Bill Giving States Land Criticized Environmentalist Says Idaho Poorly Manages Its Forests
FOR THE RECORD: 3-15-97 The Selkirk-Priest Basin Association is based in Coolin, Idaho. A Friday, March 7, article about a land management proposal incorrectly reported the location of the organization.
States shouldn’t be trusted with federal lands, an Idaho environmentalist told a Senate hearing Thursday.
The proposal by Idaho Republican Larry Craig “is founded on provincial arrogance,” said Charles Graham, of the Selkirk-Priest Basin Association of Moscow, Idaho. “We can do it better.”
Craig is considering a proposal to allow states to manage some or all of the federal lands within their borders.
If Congress approves a state’s plan, the federal government would pay for the management costs for three years, and states could keep money from mining, grazing and logging. After 10 years, states could apply for permanent possession of the land.
Graham’s criticism stirred up the most discussion in the fourth of five hearings on Craig’s proposed reform of the U.S. Forest Service. Idaho’s current forest policy shows states can’t be trusted, Graham said. “Idaho is harvesting its trust lands at unsustainable rates,” he said. “State law does not require long-term sustainability.”
Other panelists said Idaho is an anomaly. Sue Kupillas, a county commissioner from Medford, Ore., said her state manages timber lands extremely well, ensuring steady school funding.
“Management is most effective that is close to the people,” Kupillas said. “At the local level, we make sure management is responsible.”
Graham was critical of a provision of Craig’s proposal that would gradually cut the amount of federal money given to the states. That would prompt states to overuse the land, perhaps ruining it forever.
“Maximizing of returns from public lands is inherently dangerous,” Graham said in an interview after the hearing.
Idaho’s constitution mandates a maximum financial return on public lands, he said. State law does not allow appeals of logging decisions on state lands, and anyone seeking an injunction of a state timber sale must post a bond worth 10 percent of the timber sale price.
Energy and Resources Committee Chairman Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, said he supported testing federal land transfers on a small scale.
“I’m not sure some pilot programs might not be appropriate,” Murkowski said. “There’s a lack of credibility in the Forest Service today.”
The final hearing on Craig’s proposals will be in Coeur d’Alene on March 25 at the North Idaho College student union building.
, DataTimes