The U.S. Forest Service manages 193 million acres of the peoples’ property, to which all Americans are entitled to claim ownership and enjoy. But the Trump Administration has embarked on a tawdry stewardship.
Already downsized, the Service has seen 3,400 of its employees fired thanks to the Dept. of Government Efficiency. In words of former Forest Chief Mike Dombeck, taking a break from hunting in northern Wisconsin, the result is “creation of chaos.”
As a boy, introduction to hiking at Mt. Baker at age six made me a cradle conservationist. District Ranger Ross Files deployed trails crews and designed timber sales to open such places to recreation, and we often had those places to ourselves.
The situation has since flipped. Trail use and overnight camping have surged. But trail maintenance has fallen almost entirely to volunteers. The Seattle Times has reported on trash in the Enchantment Lakes, the most-sought-after reservation in the nation.
To what end is the Trump regime imposing cuts and chaos? Donnell notes its “cruel treatment” and “demeaning” of employees, plus the President’s directive to cut more timber. He notes, however, that stepped-up cutting requires increased effort to lay out timber sales. “The workloads are increasing significantly.”
The Trump toadies are moving to roll back the Roadless Rule, dating from the Clinton Administration, which prevents logging and road building over 58 million acres of national forest land. The repeal would be most acutely felt in temperate rain forecasts of the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. Tandi Slovak, from the Center for Biodiversity, sums up likely consequences: “Clearcutting these beautiful places will increase fire risks, drive species to extinction, pollute our river streams, and destroy world-class recreation sites.”
Meanwhile, forest ecosystems have changed. Cutting trees used to fill federal coffers. Today, the country has a $13-billion outdoor-recreation economy which supports some 200,000 jobs. Sen. Maria Cantwell stresses this asset in making the case for preservation. Our national forests have other societal benefits. They absorb and store carbon dioxide. They are a source of clean drinking water.They sustain salmon runs and sports fisheries.
The public voice has been vital to preserving these public assets. In turn, Dombeck claims his old agency has been “totally transparent” in organizational changes. The Forest Service has also claimed public attention as the nation’s chief firefighting agency.
The Trump Administration would change all that. Signs are it would undercut provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act by undermining public involvement in public land use decision making.
A likely model, from the first Trump Administration: proceeding without hearing or environmental assessment on timber sales up to 4,200 acres, construction of up to 2.5 miles of roads, and permits for pipelines and fracking pads.
A Republican president, Theodore Roosevelt, crafted our national forests system. A GOP governor and senator, Dan Evans crafted the Washington Wilderness Act and gave crucial support to Alpine Lakes legislation. Now it is a Republican administration planning to take an axe to the involvement process, to our staffing, and to the trees.
This story also appears in Cascadia Advocate.
