We Still Can’t See Forest For The Trees

When Jack Ward Thomas arrived as chief of the U.S. Forest Service, environmental groups celebrated. Last week when he resigned, they celebrated again.

The story of his rise and fall raises a question: If this celebrated scientist couldn’t break the deadlock over management of our national forests, who can? And if no one can, what should become of these lands, which have serious problems that only decisive management can address?

Thomas enjoyed initial popularity with environmental groups because his scientific analysis of the spotted owl’s plight had led to a result the groups applauded: logging shutdowns.

Thomas changed from a hero to a bad guy when his scientific analysis of forest health in the intermountain West led him to support salvage logging, which environmental groups oppose.

The constant in this saga is a rabid opposition to logging.

As many in the timber industry now acknowledge, loggers have made mistakes over the years and natural ecosystems have suffered as a result. But foresters have learned from the mistakes and are changing practices so that logging can coexist with water quality and wildlife diversity. That’s a good thing. Americans need forest products and it makes sense to get them from U.S. workers and U.S. lands, which have been among the world’s most productive - and could remain so, if managed well. The alternative is to import forest products from countries with far less enlightened forest management policies.

So it makes good sense to manage national forests as federal laws intend - as a renewable source of wood, among other things.

When Thomas set out to apply those laws he ran headlong into the political agenda of the logging foes. In a speech delivered on March 27, 1995, Thomas noted that some Western forests are in poor condition and pose a growing risk of unnaturally intense fires that threaten both human life and the ecosystem’s ability to recover. The solution, he said, must include salvage logging of dead and dying trees.

“To do otherwise, in my opinion, is to shy away from our responsibility to simultaneously care for the land and serve people. As chief, I can no longer abide … a creeping management paralysis arising out of fear of controversy and the potential of challenge to every action. … We seem increasingly mired in a swamp of laws, regulations and case law.”

Those were prophetic words. He will leave next month but the paralysis won’t. What a shame.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = John Webster/For the editorial board