Jefferson forest plan flawed, illegal

Washington DC - A coalition of conservation groups today challenged U.S. Forest Service (USFS) plans to increase roadbuilding and commercial logging at the expense of protecting water quality and wild areas on the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia. The groups filed an administrative appeal of the Jefferson long-range land-use management plan with USFS headquarters in Washington DC. It is one of several appeals of national forest plans in five Southern Appalachian states being filed this week in a coordinated effort by local, state and national groups.

Among other things, the groups challenging the Jefferson forest plan charge that the agency failed to (1) adequately protect "roadless areas" - special places identified by the agency as generally pristine, (2) expand wilderness designations to meet public demand for backcountry recreation, and (3) require sufficient buffer zones to prevent muddy runoff into mountain streams, many of which form the headwaters for community drinking water supplies. They also criticize the USFS for increasing by more than 33% the planned timber harvest on the 723,300-acre forest compared to the last decade.

"We hoped to avoid appealing the plan. But the Forest Service, under the Bush Administration, has aggressively pursued development rather than conservation of the natural resources on our public lands, including the Jefferson, against scientific principles and public objections," said SELC senior attorney David Carr. The non-profit law center filed the appeal on behalf of The Wilderness Society, Sierra Club and the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition. WildLaw, another non-profit law group, is filing a similar appeal of the Jefferson plan on behalf of Virginia Forest Watch and other groups. SELC and WildLaw are filing appeals of other forest plans in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina.

"These plans took a fundamental shift after the 2000 elections," said Hugh Irwin, ecologist for SAFC, which has been involved in the forest planning process from the start. "Over the last several years we've seen a breakdown in communication between the public and the Forest Service with less willingness on their part to seek out and listen to comments. The increase in logging targets and decrease in protection of roadless and other special areas is the end result."

Initial drafts of the Jefferson management plan four years ago provided broader environmental protections than the old plan, and were the result of input from a variety of forest users. The plans were significantly weakened by the current Administration, however, in final versions released earlier this year. The groups charge the agency with violating the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Forest Management Act, the Endangered Species Act and the Administrative Procedures Act.

Logging

The plan would allow logging of 21.2 million board feet per year (MMBF) from about 36% of the forest, which the agency has determined to be "suitable" land. (A logging truck holds about 5,000 board feet.) This is more than twice the average harvest from 1997 to 2000 of 9.0 MMBF per year. Although the yearly target is less than the 1985 plan (33.8 MMBF), it does not include logging allowed on unsuitable land for insect and disease control, fuel reduction and other non-timber objectives.

Wildlife habitat and forest health are reasons the Forest Service frequently uses to justify its clearcutting and burn projects. However, public lands are the best place to ensure protected habitat for the many species that rely on mature, unfragmented forest. Further, the agency ignored the findings of one of its own employees last year that the historic, natural conditions of the Southern Appalachian mountains supported a relatively stable, mixed-age forest that did not rely on large-scale disturbances to regenerate.

Roadless areas

The Jefferson has 156,100 acres of identified roadless area - remote wild lands that provide premiere recreation opportunities. A federal rule adopted in January 2001 gave lasting protection to all the nation's roadless areas, but the Bush Administration has blocked it at every turn. If the rule is ultimately reversed, 79% of the Jefferson's roadless acreage would be vulnerable to logging, roadbuilding or other harmful activities under the new management plan.

Wilderness areas

Wilderness designation is the strongest environmental protection for our public lands. The Jefferson currently has 57,655 acres in wilderness. The plan calls for extending six of those areas by a total of 9,700 acres, and adding three new wilderness areas totaling 15,500. The groups support this increase, but advocate designating another ten new areas totaling 45,700. In their appeal, the groups noted that USFS studies show an increase in demand for wilderness nationwide of 171% by 2050, and that 92% of the citizens who commented on wilderness in the draft plans for the five Southern Appalachian national forests supported wilderness and/or adding more wilderness areas.

Last week, bills were introduced in Congress calling for 28,400 acres of new wilderness in the Jefferson, including three new areas not recommended in the plan, and additions to existing areas. The bill, introduced by Rep. Rick Boucher and Sen. John Warner and supported by more than 50 local govern-ments, business, organizations and officials, would also designate 11,800 acres in two new scenic areas.

Watershed protection

Restricting activities such as logging and roadbuilding along stream banks prevents silt and mud from degrading water quality and aquatic habitat. In 2000, the regional USFS set out certain measures that each forest was to use in updating its management plan. Among other things, the riparian zones were to be a fixed minimum for perennial and intermittent streams, and ephemeral streams were also to be protected. The Jefferson plan, however, excludes ephemeral streams and allows riparian corridor widths and suitability for timber harvesting to change project by project.