded cooperative partnerships "Taking Wing" focuses on waterfowl and wetland with Federal and State agencies, wildlife organiza- habitat projects in cooperation with other Federal tions, and other groups and individuals to help agencies, State wildlife and fish agencies, and inventory and improve habitats, survey and monitor national, regional, and local conservation groups. wildlife populations, provide education and instruc- Its objective is to improve some 12 million acres of tion programs for forest users, and protect special waterfowl habitat found on national forests and habitats such as snags and riparian areas. grasslands in support of the North American Water- fowl Plan a cooperative program between the "Get Wild" was divided into 11national special U.S. and Canada to improve waterfowl habitats and emphasis areas that focused cooperator interests on particular species or species groups (USDA Forest Service 1 993d). "Eyes on Wildlife" focuses on projects to enhance wildlife viewing and appreciation. In 1 990, for example, New Mexico's Cibola National Forest cooperated with the Western Foundation for Raptor Conservation and the Central Rio Grande Chapter of the Audubon Society to construct a 1 .5-mile trail to improve public access to the Sandia Mountain Hawk Watching Area, where the public and wildlife biologists could view and record raptor migrations. The Western Foundation for Raptor Conservation provided a brochure describing the role of raptors District wildlife biologist examining a yellow-breasted chat captured by a mist net used to in the ecosystem. In 1 991, a inventory neotropical migratory birds (mainly songbirds) on the Sam Houston National Forest, self-guided bird tour was 19 92.

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prevent declines in waterfowl populations (Ducks Unlimited, no date). In 1 989, Alaska's Chugach National Forest, in (I partnership with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the University of Minnesota, inventoried and described the habitat needs, nesting success, and population trends for trumpeter swans on Alaska's Copper River Delta. This was the first step in identifying management opportunities to reduce the downward trend in trumpeter swan numbers. In the same year, the Kadoka Lake project on South Dakota's Buffalo Gap Elk on summer range,3ig Horn National Forest, Wyoming, 1993. National Grassland reconstructed a dam to restore a 230-acre lake the second largest wetland on Federal lands in international agencies and more than 20 conserva- western South Dakota. Cooperators were the City tion groups cooperate with the Forest Service to of Kadoka; Jackson County; the Jackson County assist in population management, habitat monitoring Conservation District; the South Dakota Department and improvement, training resource professionals, of Game, Fish, and Parks; and Ducks Unlimited, and providing public educational activities about Inc. The restored lake was projected to produce neotropical migrant bird species nesting in North 2,000 ducks and 250 geese annually and provide America and wintering in the Caribbean or Central habitat for the endangered trumpeter swan. Pheasants and South America (USDA Forest Service 1 993d). In and grouse have also benefitted from the improved 1 991, for example, Colorado's White River National upland habitat around the lake. (USDA Forest Service Forest, through the Forest Service's Internationa 1990b). In 1992, "Taking Wing" had 92 projects Forestry branch, sponsored a biologist employed by under way on the national forests (USDA Forest the Mexican government in a 6-week program to Service 1 993d). exchange information about neotropical bird habitat and wildlife management in the United States and The 11Animal Inn" emphasis area, an education and Mexico (USDA Forest Service 1 992b). The objective information program, was initiated nationally in is to help reverse the declines that have emerged in 1988 to communicate the importance of managing many migratory bird populations due, in part, to dead standing snags and fallen trees for wildlife fragmentation of their breeding grounds in North habitat. Some 1,200 animal species need these America and loss of wintering habitat in their south- habitats for their life cycles. ern abodes. In 1992, New York State's Finger Lakes National Forest, in cooperation with Cornell Univer- "Partners in Flight," a neotropical migratory bird sity, established two permanent breeding bird survey initiative, was introduced in 1991 and by 1992 had plots as a part of 10-State network for monitoring 56 cooperative projects under way on national for- neotropical migratory bird productivity. Six of Inter- ests and other lands. Numerous State, Federal, and national Forestry's sister forest programs with national

266 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995

forests and parks in Central and South America have habitat by closing more than 63 miles of road and been developed around managing neotropical obliterating 29 miles. (USDA Forest Service 1987- migrant bird habitats (USDA Forest Service 1993c). 1995). Elk habitat projects numbered 144 in 1992.

The "Ecosystem Management/Restoration and Special The total area of habitat improved for wildlife, Habitats" theme emphasizes unique species groups fisheries, and threatened and endangered species and communities. In 1992, the Sitka Ranger District increased on an average of 1 00,000 acres per year on Alaska's Tongas National Forest undertook thin- during the early 1990's, with the "Get Wild" initia- ning at various intensities to restore biological diver- tive producing a third of that increase. By 1995, sity and emulate more mature, unlogged forest con- more than 1,200 national forest wildlife and fishery ditions. They incorporated gaps, thickets, animal biologists and 145 botanists, working with thousands travel corridors, and varied tree spacings to provide of institutional partners and individual volunteers, year-round habitat for the Sitka black-tailed deer and were providing a creative link to land stewardship many other wildlife species. Trees were widely spaced for the future. In addition to completing habitat in riparian areas to provide large, woody debris to improvement projects each year, they were involved improve stream habitat. In 1 992, almost 1,400 acres in planning and reviewing thousands of timber sales, were so treated (USDA Forest Service 1 993c). range allotment management plans, and mineral cases to ensure that these activities were carried out Other theme initiatives focused on particular species. in ways compatible with wildlife and fishery objec- "Making Tracks" focused on projects to improve tives and conservation of rare plants (USDA Forest turkey habitat. Partnership projects for turkey inclu- Service 1 993c, 1 995a). ded the designation and management of walk-in turkey hunting areas (80,000 acres proposed) to The Growth of Partners in Habitat Management provide the public an opportunity to hunt turkeys in The number of partners in national forest habitat areas relatively undisturbed by vehicle traffic. South improvement and management increased from 57 in Dakota's Black Hills National Forest undertook 1986 and 867 in 1989 to more than 3,000 in 1993. turkey habitat improvements to increase burr oak This enormous growth in cooperative, voluntary mast production by reducing ponderosa pine com- participation came largely from the incentive petition, releasing larger oak trees, and installing provided by the Challenge Cost-Share program and guzzlers. In 1992, there were 127 projects. "Answer the aggressive thematic initiatives. The traditional the Call" addressed quail habitat needs. "Dancers in partnerships, including the forest cooperative the Forest" was the theme of an initiative for grouse agreements with 44 State fish and game departments and woodcock projects. "A Million Bucks" targeted and 49 other Federal agencies and conservation deer habitat improvement. groups, increased similarly. The vast majority of new partnerships were with hundreds of sporting organi- "Full Curl" projects focused on habitat for wild zations, local governments, other State and local Rocky Mountain and desert bighorn sheep. Through agencies, a variety of civic groups, many corpora- this initiative, Colorado's White River National tions, and scout troops who collectively provided Forest reintroduced bighorn sheep into their historic the services of thousands of people and many range, improved their winter range habitats, and individual volunteers. These cooperators completed improved the basis for their future management by thousands of habitat improvement projects on the studying existing herds to determine their habitat use national forests. The value of their assistance, and limiting factors. "Elk Country" focused on elk materials, and services is summarized in table 11. habitat. In Colorado, the San Juan National Forest used prescribed burns to improve elk forage pro- Cooperators contributed more than $1 .42 to wildlife duction to reduce elk damage on private lands and partnership initiatives for every Federal dollar of maintain the existing elk population. Oregon's appropriated funds (USDA Forest Service 1987- Maiheur National Forest improved elk summer range 1995).

