Timber companies could move quickly to salvage dead and live trees from burned out forests on government land under legislation headed for approval in the House Resources Committee.
The bill by Rep. Greg Walden, an Oregon Republican, would allow government forest managers to bypass environmental and public reviews to permit salvage logging in forests hit by wildfires, drought, storms or other natural disasters.
Rep. Tom Udall, Santa Fe Democrat, led the opposition to the bill in the committee today, but two of his amendments were defeated on voice votes before the committee adjourned to finish the bill on another day. He expects the bill to pass.
"This will open up in a very broad way the federal lands to salvage logging," Udall said.
Walden said it can take three years to complete environmental reviews before logging is permitted and that it's common sense to harvest dead trees instead of live ones.
"People use wood - to build homes, to make paper - and that wood needs to come from somewhere," Walden said in a statement on the bill.
Some studies say forests grow back more quickly after a disaster if the land is cleared, and especially if seedlings are planted.
Critics say this approach creates "tree plantations," not natural forests supporting a range of wildlife and plants.
"Not a single bird species has ever benefited (from salvage logging) and the ones most restricted to burned-out forests disappear altogether," said Richard Hutto, a professor of ornithology at the University of Montana who joined Udall on a conference call with reporters Tuesday.Albuquerque Tribune
