U.S. Forest Service

Environmentalists and the timber industry, in a continuing war over logging on millions of acres of ancient forests on federal land, have joined the debate about the agency's future. What is up for review is not only its principal policies, but its employees and its procedures. Recently, the agency offered early retirement to more than 2,300 employees tied to the timber program. The agency is trying to retain people like biologists, hydrologists, recreation specialists, and even sociologists, reflecting a broader interest in managing the many aspects of the forest.

In a clear signal that the agency's priorities are shifting, President Clinton selected Jack Ward Thomas, one of the agency's top scientists and the principal author of plans dealing with the spotted owl, as chief of the Forest Servic

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mmended the cessation of all logging--including salvage operations--in reserve areas unless such logging could be shown to benefit the owls. The new plan of the Administration shifts the burden of proof, allowing salvage operations that pose no threat to the owl. Some scientists believe that some salvage harvesting is necessary because it will reduce the threat of forest fires and of massive outbreaks of tree disease. Furthermore, according to Thomas, the plan places salvage logging under heavy restrictions. It can only be used in areas that suffer more than one acre of damage from fires or pests and only to trees smaller than 20 inches in diameter. Thomas states that the larger diameter trees are more valuable to the forest than the smaller diameter trees. Clearcutting, another logging technique practiced by lumber companies in addition to salvaging, causes damage to the soil. Fungi, worms, bacteria, and other microbes that can nourish plants or protect them from disease are lost--and this loss can impair efforts to restore forests. Trees provide a source of carbon to subterranean microbes so that when forests are clearcut, some microbes are starved of nutrients. Conversely, soil microbes help nourish trees by provid
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Forest Service, Pacific Northwest, Clinton Administration, Team FEMAT, Jim Lyons, Pulp Corporation, President Clinton, Brian Greber, Babbitt Administration's, Theodore Roosevelt, spotted owl, forest service, board feet, dead wood, administration's forest plan, timber cut, trees provide, salvage logging, forest fires, total synthesis, cushman john jr, august 1993,
Approximate Word count = 1623
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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