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environment. rhe staffing Table 11. Wildlife Challenge Cost-Share assistance and funding for wildlife and fisheries management Forest Service and soil and watershed Year Appropriated Funds Cooperator Share Total protection increased, 1986 $900,000 $1,700,000 $2,600,000 while timber staffing and 1987 1,700,000 3,100,000 4,800,000 funding decreased as har- 1988 2,900,000 5,200,000 8,100,000 vests sharply declined. 1989 6,900,000 10,200,000 1 7,100,000 Cooperative projects and 1990 10,300,000 12,800,000 23,100,000 partnerships in implement- 1991 11,100,000 16,900,000 28,000,000 ing wildlife, fisheries, 1992 11,500,000 15,200,000 26,700,000 recreation, and cultural 1993 14,300,000 19,800,000 34,100,000 heritage management Total $59,600,000 $84,900,000 $144,500,000 projects saw an unprecedented increase. Source:USDAForest Service1 993c In this general way, the transition and transforma- 1980 to 1995: A Period of Accelerating tion of the traditional integrated approach in national forest management for multiple uses accelerated Transition and Transformation in toward a broader and more holistic ecosystem Managing Multiple Uses on approach. Here, the ecosystem approach and National Forest System Lands national forest management are mutually seen as the fitting of multiple uses into forest ecosystems accord- For national forest managers, the years between 1 980 ing to their ability to support them and their compati- and 1 995 were a period of continuing confrontation bility with each other, in ways that will ensure the and challenge. Special interest groups and individu- sustainability of the ecosystems as well as the multi- als continued to take issue with national forest man- ple uses and benefits for future generations. Implicit agement plans, decisions, and resource management in this approach is the understanding and context projects through an unrelenting level of appeals and provided by existing state-of-the-art forest resource court suits focused heavily on timber management, management and its underlying science and by the but not neglecting issues in other resource areas. established societal goals and processes for resources New resource challenges also emerged as the con- management decisionmaking. Chapter7describes tinuing buildup of forest biomass and related fuel the 1 990's adoption and early implementation of the hazards combined with serious drought raised ecosystem approach in managing multiple uses and national questions about forest health and the multiple benefits on national forests. increased risk of catastrophic wildfires. Growing concerns for endangered, threatened, and sensitive References species raised new questions about the maintenance of biodiversity and the sustainability of forest and Barlow,T.J., T.Orr Telford, andT.Steel.1 980.Giving rangeland ecosystems. Away theNationalForests: An Analysis of Timber Sales Below Cost. Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, DC. National forest managers, responding to these dis- Bell, Enoch, D. Cleaves, H. Croft, S. Hosati, E. Schuster, comforting challenges and confrontations, sought and D. Truesdale.1 995.FireEconomicsAssessment wider and more open and orderly communication Report. USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC. and participation with national forest interest groups 67 pp. and users. They also pursued more rigorous inter- Beuter, J.H.1 985.Federal Timber Sales. Congressional disciplinary integration of the management of multi- Research Service, Library of Congress, Washington, ple uses and resources and in the protection of the DC.140 pp.

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Bosworth, Dale, J. Twiss, G. Merrill, D. Barone, and B. Dunlop, George 5. 1989. Memo to Dale Robertson, Butler.1 990. "Effectiveness of Decisionmaking." Chief of the Forest Service, dated April 27, 1989. Volume 7, Critique of Land Management Planning Emerson, Peter M. 1986. "Below Cost Sales: An FS-458. USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC. Overview of the Issue." Below Cost Timber Sales 24 pp. Conference Proceedings. February 17-19, 1985. The Bremen, Vicki A. 1995. Memorandum dated March 1 3, Wilderness Society, Washington, D.C. 266 pp. 1 995, to Chief of the Forest Service. Update on Federal Register. 1991. National Forest System Land and Forest Service National Environmental Policy Act Resource Management Planning. Advance Notice of (NEPA) Litigation Statistics. USDA Office of General Proposed Rulemaking, 36 CFR 219. USDA Forest Counsel, Natural Resources Division, Washington, DC. 3 pp with tabular attachment. Service, Washington, DC. pp. 6508-6538. 1 995. National Forest System Land and Bryant, Art.1 996. Direct communication. Review notes Federal Register. Resource Management Planning. Proposed Rule. 36 dated April 4, 1996. USDA Forest Service Acting CFR Parts 215, 217, and 219. USDA Forest Service, Director for Watersheds and Air Areas, Washington, Washington, DC. pp. 18886-1 8932. DC. CaIdwell, Lynton K., C.F. Wilkinson, and M.A. Shannon. Fedkiw, John. 1 986. Overview: National Forest System Road Program and Cost Performance: National, 1994. "Making Ecosystem Policy: Three Decades of Regional and Local Levels 1976-1985 (unpublished Change." Journal of Forestry 92:4. Society of report in author's files). USDA Office of Budget and American Foresters, Bethesda, MD. Reprint. 4 pp. Program Analysis, Washington, DC. 53 pp. Cawley, R. McGreggor. 1 990. Radicalism, Politics, and Flather, Curtis H., and T.W. Hoekstra. 1 989. An Analysis Science on the Public Lands. Paper prepared for the of the Wildlife and Fish Situation in the United 1990 American Society of Public Administration Convention, Los Angeles, CA. Department of States: 1989-2040. Gen. Tech. Report RM-178. Political Science, University of Wyoming, Laramie. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 146 pp. 25 pp. Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team Clark, Pete. 1996. Direct communication dated March (FEMAT). 1 993. Forest Ecosystem Management. An 27, 1996. USDA Forest Service, Range Management ecological, economic, and social assessment. U.S. Area, Washington, DC. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, the Interior, Clawson, Marion. 1976. "The National Forests: A Great and the Environmental Protection Agency. National Asset is Poorly Managed and Washington, DC. pp. I-i to IX-41. Unproductive." Science 191:762-767. Forest Service. 1 994a. Passport in Time 5:1. CEHP, Inc., Cordell, H. Ken, J.C. Bergstrom, L.A. Hartman, and Washington, DC. Donald B.K. English. 1990. Analysis of the Outdoor Forest Service. 1 994b. "National Forest System Special Recreation and Wilderness Situation in the United Recreation Areas." Tabulation dated October 14, States 1989-2040. USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. 1994. Recreation, Heritage, and Wilderness Report RM-1 89. USDA Forest Service, Washington, Resources Area, Washington, DC. 2 pp. DC. 113 pp. Fowler, Richard F. 1996. Direct communication dated Council of Economic Advisors. 1994. Economic Report March 22, 1996. USDA Forest Service, Forest Pest of the President together with the Annual Report of Management Staff, Washington, DC. the Council of Economic Advisors. U.S. Government General Accounting Office (GAO). 1984. Congress Printing Office, Washington DC. 398 pp. Needs Better Information on Forest Service's Below Domestic Policy Council Task Force on Outdoor Cost Sales. RCED 84-86. Washington, DC. 46 pp. Recreation Resources and Opportunities. 1 988. Gippert, Michael J., and V.L. White. 1990. "Gateway to Outdoor Recreation in a Nation of Communities: Compliance with NFMA, NEPA, and other Federal Action Plan for the American Outdoors. U.S. Environmental Laws." 1990 Forest Plan Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. Implementation, Volume 1 0, Critique of Land 169 pp. Management Planning. FS-461. USDA Forest Ducks Unlimited. No date. Taking Wing: National Service, Washington, DC. 69 pp. Forest System Waterfowl Habitat Management Glasser, Stephen P. 1996. Direct communication in Partnerships. Produced in coordination with the review notes dated 4/8/96. USDA Forest Service, USDA Forest Service. Long Grove, IL. 8 pp. Watershed and Air Management Area, Washington, brochure. DC.

