NFC, et.al., Files Lawsuit Against USFS & BLM to Stop Logging in PNW

6/30/99

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Plaintiffs Seek to Halt All Logging on Northwest Federal Lands

Contact: Rachel Fazio & Chad Hanson; John Muir Project: 626-792-0109
Tim Hermach, Native Forest Council: 541-688-2600
Michael Donnelly, Friends of the Breitenbush Cascades: 503-581-2616

Several environmental citizen groups filed suit today against the U.S.
Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management in an effort to stop the
continued destruction of America's last remaining native and old-growth
forests. The lawsuit seeks to halt logging on federal public lands
throughout the Pacific Northwest, charging that President Clinton's
controversial, five-year-old Northwest Forest Plan has failed to protect
the forest habitat of the endangered Northern Spotted Owl.

The Northern Spotted Owl, which is the official indicator species for the
overall health of Northwest ancient-forest ecosystems, in now declining
between four and eight times faster than the Forest Service predicted it
would under Plan, according to a recent agency report. The John Muir
Project, Native Forest Council, Earth Island Institute and Friends of the
Breitenbush Cascades request that the failed Plan be thrown out, as
required by the National Environmental Policy Act, and all logging be
halted until a new and legal plan is developed.

"We're simply asking the government to comply with the law. We don't think
that's too much to ask", said Rachel Fazio, attorney for the John Muir
Project, based in Pasadena, California. "The American people want to see
an end to the destruction of our national forests; and it's about time the
government listened," added John Muir Project Executive Director, Chad Hanson.

One of the fatal flaws of the Northwest Forest Plan was a loophole that
allowed logging in the so-called late-successional forest "reserves." The
Forest Service has consistently exploited these loopholes to conduct
massive logging operations within areas that should have been protected.
Recent analysis shows that over 20% of all timber sales have been inside
the reserves. Additionally, the Forest Service has been logging suitable
spotted-owl habitat several times faster than indicated when the Plan was
unveiled, leading to declines in numerous other forest species.

While not an underpinning of the suit, the suing organizations also contend
that the "legacy" effects of past over-cutting coupled with continued
logging include large-scale erosion of steep slopes that contribute to
degraded watersheds that harm both fish and municipal water supplies.
Other industries that are dependent on healthy public forests and
watersheds, such as tourism and hospitality operations, are also harmed by
the continued desolation of public forests.

"After decades of myths, lies & destruction, we now demand an honest and
fully-costed accounting of our public assets. None now exists," said Tim
Hermach, Executive Director of the Native Forest Council, based in Eugene,
Oregon. As recently stated by, House Banking Committee Chairman James A.
Leach (R-IA), "It's time for the landlord to stop paying the renter to
trash the house."

"Our public forests and watersheds are being trashed by logging interests
and we pay for it with our hard-earned tax dollars and our lives.
Indicator species like the spotted owl, are not only indicators of the
health of our forests, but also are serve as a barometer for our own
survival", said Hermach. "President Clinton promised us a forest plan that
was ecologically sound and legally defensible; but it's neither", added
Michael Donnelly, President of the Oregon-based Friends of the Breitenbush
Cascades.

For a copy of the suit go to: http://www.forestcouncil.org/news/lawsuit.pdf
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Tim Hermach
Native Forest Council
PO Box 2190
Eugene, OR 97402
541.688.2600; fax 689.9835 or 461.2156
web page: http://www.forestcouncil.org
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