Kitzhaber blasts Bush plan on environmental laws in forests

Friday, September 13, 2002

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SALEM, Ore. -- Gov. John Kitzhaber said President Bush's proposal to sidestep environmental laws to speed up thinning in national forests violates the spirit of a bipartisan plan to reduce wildfires put together by Western governors.

"The 10-year plan makes it clear that the forest health treatments are to be done in a way that meets federal environmental laws," the Democratic governor said in a letter sent Wednesday to the Oregon congressional delegation.

Kitzhaber noted that while the Bush administration has "put tremendous energy" into finding ways to shortcut environmental protections, it has consistently cut funding for National Fire Plan projects.

"The administration cut funds for local community assistance this last year, reduced funding levels in the Fire Plan accounts, and reluctantly released emergency funds only after significant political pressure," Kitzhaber said.

The Bush administration presented its Healthy Forest Initiative to Congress last week. The package of bills would scale back environmental studies and eliminate appeals of logging projects intended to reduce the risk of wildfires on 10 million acres of federal forests over the next 10 years.

Kitzhaber urged members of Oregon's congressional delegation that any legislation they consider must be consistent with the comprehensive fire plan developed by Western governors.

The agreement was signed by Interior Secretary Gale Norton and Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman on behalf of the Bush administration four months ago.

Kitzhaber noted that the Bush proposal would allow the secretaries to ignore the National Environmental Policy Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act in the name of speeding up projects, and prevent the public from seeking administrative appeals or court orders stopping logging.

"This course of action puts at risk the delicate consensus for action that we have so painstakingly achieved, and threatens once again to polarize the debate over timber policy in the West," the governor said.

"The greatest fear I have is that it will undermine the trust that is critical to ongoing collaboration necessary to strategically invest in the health of our forest ecosystems across whole landscapes."

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