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Hoberg, George. 1993. From Logroll to Logjam: Management, and University of Idaho College of Structure, Strategy, and Influence in the Old-growth Forestry, Wildlife, and Range Sciences. p.1 3-21. Forest Conflict. Paper presented to the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Associa- National Park Service.1 994. River Mileage Classifi- tion, Sept. 2-5,1 993, Washington, DC. Department cation for Components of the National Wild and of Political Science, University of British Columbia, Scenic River System. Division of Park Planning and Vancouver. 33 pp. Protection, Washington, DC. 16 pp. Howell, Cheri A. 1996. Telephone communication, Nehlsen, W., J.E. Williams, and J.A. Lichtowich. 1 991. April 1, 1996. Acting Assistant Forest Supervkor, "Pacific Salmon at the Crossroads: Stocks at Risk Humboldt National Forest, Biko, NV. from California, Oregon, idaho, and Washington." Fisheries 1 6(2):4-21. Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests.1 996. Decision Reached in U.S. vs. Nye County. News release O'Neai, Sonny, G. Pozzuto, J. Weissiing, C. Jemmett, dated March 14, 1996. USDA Forest Service, B. Russell, J. Burns, D. Craig, S. Bailey, T. Hoffman, Sparks, NV. 1 and P. Johnston. 1990. "Usefulness of Forest Service p. Plans." Volume 8, Critique of Land Management Larsen, Gary, Larry Holden, Dave Kopaldo, John Planning. FS-459. USDA Forest Service, Leasure, Jerry Mason, Hal Salwasser, Susan Yonts- Washington, DC. 19 pp. Shepard, and W.E. Shands. 1 990a. "Synthesis of the Critique of Land Management Planning." Volume 1, Pacific Salmon Work Group and Field Team. 1992. Critique of Land Management Planning. FS-452. Background Report for the Development of the USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC. 24 pp. Forest Service Management Strategy for Pacific Salmon and Steelhead. information Report. USDA Larsen, Gary, Robert Lynn, Dave Kopaldo, and John Forest Service, Washington, DC. 41 pp. Fedkiw. 1 990b. "Analyses of an Emerging Supply Disruption." Vol. 9, Critique of Land Management Powell, Doug'as S., J.L. Faulkner, DR. Darr, Z. Zhu, Planning. FS-460. USDA Forest Service, and D.W. MacCieery. 1 993. Forest Resources of the Washington, DC. 44 pp. U.S., 1992. Gen. Tech. Report RM-214. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experi- Lee, Danny C., W.F. Megahan, and U.D. Mcintyre. ment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 33 pp. 1 993. Some Perspective on the Upriver-Downriver Issue in the Columbia Basin A case study from Repetto, Robert. 1 985. Subsidized Timber Sales from Idaho's Salmon River. USDA Forest Service, inter- National Forest lands in the U.S. World Resources mountain Research Station, Boise, ID. 11 pp. with Institute, Washington, DC. charts (Unpublished report, subject to revision). Robertson, F. Dale. 1988. "A New Era for Oil and Gas Leonard, George. 1989. Letter to Regional Foresters Leasing on National Forests" In: USDA Forest dated February 27, 1 989. Transmitting a copy of Service Proposed Oil and Gas Regulations (36 CFR the National Action Plan (with appendixes) for 228 E) Briefing Book issued February 1, 1989. USDA Improving Compliance with the National Environ- Forest Service, Washington, DC. 5 pp. mental Policy Act. USDA Forest Service, Washing- Robertson, F. Dale. 1 994. "Ecosystem Management of ton, DC. National Forests and Grasslands." Letter dated June Liggett, Chris, C. Hickman, R. Prausa, and N. Reyna. 4, 1992. USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC., 1995. Timber Program Issues: Technical Examination 3 pp. pius attachments: 1. "Working Guidelines for of Policy Options. USDA Forest Service, Washing- Ecosystem Management" and 2. "Reduce ton, DC. 301 pp. Ciearcutting on National Forests." Russell, John W., C. Bye, J. Capian, HA. Pentack, Murphy, Dennis. 1994. Clearcut, Selection, and Total O.D. Grossarth, M. Lunn, E. Schultz, R. Scott, and Harvest Acres by Fiscal Year. Timber Management T. Steward. 1990. "Public Participation." Volume 5, Division, USDA Forest Service, Washington DC. Critique of Land Management Planning. FS-456. 1 p. USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC. 23 pp. Myers, Peter C.1 986. "Below Cost Timber Sales: An Schamei, Kathleen. 1994. "PIT Traveler." Passport in Overview of an Issue Understanding Linkages." Time 5:1. CEHP, inc., Washington, DC. In: Conference Proceedings: Below Cost Timber Sales, edited by D.C. Le Master, B.R. Hamm, and Shands, William E., Aiaric V. Sample, and Dennis C. J.C. Hendee. February 1 7-19, 1985, Spokane WA. Le Master. 1990. "Nationai Forest Planning: Sponsored by the Wilderness Society, Washington Searching for a Common Vision." Volume 2, State University Department of Forest and Range Critique of Land Management Planning. FS-453.

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A report prepared by the Conservation Foundation in Producing Outputs, and Sustaining Ecosystems. cooperation with the Purdue University Department OTA-F-505. Washington, DC. 206 pp. of Forestry and Natural Resources under Agreement 89-PA-039. USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC. U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1986-1 994. Agricultural 91 pp. Statistics for the years 1986-1 994. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. Stout, Brian E.1 995. Below-Cost Timber Sales. Written account prepared at the author's request. Lakeview, U.S. Departments of the Interior and Agriculture. 1981- MN. 23 pp. 1 989. Annual Wilderness Report to Congress for the years 1980-1987. Washingtn, DC. Thomas, Jack Ward. 1988. Status and Trends of U.S. Renewable Resources. Charts presented at the U.S. District Court, Las Vegas, NV. 1996. United States "Natural Resources for the 21st Century" under the of America v. Nye Country, Nevada et al. Order on sponsorship of the American Forestry Association. Motion for Summary Judgment RE: Federal USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC. Ownership and Management of National Forest Lands. March 4, 1996. Thomas, Jack Ward. 1994. "The Chief's Vision of Wilder- ness." Attachment to a letter from Gray F. Reynolds, U.S. District Court, Seattle, WA. 1994. Seattle Audubon Deputy Chief, National Forest System, to regional Society v. Lyons. Order on Motion for Summary foresters and other wilderness managers and program Judgment RE: 1994 Forest Plan. December 21, 1994. leaders, dated August 31, 1994, on the subject: USDA Forest Service. 1 980a. A Recommended Wilderness announcements. USDA Forest Service, Renewable Resources Program: 1980 Update. Washington, DC. 5 pp. Washington DC. 540 pp. plus appendixes. Thomas, Jack Ward. 1995. Forest Health: What Is It, USDA Forest Service. 1 980b. Report of the Forest What Are We Doing About it? Statement presented Service for Fiscal Year 1979. Washington, DC. at the 60th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, Minneapolis, MN. 20 pp. USDA Forest Service. 1981 a. An Assessment of the Forest and Rangeland Situation in the United States. Ulrich, Alice H., 1990. U.S. Timber Production, Trade Forest Resource Report No. 22. Washington, DC. Consumption and Price Statistics 1960-88. USDA 352 pp. Forest Service, Washington DC. 80 pp. USDA Forest Service. 1 981 b. Report of the Forest Unger, David G. 1 993. National Hierarchical Frame- Service for Fiscal Year 1980. Washington, DC. work of Ecological Units. Directive to Regional Foresters, Station Directors, IITF, and Area Directors, USDA Forest Service. 1 981 -1 987. Report of the Forest dated November 5, 1993. USDA Forest Service, Service for Fiscal Years 1980 to 1986. Washington, Washington, DC. DC. Unger, David G. 1 995. Statement (with attachments) on USDA Forest Service. 1981-1 995. Report of the Forest the Forest Service Administrative Appeals Process, Service for Fiscal Years 1980 to 1994. Washington, March 8, 1995, before the Subcommittee on Forests DC. and Public Land Management Committee on Energy USDA Forest Service. 1 982a. Report of the Forest and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate. USDA Forest Service for Fiscal Year 1981. Washington, DC. Service, Washington, DC. 7 pp. USDA Forest Service. 1 982b. The Analyses of the Timber U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1 993a. Statistical Abstract of Situation in the United States, Forest Resource the United States 1993. 113th edition. U.S. Depart- Report No. 23. Washington, DC. 499 pp. ment of Commerce, Washington, DC. 100 pp. USDA Forest Service. 1 983. Report of the Forest Service U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1 993b. Housing Starts. C20/ for Fiscal Year 1982. Washington, DC. 93. U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC. USDA Forest Service. 1 985. Report of the Forest Service for Fiscal Year 1984. Washington, DC. U.S. Congress. 1992. An Act for FY 1992 Appropriations for the U.S. Department of the Interior and Related USDA Forest Service. 1 986. Report of the Forest Service Agencies. Section 322, Forest Service Decision for Fiscal Year 1985. Washington, DC. Making and Appea's Reform. Washington, DC. USDA Forest Service. 1986-1 990. Report of the Forest U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. 1992. Service for Fiscal Years 1985 to 1990. Washington, Forest Service Planning: Accommodating Uses, DC.

