Forest Service Plays God By Mike Roselle Freedom-Hating Bureaucrats Strike Again

We still don’t know how these healthy trees were pronounced dead, or why 

The Freddies decided that this timber sale was not in a roadless area, or would not harm the historic trail corridor. All we have is the word of the Powell District Ranger Joni Packard, and no proof that anyone had even checked. It may now be impossible to say one way or the other, something that no doubt fueled the Freddies zeal in getting rid of any pesky evidence that they had committed a crime in selling live old growth trees in a Roadless Area adjacent to a National Historic Trail. Having lied about the real purpose of the timber sale, they had to lie again to cover up the fact that they had lied in the first place.

We can only hope that the Ninth Circuit Court can see through this thin gruel and put a stop to this fraud. A bad decision here will mean that there is no place outside a federally designated Wilderness Area or National Park where they cannot log just by saying its good for the forest and not having to offer any proof. And of course the Timber Industry would love to log in our Parks and Wildernesses if they could get away with it, there being some laws that even they won’t break. What this really proves is that the United States Forest Service as an agency simply cannot be trusted to manage the 220-million acres of public forests in the interests of the people. It is corrupt and incapable of reform.

This corruption has been well documented, and goes back more than fifty years. For every success conservationists have had getting protection for the forests the Freddies have come back stronger somewhere else. Now they log with impunity, having been released from the responsibilities of following their own regulations. They will simply say that in order to save the forest, they had to log it. Not even photos of the live trees and testimony of expert witnesses could be seen as a challenge to the divine rights of government foresters to declare what is good for us. And yes, it will be more logging in every case.

What gets lost in this debate is the fact that forestry is not a science, its is dogma and obfuscation, forestry is logging, plain and simple. Some foresters say that it is more of an art, but what kind of art leaves in its wake the destruction of whole ecosystems? What kind of art takes the water out of our creeks and the soil of our slopes? This so-called art has been practiced for thousands of years and in every case the results are the same: the practice of forestry leads to the loss of the forest. No art, no science, just timber, a commodity that provides a few short term jobs and big profits for the traders and distributors, and more promotions for the Freddies who get the cut out.

Economics has been called the dismal science but any honest economic analysis of the nations public forests would lead you to conclude that taking all of the foresters and road builders out of U.S. Forest Service’s annual three-billion dollar budget would not only save billions of dollars over then next few decades but would provide billions more in new economic benefits, which include enhanced ecological services like healthier streams, more carbon storing biomass, more productive soils, and, of course, more wildlife and recreation. Foresters have become a new Samurai class, a cult of tree killers, a holdover from the feudal past and a burden to society. It is well past time for them to abandon the field altogether, get honest work and become productive members of the economy. If they are allowed to continue to shape the debate over the future of the world the result will be smaller trees, thinner soils, drier creeks, more carbon in the atmosphere and less wildlife.

As the public begins to grapple with the issue of climate change, new coalitions are forming to respond to the challenge. This will perhaps be our last chance to put forest conservation in the forefront of national environmental policy. This can only be done if conservationists are willing to think bigger than we have been thinking in the past. We need to vastly increase the amount of forests under protection from logging, grazing and other destructive, extractive activities. We need massive restoration programs that do not involve logging, including restoring riparian forests on floodplains and protecting and restoring more wetlands. The approach must be global, but the focus needs to be here in the U.S. We are the major producers and consumers of timber products in the world. Half of the timber we use is in the form of pulp and paper. Most of the remaining timber is used in inefficient ways. Without a drastic reduction in both per capita and overall consumption of timber, current conservation efforts will fail.

I have never believed that the cult of Forestry could be reformed. I have always felt that it would need to be defeated. The only truly protected areas in the world are those protected from Forestry. Forestry means lying to people and telling them it won’t hurt the forest if you just take a few trees out. It’s all very scientific. I’m sure this is what the Roman foresters said to Persians when they logged Iran.

Adjusting to climate change will be the biggest challenge this planet has ever faced. The most important solution is to drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Since the logging, burning and conversion of forests are a major contributor to global emissions and forest conservation offers the best and most economically viably way to absorb atmospheric carbon, conservation sciences must now be given the higher priority. After all, this is not just about economics, it’s about all of us who depend on clean air and water, and who wish to protect our planet for future generations. 

Freedom-Hating Bureaucrats like Powell District Ranger Joni Packard will probably never understand that the world is changing and their days are numbered. Her actions prove that we still have to be very diligent over the next few years while these timber pimps are going after the last roadless forests, the last stands of old growth, and any other of our national treasures they can put up for auction. We must not give up on places like Wendover Ridge or let them forget the Memorial Day Massacre. We will be following developments in court and on the ground, and will be pushing for an investigation into how these decisions were made.

Please call Ranger Joni Packard at the Powell Ranger Station and let you know what you think about her letting the loggers onto the Lewis and Clark Trail. Her number is 208 942-3133.  Or e-mail Ranger Packard at jpackard@fs.fed.us.