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USDA Forest Service. 1987a. An Enduring Resource of USDA Forest Service.1 993b. Healthy Forests for Wilderness: Management Principles. Washington, America's Future: A Strategic Plan. MP 1 51 3. DC. 6 pp. brochure. Washington, DC. USDA Forest Service.1 987b. Report of the Forest USDA Forest Service. 1 993c. Report of the Forest Service for Fiscal Year 1986. Washington, DC. Service for Fiscal Year 1992. Washington, DC. USDA Forest Service. 1987-1 995. Report of the Forest USDA Forest Service.1 993d. Sharing the Commitment: Service for Fiscal Years 1986 to 1994. Washington, Partnerships for Wildlife, Fish, and Rare Plants. DC. FS-542. Washington, DC. 16 pp. USDA Forest Service. 1 988a. Forest Health Through USDA Forest Service.1 993e. Summary of timber data Silvicultural and Integrated Pest Management. El from national forest lands (as of 7/1/93). Files of E17. Washington, DC. Timber Management Division, Washington, DC. 4 pp USDA Forest Service. 1 988b. Report of the Forest Service for Fiscal Year 1987. Washington, DC. USDA Forest Service. 1 993f. Timber Sale Program Annual Report. National summary for FY 1993. USDA Forest Service.1 988c. Rise to the Future: Fish Your National Forests Progress Report. Wildlife and USDA Forest Service.1 993g. Viability Assignments and Fisheries Division, Washington, DC. 20 pp. Management Considerations for Species Association with Late-Successional and Old-Growth forests in USDA Forest Service. 1989a. Implementing Task Force the Pacific Northwest. Report of the Scientific Compliance in Resource Development Activities. Analysis Team. Washington, DC. 50 pp. March 14,1 989. Environmental Coordination Staff, Washington, DC. 2 pp. (Copy in author's files). USDA Forest Service.1 993h. Budget Explanatory Notes for Fiscal Year 1994 for Committee Appropriations. USDA Forest Service, 1989b. Proposed Oil and Gas Washington, DC. Regulations. 36 CFR 228E Briefing Book. USDA Forest Service.1 994a. Diversity for the Future: USDA Forest Service. 1 989c. Report of the Forest Science and the Challenge for Saving Endangered Service for Fiscal Year 1988. Washington, DC. Species. Washington, DC. 12 pp. USDA Forest Service.1 990a. Make a Difference: USDA Forest Service. 1994b. Western Forest Health Challenge Yourself with a Forest Service Career. Initiative. State and Private Forestry, Washington, Program Aid 1461. Washington, DC. 18 pp. DC. 66 pp. USDA Forest Service.1 990b. Report of the Forest USDA Forest Service. 1 994c. Forest Service Chief Service for Fiscal Year 1989. Washington, DC. Announces Changes for Wilderness in Celebration of the 30th Anniversary. News release dated November USDA Forest Service. 1 991. Report of the Forest Service 10, 1994. Washington, DC. 2 pp. for Fiscal Year 1990. Washington, DC. USDA Forest Service. 1994d. The Forest Service Ethics USDA Forest Service. 1 991-1 993. Report of the Forest and Course to the Future. FS-567. Washington, DC. Service for Fiscal Years 1989 to 1992. Washington, 9 pp. DC. USDA Forest Service. 1 994e. Report of the Forest USDA Forest Service. 1991-1 995. Report of the Forest Service for Fiscal Year 1993. Washington, DC. Service for Fiscal Years 1990 to 1994. Washington, DC. USDA Forest Service. 1 994f. Tabulation of Budget Authority, Full-time Employment, and Forest Service USDA Forest Service. 1992a. Compilation prepared by Program Line Items for Fiscal Years 1975 to 1994. Division of Timber Management, Washington, DC. Washington, DC. USDA Forest Service. 1 992b. Report of the Forest USDA Forest Service. 1994g. National Strategic Plan for Service for Fiscal Year 1991. Washington, DC. Air Resource Management. Washington, DC. 11 pp. USDA Forest Service. 1 992c. "Review of and Comment USDA Forest Service. 1 995a. Distribution of Botanists on National Forest Plans and Project Decisions. and Biologists by Location. Tabulation prepared by Proposed Rules." Federal Register 57:59, March 26, the Wildlife and Fisheries Division, Washington, 1992. DC. USDA Forest Service.1 993a. Every Species Counts: USDA Forest Service. 1 995b. Course to the Future: Conserving Biological Diversity. Program Aid 1 994 Positioning Fire and Aviation Management. Washington, DC. 8 pp. Washington, DC. 19 pp.

272 National Forest Management for Multiple Uses: 1980 to 1995

USDA Forest Service.1 995c. National Forest System U.S. House of Representatives. 1994a.Department of Reforestation andTimberStandImprovement Report the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations for FY 1994. January 18, 1995. Transmitted to Bill. Report 1 03-1 58. U.S. Congress, 1 03d, 1st regional foresters and station directors from the session. Washington, DC. Washington Office. Timber Management Division, Washington, DC. U.S. House of Representatives. 1 994b. Making Recommendations for the Department of the Interior USDA Forest Service. 1995d. Report of the Forest and Related Agenciesfor FY 1994andOther Service for Fiscal Year 1994. Washington, DC. Purposes. Report 103-299. U.S. Congress, 103d, 1st USDA Forest Service.1 995e.Tabulation of National session. Washington, DC. Forest Plan Appeals Data 1989-1995. Prepared by the Interior and the Ecosystem Management Staff, Washington, DC. U.S. Senate. 1994.Department of Related Agencies.Appropriations Bill. Report 1 03- USDA Forest Service.1 995f. Timber Sale Program 144. U.S. Congress, 1 03d, 1st session. Washington, Annual Report for Fiscal Year 1994. National DC. Summary. Washington, DC. 97 pp. Vento, Bruce P.1 989. Letter to F. Dale Robertson, Chief USDA Forest Service.1 995g.Tabulations ofthe Timber of the Forest Service, dated March 1 5,1 989. Management Division.Washington, DC. Washington, DC. 6 pp. USDA Forest Service. 1995h. Strategic Assessment of Waddell, Karen L., D.D. Oswald, and D.S. Powell. the Management in the Forest Service. Washington, DC. 31 pp. Unpublished report. 1 989. Forest StatisticsoftheUnitedStates 1987. Resource Bulletin PNW-RB-168. USDA Forest USDA Forest Service.1 996a. Western Health Initiative: Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Status Report For Fiscal Year 1996. Draft dated Portland, OR. 106 pp. March 22, 1996. State and Private Forestry, Washington, DC. 24 pp. Warren, Debra D. 1995. Production Prices, Employment, andTrade in Northwest Forest Industries,Second USDA Forest Service.1 996b. Forest Service Noxious Quarter 1994. Resource Bulletin PNW-RB 205. Weed Strategy. Draft dated March 4,1 996. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Station, Washington, DC. 10 pp. Portland, OR. 130 pp. USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region. 1 989. Whitmore, Jacob L. 1995. Discussion in September 1995 Wilderness Management Philosophy. Denver, CO. with Dr. Whitmore, Coordinator for the Research 32 pp. Natural Area Program. USDA Forest Service, USDA Forest Service Urban Forest Supervisors. 1994. Washington, DC. Windowsto the Future:Urban NationalForests. Chief and Staff Briefing, October 1 2-14, 1994. Wilderness Society.1 986a. Issues to Raise in a Forest Plan Appeal: A Citizen Handbook. Washington, DC. U.S. General Accounting Office. 1988a. Public 81 pp. plus appendixes. Rangelands: Some Riparian Areas Restored But Widespread Improvement Will Be Slow. GAO/RCED Wilderness Society.1 986b. How to Appeal a Forest 88-105 (B-230548) Washington, DC. 85 pp. Plan: A Citizen Handbook. Washington, DC. 27 pp. plus appendixes. U.S. General Accounting Office.1 988b. Rangeland Management:More Emphasis Neededon Declining Wilkinson, Charles F., and H.M. Anderson. 1986. and Overstocked GrazingAllotments. GAO/RCED "Below Cost Timber Sales: The Legal Structure." In: 88-8 (B-204997). Washington, DC. 71 pp. Below Cost Timber SalesConference Proceedings. 1 986. Spokane, WA. The Wilderness U.S. General Accounting Office. 1989. Wilderness Feb 1 7-1 9, Society, Washington, DC. pp. 23-34. Preservation: Problems in Some National Forests Should Be Addressed. B236596, Washington, DC. Wilkinson, Charles F., and H.M. Anderson. 1 987. Land 91 pp. andResourcePlanning intheNationalForests. U.S. General Accounting Office.1 991. Wilderness Island Press, Washington, DC. 373 pp. Management: Accountabilityfor Forest Service Wolf, R.E.1 984. State-by-State Estimates of Situations Funds NeedsImprovement. B242584. Washington, Where Timber Will Be Sold by the Forest Service at DC. 18 pp. a Loss in Profit. Congressional Research Service, U.S. Geological Survey. 1992.National Wild and Library of Congress, Washington, DC. 23 pp. plus 3 Scenic River System (map). Reston, VA. attachments.

273

Chapter 7 Policy Commitment to Ecosystem Approach to Managing Multiple Uses

The early 1990's were marked by the Forest Service's Chief Robertson's announcement followed the 2-year commitment to adopt an ecosystem approach to man- "New Perspectives' initiative that evaluated ecologi- aging multiple uses on national forest lands. This cal approaches to management. But the roots of commitment emerged on June 4, 1 992, when the ecosystem management go far deeper. They draw 1 2th Chief of the Forest Service, F. Dale Robertson strongly upon the 90-year learning experience of announced that: managing multiple uses on national forests. They are also strongly shaped by the policy influences of the An ecological approach will be used to achieve Organic Act, the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act, the multiple-use management of the national the National Environment Policy Act, the National forests and grasslands. It means that we must blend the needs of people and environmental Forest Management Act, the Endangered Species values in such a way that national forests and Act, and other laws. They are strengthened by grasslands represent diverse, healthy, productive, advances in science and influenced by the changing and sustainable ecosystems. (USDA Forest values and preferences of the American people. Service 1 994b) Ecosystem management with today's state of knowledge and ecological science nevertheless The commitment was announced to coincide with remains as much a learning experience as it is an the United Nations Conference on Environment and approach to managing multiple uses on national Development (UNCED) (the Earth Summit), held in forests. Rio de Janiero, Brazil, in July 1992. The Administra- tion hoped that the timing of this announcement In November 1 993, the Acting Chief of the Forest would add a constructive note to the international Service, Dave Unger, directed regional foresters, view of American forestry which, at that time, had station directors, and area directors to begin using become somewhat critical of U.S. forestry practices, the national hierarchical framework of ecological including clearcutting (Sirmon 1995). units in land management planning and related assessment work, research programs, and coop-. The 1992 commitment to implement an ecosystem erative efforts with other agencies and partners. In approach throughout the National Forest System 1993, nationwide ecoregion-scale maps were echoed Chief Ed Cliff's: readily available and work was being completed on I am convinced that, with an ecosystem maps at the subregional scale (Unger 1993). approach to multiple-use management, our national forests and rangelands can contribute In February 1994, Chief Jack Ward Thomas issued a to a better living for present and future national action plan, Implementation of Ecosystem generations.... (USDA Forest Service 1 970) Management. Its goals were to: Chief Robertson activated his announcement with a Adopt an ecosystem approach to management directive to each of the regional foresters and station throughout the Forest Service. directors that they develop an ecosystem management plan (Robertson 1994): Integrate ecosystem management in all activities. I am asking each regional forester and station director to work together in evaluating their Strengthen collaboration and innovation. regional situation and within 90 days develop a strategy for implementing the above policy, Ensure that management actions are ecologically principles, and guidelines. We need to make responsible, economically viable, and socially good progress at a reasonably rapid pace without disrupting programs, recycling project deci- acceptable. sions, or redoing project field work. Also, you will need to take advantage of the flexibility This action plan shifted the ecosystem approach to within existing forest plans to practice ecosystem management of national forests from a testing and management. As forest plans need to be amended or revised they should reflect the demonstration approach toward full implementation. above policy on ecosystem management. In taking this step, Chief Thomas recognized that

275 Chapter 7

ecosystems were complex systems and that our to the forest resource needs and uses of the knowledge of them was far from complete or ade- American people: quate. Nevertheless, there was "no option but to continue to move forward in natural resource man- It includes understanding the role of fire, insects agement on the basis of what we know or think we and disease, and drought cycles in shaping eco- know" (Thomas 1 994). systems and bringing that understanding to bear in national forest management decisions and The new action plan calls for protecting ecosystems, actions. affording people multiple-use benefits within the capabilities of those ecosystems, and ensuring org- It requires developing and using measures of eco- anizational responsiveness. The plan's successful system sustainability while supporting the quality implementation will be evidenced by three primary of life in those ecosystems (in rural, suburban, and outcomes: urban settings). The effects of human use and habitation on ecosystem sustainability must be Healthy ecosystems. evaluated.

. Vital communities. It manages ecosystems to provide the uses, values, products, and services sought by the American An effective multidisciplinary, multicultural people from national forest and grassland organization (USDA Forest Service 1994a). resources, including water, recreation opportunities, timber, minerals, fish, wildlife, forage, wilderness, cultural heritage, and aesthetics, while Forest Service Ethics and maintaining ecosystem health and diversity. Course to the Future Its workforce reflects the cultural and disciplinary The Forest Service commitment to the future man- diversity needed to provide the skills and abilities agement of National Forest System lands was as well as the public partnerships and collabora- expressed in its brochure "The Forest Service Ethics tion required for the effective interdisciplinary and Course to the Future." It was endorsed by Chief application of the ecosystem approach to man- Thomas in these words: aging multiple uses. The workforce is empowered to carry out the mission of the national forests and Together wewillstrive to make the Forest Service grasslands with accountability for achieving nego- the world's foremost conservation leader for the tiated objectives (USDA Forest Service 1 994b). 21 stcentury. Together wewillraise the Forest Service's already high standards(USDAForest Service1996). In 1994, the 'Course to the Future" was strongly evidenced in the implementation of the Northwest The "ethic" was expressed on two dimensions: Forest Plan and in the PACFISH initiative in eastern Oregon and Washington, Idaho, and parts of Our land ethic is to promote the sustainability of California. ecosystems by ensuring their health, diversity, and productivity For national forests and other Federal lands in the Pacific Northwest, the Northwest Forest Plan Our service ethic is to: Tell the truth, obey the provided resolution to the longstanding impasse law, work collaboratively, and use appropriate scientific information in caring for the land and between timber harvesting activities and the need to serving people (USDAForest Service1996). protect noncommodity resources. The Northwest Forest Plan during 1994 took transitional steps The "Course to the Future" expresses the Forest necessary to move the Forest Service toward the Service's work commitment to ensure ecosystem ecosystem approach. It scheduled a billion board health, diversity, and productivity while it responds feet of timber sales for 1 994, but due to increased

276 Policy Commitment to Ecosystem Approach to Managing Multiple Uses

stream protection requirements, only 333 million their benefits into ecosystems according to the eco- board feet were actually prepared for sale. It emph- systems' capability to support them. "For the greatest asized the economic adjustment assistance to 147 good for the greatest number" in the Gifford Pinchot communities affected by the Plan's reduced timber tradition continues to be a national forest manage- harvest levels. Watershed analyses were completed ment commitment. But itis being pursued within the on 23 out of 59 watersheds to identify restoration new framework of the ecosystem approach to needs and begin to implement the "Jobs in the resource management. In this framework, the bene- Woods" program to assist communities. Adaptive ficial uses and services that national forest ecosys- management areas (AMA's) were defined and public tems provide are balanced with sustaining the participation plans were completed for eight AMA's. long-term health, biodiversity, and productivity of (AMA's are quasi-experimental or demonstration the ecosystem. areas for evaluating resource management results and effectiveness). These areas are suitable for tim- The current state-of-the-art in resource management ber harvesting and other resource activities for which the existing science, knowledge, and experience best management practices have been developed will have much to contribute to this approach. and are applied, monitored, and modified (adapted) However, more specific management standards, as needed to meet each area's management guidelines, and practices will be needed for sustain- objectives (USDA Forest Service 1995a). ing ecosystem health and biodiversity. Obtaining decisions on mutually compatible management In 1994, under PACFISH, the Forest Service and goals and objectives across the multiple ownerships, BLM prepared an EA that developed interim water- public and private interests, and multiple govern- shed management strategies to improve anadromous ment jurisdictions and across the wide scope of fish production on the Federal lands and waters of ecosystem regions and their components will be a eastern Oregon and Washington, Idaho, and parts of much broadened and more complex challenge. California. It evaluated the ecological conditions of Thus, the ecosystem approach to resource use and the upper Columbia River Basin. The Interior management will continue to be as much a learning Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project experience as a management experience. National (ICBEMP) was designed to amend existing forest forest managers will continue to learn from the plans, goals, objectives, standards, and guidelines responses of nature, the successes and shortfalls of for anadromous fish habitat. The decision notice and management, and scientific research and to adapt decision record, signed by the BLM Director and the management to their new knowledge, the evolving Forest Service Chief in February 1995, implemented ecosystem conditions, and the diverse and evolving interim strategies, while long-term strategies were public preferences for resource use and management. being developed. The interim strategic objective was to avoid the extinction and any further endanger- Scientific research can do much to enlighten the ment of anadromous fish stocks or to otherwise limit dimensions and solutions of resource management the consideration of options to those ensuring their challenges, but it cannot offer holistic solutions for long-term viability. PACFISH did not consider areas the social, political, and biological aspects of eco- within the northern spotted owl's range because the system decisionmaking. Scientific research can Northwest Forest Plan provided its own comprehen- define the biological and physical decision space for sive aquatic conservation strategy (USDA Forest ecosystem decisionmaking, but it cannot determine Service 1995a; USDA Forest Service and USD1 the management decisions that must also reflect the Bureau of Land Management 1995). values of society, its interest groups, landowners, and managers. Breaking New Ground Once More Thus, the ecosystem approach in many ways is like a Thus, national forest managers once more are riddle wrapped in an enigma it will require "breaking new ground" managing multiple uses effective societal and human processes as well as on national forest lands, fitting multiple uses and biological and the technical processes, informed

277 Chapter 7

with the best available science and experience from Directors, IITF, and Area Directors dated November 5, the ecosystem approach to management to achieve 1993. USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC. sound, sustainable solutions. Indeed, the national USDA Forest Service. 1 970. Management Practices of the forest managers commitment to the ecosystem Bitterroot National Forest: A Task Force Analysis dated approach is once again "breaking new ground." May 1969-April 1970. USDA Forest Service, Northern Region, Missoula, MT. 100 PP. References USDA Forest Service. 1 994a. The Forest Service Ethics and Course to the Future. FS-567. Administrative document Robertson, F. Dale. 1 994. "Ecosystem Management of for internal distribution. Washington, DC. 9 Pp. National Forests and Grasslands." Letter dated June 4, USDA Forest Service. 1 994b. Ecosystem Management: A 1 992. USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC. 3 Pp. pIus National Framework. Washington, DC. 50 pp. attachments: (1) Working Guidelines for Ecosystem Management and (2) Reduce Clearcutting on National USDA Forest Service. 1 995a. Report of the Forest Service for Forests. Fiscal Year 1994. Washington, DC.

Sirmon, Jeff. 1995. Direct communication in review notes USDA Forest Service. 1995b. The Forest Service Program for dated December 12, 1 995. Former Deputy Chief for Forest and Rangeland Resources: A Long-Term Strategic International Forestry, USDA Forest Service, Plan. Draft 1995 RPA Program. Washington, DC. pp. I-i Washington, DC. to IV-7 plus appendixes.

Society of American Foresters. 1 993. Task Force Report on USDA Forest Service. 1 996. The Forest Service Ethics and Sustaining Long- Term Forest Health and Productivity. Course to the Future. Public brochure. FS-567. Bethesda, MD. 83 Pp. Washington, DC. 1 0 pp. Thomas, Jack Ward. 1 994. Statement Concerning Implementation of Ecosystem Management Strategies USDA Forest Service and USD1 Bureau of Land before the Subcommittee on Agricultural Research, Management. 1 995. Record Notice/Decision Record Conservation, and Forest and General Legislation, Finding No Significant Impact: Environmental Committee on Agriculture, U.S. Senate, April 14, 1994. Assessment for the Interim Strategies for Managing A nadromous Fish-producing Watersheds in Eastern Unger, David G. 1993. National Hierarchical Frameworkof Oregon and Washington, Idaho, and Portions of Ecological Units. Directive to Regional Foresters, Station California. Washington, DC. 72 pp. plus appendixes.

278 Epilogue

A 90-Year Learning Experience environments. Thus, a new management principle And It Isn't Finished Yet for reducing or limiting game herds to the capacity of their habitats emerged a 1 80-degree shift away from predator control as a primary game manage- It is difficult to find a more expressive way to sum- ment measure. marize the 90 years of managing national forest multiple uses from 1905 to 1995 than that expressed For many decades, timber harvesting on national in the title of the book: "A 90-Year Learning Experi- forests, particularly clearcutting, was seen as bene- ence and It Isn't Finished Yet." In 1905, the basic ficial to elk and other wildlife populations. Clearcuts technical knowledge and underlying science of increased the horizontal diversity of forests, improved America's forests and forest managers was, at best, wildlife food and forage supplies, and expanded extremely limited. There was much to be learned edge effects and related habitats. n the 1960's, from research, experience, and resource responses however, elk interests observed behavioral distur- to use and management practices. At that time, and bances among some of their favorite herds in the in the following decades, management was largely Rocky Mountains. They raised questions about the driven by the demand for the use of national forest adequacy of the current management direction for resources. elk habitat. Major research studies were undertaken in timbered elk habitat areas over a 15-year period Resource use, however, was balanced by an equal to evaluate timber sale layouts, logging, and road or greater concern for protecting the resources from construction with other factors that needed to be destructive forces fire, insects, disease, and wind taken into account in integrating elk herd habitat and for their continued viability and production requirements with timber management activities. as natural cover types with a strong emphasis on The findings and recommendations from these watershed protection and maintenance of favorable studies led to a revised elk management strategy. waterflows. The coordination between watershed protection and the management of other resource Selection harvesting was the early recommended uses was basic to all national forest management silvicultural practice for managing and regenerating from the beginning, and it remains so to this day. old-growth Douglas-fir stands on national forests. Only the scale of this effort and its methods have But national forest managers, in time, learned that changed as uses have expanded and watershed the practice made selectively harvested stands management technology has improved. Watershed subject to windthrow and timber losses. Thus, they protection and maintenance of waterflows have shifted to harvesting and regenerating with clearcuts. remained the primary and dominant concern of In doing so, they also quickly learned that clear- national forest management throughout its first nine cutting was more economically efficient than other decades. Where wildfire or other natural events or silvicultural systems. Over the years, clearcut sizes shortfalls in use or management caused impairments, were reduced to improve the success of natural early stabilization and rehabilitation were a top pri- regeneration and to reduce landscape disturbance. ority. Except for the South Fork of the Salmon River Landscape architects were employed to develop event, there have been few, if any, major watershed design and location techniques to blend clearcut and waterflow disasters on National Forest System boundaries into the landscape to simulate natural lands. openings. In the last two decades, alternatives to clearcutting have been increasingly used to reduce There have been many changes in management the total area clearcut in all forest types. policies and practices. In the early decades, using predator control to help build up big game herds The idea of setting aside large areas of pristine forest was an accepted and desirable wildlife management lands as wilderness preserves emerged on national practice. In time, however, it became evident in forests in the 1920's, and by the 1950's, 15 million many places that such herds were exceeding their acres were being planned for such designation. Wil- habitat capacity and impairing their own living derness interests supported this national forest initia-

279 Epilogue

tive but took issue with the National Forest System's of forest stands. Today, on certain forests, periodic approach to wilderness identification and location burns or wildfires are seen as essential in sustaining when they perceived that it as biased toward fire-dependent forest ecosystems. maximizing commercial forest area available for timber harvest. These interests influenced Congress The 1969 Douglas-fir study examined the feasibility to withdraw the Forest Service's authority to designate of increasing national forest timber supplies from wilderness in 1 964 and to give it to Congress a high-value old-growth Douglas-fir timber stands in step that ultimately led to a relaxation of the pristine the Pacific Northwest. It evaluated different harvest standard for national forest wilderness designation. levels and timber management intensities for both National forest managers, nevertheless, have contin- the first and second rotations. Unexpectedly, the ued to manage wilderness areas to pristine standards study found that the current harvests could not be without objection from wilderness interests. During sustained into the next rotation with the current the 1 980's, congressional designation of national management intensity. This led to a new policy for forest wilderness increased the total area of wilder- nondeclining timber harvests. The nondeclining ness to more than 30 million acres more than timber harvest policy altered sustainable harvest double the area that national forest managers had calculations from a timber inventory plus growth originally planned to designate. method during the first rotation to the calculated growth potential that the current management would An early policy objective on national forests was the support in the next rotation. The direct implication prompt suppression of forest fires. The national forest of this new policy was a need to reduce national goal was to reduce the threat of commercial timber forest timber harvests to the level that the current losses; the risk of loss of regenerating and immature management intensity could sustain into the next forests; the threat of damages to soil, streamfiows, rotation. Congress, however, opted to turn this and community water supplies; and the threat of implication inside out and instead raise the intensity wildfire to community citizens, residences, property, of management to a level that would sustain current and other developments. harvest into the next rotation a decision that led to major increases in reforestation and timber stand When it became evident in the 1960's that effective improvement investments. Today, national forest wildfire suppression was contributing to major fuel timber management planning determines long-term buildups on many forests, the management objec- sustained timber yield capacity for fully managed tives shifted to forest fuel and fire management. long-term forest conditions jointly with established Under these objectives, where wilderness guidelines management objectives for other multiple uses and prescribed minimum or no human intervention, existing timber management intensity. The allowable natural wildfires in wilderness were allowed to burn sale quantity is equal to, or more generally less than, themselves out naturally. Elsewhere, wildfires were the long-term sustained yield because current trend allowed to consume accumulating fuels where the conditions are often less than those for a fully potential damage was limited and expected to be managed future forest. less than the costs of suppressing a wildfire or where a wildfire could accomplish a planned management The rapid growth of wildlife, fishery, recreation, and objective for improving wildlife habitat or some aesthetic uses on national forests in the 1950's, other resource objective. 1 960's, and 1 970's greatly increased the need for better national forest planning and management Prescribed burns were introduced as a management integration and coordination of these uses with com- tool to reduce excessive forest fuel loadings that modity production. This rapid growth also expanded were becoming "difficult-to-control" wildfire haz- the need for specialized expertise and staffing for ards and to meet other forest management objectives these resources - a development that steadily and for wildlife habitat, range improvement, or favorable greatly broadened the disciplinary skills and man- ground conditions for forest regeneration and growth agement capabilities on national forests.

280 A 90-Year Learning Experience and It Isn't Finished Yet

Other, more specific, environmental legislation such interest groups, and individuals and more responsive as the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Endangered adaptive management decisions. Nevertheless, Species Acts and other acts passed during the1970's conflicts among various interest groups about the and1980'ssimilarly called for new criteria and proper use and management of the national forests standards. The Endangered Species Act of1973,for have not been eliminated, nor have Federal approp- example, required a stronger emphasis on managing riation and budget limitations on implementing national forests for endangered, threatened, and national forest programs. sensitive animal and plant species an emphasis that grew rapidly as the list of threatened and endan- The Ecosystem Connection gered species rapidly expanded in the1980's.The environmental laws also required that Federal land The adoption of the ecosystem approach to national and resource managers inform and involve the forest management in1992expands the need for public in resource planning and decisionmaking new science, knowledge, technology, and technical processes. skills, even more opening the door for a new90- year learning experience in effectively implementing The National Environmental Policy Act of1970 the ecosystem approach. Its first requirement is that (NEPA) and the National Forest Management Act of national forest lands, waters, and resources be 1976(NFMA) established new criteria and standards reclassified according to the national hierarchical for planning and managing multiple uses on national framework of ecological units, which in itself will be forests which called for management changes, inno- an important basic learning experience. Fortunately, vations, and adaptations to ensure higher environ- after two decades of research and analysis, the mental quality on national forests. This was a Forest Service will be ready with the hierarchy of massive challenge national forests constitute ecoregions and ecosystem units for the United States almost one-twelfth of the Nation's lands and waters (USDA Forest Service1995)and the principles for and fully one-eighth of its forests and rangelands. defining and mapping ecosystem boundaries at their The new science, knowledge, technology, and various geographic scales (Bailey1996).Defining technical skills required to implement the new and establishing the boundaries of ecosystem units criteria and standards were to come much more within national forests is the first, basic step for an slowly. The actual implementation of this new effective System-wide approach in managing and management technology, as it becomes available, sustaining ecosystems, their resources, and their will come even more slowly because management habitats. It will also require new resource inventories activities in any one year touch only a small reflecting the on-the-ground ecosystem structure and percentage of the191million acres of national forest classification not only for National Forest System lands and waters. lands, but for other ownerships as well. This will take time. It will be several years before a System- Public participation in national forest planning and wide ecosystem approach can be uniformly and implementation of management projects, on the effectively implemented on the ground among the other hand, expanded very rapidly and led to accel- wide variety of ecological units that range in scale erated appeals and litigation. Such appeals raised from broad ecoregions measured in tens of issues that led to new National Forest System guide- thousands of square miles, their smaller subregions, lines on how to inform and involve the public in landscape zones of similar land types measured in national forest activities, how to respond to the ex- thousands and hundreds of acres, and local land panded public's interest and input, and how to reach units such as cliff and cave sites, riparian areas, better decisions leading to better quality national small marshes, and other specific site conditions that forest management plans and plan implementation are measured by a few hundred to less than ten and more effective decisions for managing multiple acres. uses (USDA Forest Service1981-1 992).National forest managers have also worked to develop more Understanding the biological and physical working effective two-way communication with the public, relationships within ecosystems, the interactions

281 Epilogue

among their subunits, and their response to fitting The ecosystem approach to national forest manage- many uses within them are a new earning challenge ment has always been reflected in the national as well as a management challenge. Such learning forests' primary emphasis on protecting and main- and management is underway in the Pacific taining watersheds and waterflows in the manage- Northwest and northern California under the North- ment of all other multiple uses. The wide array of west Forest Plan and the interim strategy (PACFISH) research natural areas, initially established in the for anadromous fisheries in the Interior Columbia 1 920's in cooperation with the Ecological Society of Basin Cooperative Management Project and else- America, now represents the tremendous natural where in more local national forest situations. This heritage and diversity of ecosystems found on approach requires managers to consider the effects National Forest System lands. They reflect a genuine of use and management on local ecosystem units concern for comparing the performance of managed and their interactions with each other over time forests with natural ecosystems. within the framework of the structure and functions of the broader ecoregions and landscapes within The strong focus on rehabilitating the acquired, badly which the local units occur. Such coordination and beaten, and often burned Eastern national forest integration appear to involve much judgment as well lands from 1911 to the present has been a deliberate as much uncertainty. and successful effort to restore the degraded ecosystems they once constituted. The work of Jack The need to consider resource management and its Ward Thomas in integrating wildflfe habitat manage- ecosystem effects on other public and private owner- ment with timber management on four national ships adds another complex dimension. The current forests totaling nearly 4 million acres in the Blue state-of-the-art (the existing knowledge, science, and Mountains of Oregon and Washington in many ways experience) of resource management will contribute was an early practical and successful demonstration much to implementing this ecosystem approach, but of the applicability of the ecosystem management national forest managers will still need to learn by principles and approach to National Forest System doing, observing, evaluating, researching, and management (Thomas 1979). adapting to changes in ecosystem conditions and new ecosystem knowledge and understanding as Thus, the concern about ecosystem performance and they emerge over time. productivity on national forests is not new. What has changed is the knowledge and science of ecosystem Adaptive management the adjustment of manage- structures and functions and their importance in ment practices to the changing conditions and uses maintaining the diversity, health, productivity, and of ecosystems over time is a corollary of the sustainability of ecosystems. The enormous growth learning process and will become the path to the in the level and diversity of uses and the changing future just as it was the path from the beginning of balance among national forest ecosystem uses have national forest management to the present. National also raised questions and even national debates forest management has been and is the fitting of about the quality of the national forest environment multiple uses into ecosystems according to their for many uses, particularly those associated with capability to support each use, compatibly with recreation activities, wildlife habitats, landscape existing uses, in ways that sustain ecosystem benefits perspectives, and forest solitude. and their supporting physical and biological resources for future generations. Itis necessarily Changing public values and the public's concerns based on the existing state of knowledge and about the quality of recreation and wildlife experi- science, management technology, and established ences, landscape aesthetics, and wilderness con- policies and values. This has been the underlying ditions have also contributed to issues being raised goal and nature of national forest management of by the public about the direction of natural resource uses and resources over its history and it remains so management on national forests. today and into the future.

282 A 90-Year Learning Experience and It Isn't Finished Yet

The Endangered Species Act has given top priority to management involves consideration of ecosystem restoring the viability of plant and animal species conditions beyond the borders of national forests populations that are officially listed as in danger of and collaboration with other government land- or threatened by extinction. managing agencies and private landowners as well.

The Clean Water and Clean Air Acts have raised This challenge is not new, but it is more complex. concerns about water and air quality. National forest managers from the beginning have been accustomed to coordinating the management The National Environmental Policy Act similarly has of wildlife habitats with State game commissions and elevated the general concern about environmental wildlife agencies. National forest range management quality. The National Forest Management Act has has similarly fitted the needs and management of raised standards for managing all national forest permittees' rangelands and grazing enterprises with resources. These changes have largely emerged maintaining and improving the range resource. The independently and incrementally. They constitute national forest concern for protecting and maintain- sharp shifts in resource values and management ing watersheds and waterflows has reflected the standards and, in a sense, they have come on the water needs and uses, and often the stream condi- fast track. tions, of downstream communities, ownerships, and users. Insect, disease, and wildfire control likewise The new ecosystem knowledge, science, and involved broader ecosystem consideration and management technology to implement these new coordination than national forests alone because values and standards have come more slowly. In insects, disease, and wildfires are not respecters of many ways, their development comes on a slow ownership or jurisdictional boundaries. track. Research for new technology takes time. Training or retraining of thousands of natural The ecosystem approach calls for a holistic view of resource managers cannot be accomplished over- the ecological and socioeconomic aspects of entire night. Change in natural resource use on national ecosystem landscapes and their associated rural and forests is difficult to bring about without direct urban communities. This is a formidable challenge commitments from Congress to change the manage- because the ecological knowledge, its science base, ment and production goals as well as the level of and the management technology for implementing appropriations and their balance for national forest an ecosystem approach holistically on a broad scale use and management. National forests remain over the long term are yet very limited and will resilient and responsive to management. They will develop slowly. Our experience and administrative respond to new management guidelines and stan- and political capabilities for integrating management dards that will emerge from new ecosystem manage- goals and objectives, let alone specific management ment knowledge, science, technology, and learning actions across multiple public land jurisdictions and experiences. a multitude of private ownerships, is likewise very limited. We lack established institutional arrange- National forest management will likewise respond to ments for doing so. growing demands for multiple uses according to the capabilities of ecosystems to produce them. As the The historical evolution of management of multiple learning and management experience continues, uses on national forests offers strong evidence of an national forest ecosystems will also improve in their incremental pathway to a holistic ecosystem diversity, health, productivity, and sustainability in approach to resource management (fig. 28). We now some form of dynamic growing stability. seem to be about midway along this pathway. The path, however, is very long and will involve consid- The commitment to an ecosystem approach for erable learning and long management experience managing multiple uses on national forests is a before we arrive at a fully holistic approach to massive one. It is even more challenging than the ecosystem management. area of national forests implies because ecosystem

283 Epilogue

Holistic App roach

Incremental Approach 0 0 N

Figure 28. The Pathway Hypothesis: over time, the pathway of traditional national forest management leads to a fully holistic approach to resource management.

The merger of the traditional, largely bottom-up new knowledge and technology and as public goals incremental approach of managing multiple uses and objectives for resource management and uses with the holistic, primarily top-down ecological change over time. approach to management will be complex and will develop slowly. Although planning and decision- References making will become more holistic, implementation will necessarily remain incremental use by use, Bailey, Robert G. 1996. Ecosystem Geography. Springer- area by area, year by year, decade by decade. Verlag New York, Inc., New York, NY. 204 pp. Management will remain adaptive, requiring much Thomas, Jack Ward, ed. 1 979. Wildlife Habitats in Managed judgment, until we have a credible theory, science, Forests: The Blue Mountains of Oregon and and technology for holistic management that are Washington. Agricultural Handbook No. 553. USDA widely accepted by multiple jurisdictions and Forest Service, Washington, DC. 512 pp. multiple ownerships that make up ecosystems. USDA Forest Service. 1981 (1992 Reprint). Public Participation Handbook. Intermountain Region, Ogden, Thus, implementing the ecosystem approach in UT. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. 1 70 pp. managing multiple uses on national forests will continue to be as much a learning experience as national USDA Forest Service. 1 995. Description of the Ecoregions of the United States. Compiled by Robert G. Bailey. forest management has been in the past. It will move Second edition, revised and enlarged. Misc. Pub. 1 391. forward adaptively as national forest managers con- USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC. 108 pp. tinue to learn from experience as well as adapt to

284 About the Author

Dr. John Fedkiw retired in 1993 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Secretary, where he served as a policy advisor and analyst for natural resources and environment and other program areas for almost 28 years. Before that, he was a researcher in forestry economics with the Forest Service in Portland, Oregon, and Washington D.C., from 1959 to 1965.

From 1946 to 1959, Dr. Fedkiw served with the teaching faculty of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, where he taught in forest economics, statistics, and forest management. He also served as a consultant with several major forest industry firms and has published more than 75 technical articles, papers and booklets.

Dr. Fedkiw is a recipient of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Distinguished Service Award and the President's Meritorious Executive Award. He earned his Ph.D. in agricultural economics at Cornell University in 1953. He has a masters degree (1948) from the Maxwell School of Public Administration at Syracuse University and a bachelor of science (1941) in forest management from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. He is presently serving as a volunteer with the USDA Forest Service in Washington, D.C.