PLEASE REPOST TO YOUR NETWORKS
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Volume One
(1) NEW STUDY: NORTHWEST LOGGING ROAD CONSTRUCTION
OUTPACES STREETS, HIGHWAYS
(2) THREE RECENT STUDIES LINK NORTHWEST FLOOD AND LANDSLIDE
DAMAGE TO CLEARCUTTING AND LOGGING ROADS
Volume Two
(3) GLICKMAN SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER MAKING TIMBER SUBSTITUTIONS
POSSIBLE FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE OLD GROWTH SALES
UNDER SALVAGE RIDER
(4) KETCHIKAN PULP CO. SEEKS RENEWAL OF 50-YEAR TONGASS
CUTTING CONTRACT IN CONGRESS
(5) CANADA PLANS TO CUT SALMON FLEET IN HALF THROUGH BYOUTS
(6) CANADA OFFERS ARBITRATION OF PACIFIC SALMON TREATY
DISPUTES
(7) NEW STUDY COMMISSIONED OF SALMON SURVIVAL RATES
AT WANAPUM DAM ON COLUMBIA RIVER
(8) BUDGET BATTLE CONTINUES, ESA MORATORIUM REMOVAL AND
TIMBER SALVAGE REPEAL AMENDMENTS FAIL IN SENATE
(9) GINGRICH TRIES TO CHANGE GOP IMAGE ON ENVIRONMENT,
APPOINTS HOUSE GOP ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY GROUP GETTING
MIXED REVIEWS
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BUT FIRST -- QUOTABLE QUOTES:
"A species goes out of existence every twenty seconds. Surely a new species
must come into existence every twenty seconds."....
-- Rep. Helen Chenoweth, R-ID, on the science of endangered species
(as quoted by Alexander Cockburn in 12/25 issue of The Nation):
"When man interferes with the Tao,
the sky becomes filthy,
the equilibrium crumbles,
creatures become extinct."
-- Lao-Tzu
Tao Te Ching
About 500 BC
"To me it looks like they are settling in for a seige, which is OK
unless you happen to be caught inside the walls."
-- Nat Bingham, PCFFA, commenting on the budget battle's
effect on agencies
"In some ways, we've come a very long distance and in
other ways we are mired in a swamp of confusion."
-- Speaker Newt Gingrich, summing up the first year
of the "Republican Revolution" in a recent speech.
"That is what is so bizarre about the American legal system.
Where else in the world would stealing from a phone booth be
considered more serious than polluting the earth?"
--Laura Nader, in Karen DeCrow, *Sexist Justice* (1974).
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(1) NEW STUDY: NORTHWEST LOGGING ROAD CONSTRUCTION OUTPACES STREETS,
HIGHWAYS
By SCOTT SONNER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) 12/11/95 -- Construction of logging roads in national
forests of the
Pacific Northwest has more than doubled since 1960, far outpacing new public
streets and highways in the region, according to an environmental group.
More than 325,000 miles of logging roads now crisscross public lands in
British Columbia and parts of six Northwest states -- enough to circle the
planet 13 times, the Northwest Environment Watch said in a report released
Monday.
The region has more than the 220,000 miles of public streets and highways, up
25 percent from 35 years ago, according to the Seattle-based research center.
National forest roads have more than tripled in Oregon since 1960 and more
than doubled in Idaho and Washington, the report said.
The study warns of environmental damage caused by logging roads, including
erosion and sedimentation in streams that harms dwindling salmon populations.
It urges a halt to logging road construction in the Northwestern states and
zero-growth in British Columbia. It applauds U.S. Forest Service efforts to
remove roads as a central part of watershed restoration in heavily logged
over national forests.
``Perhaps its most surprising finding is that roads have surpassed streams as
the most dominant feature of the landscape in the region,'' said Alan
Durning, the center's executive director.
``Today, outside of Alaska, more of the U.S. Northwest is accessible to
four-wheelers than to salmon,'' he said.
The following table compares highway miles and logging road miles, in
thousands of miles through 1994. The first column is streets and highways.
The second column is logging roads. The third column is total miles. State
logging roads in Oregon and Washington account for an additional 12,600 miles
of roads on public lands.
Idaho 35.7 33.5 69.2
Oregon 54.2 72.8 127.0
Washington 72.8 22.0 94.8
SE Alaska 1.8 3.6 5.4
W Montana 6.4 23.0 29.4
NW California 9.7 12.5 22.2
U.S. Northwest 180.6 167.4 348.0
British Columbia 39.2 147.8 187.0
Total 219.8 315.2 535.0
Editors Note: This report can be obtained from Northwest Environment
Watch upon request: 1402 Third Ave., Suite 1127, Seattle, WA 98101-2118
(206)447-1880. Their e-mail address is: nwwatch at igc.apc.org
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(2) THREE RECENT STUDIES LINK NORTHWEST FLOOD AND LANDSLIDE
DAMAGE TO CLEARCUTTING AND LOGGING ROADS
Editor's Note: Three recent studies have linked recent extensive flood
damage
to clearcutting of timber (particularly on steep slopes) and to the extensive
network
of logging roads punched into forested regions throughout the Northwest and
Northern
California. The most convincing study was done by Gordon Grant, a
hydrologist
with the US Forest Service's Pacific Research Station in Corvallis, OR and
Julie Jones of Oregon State University. It is to be published in the April
issue
of Water Resources Research, the Journal of the American Geophysical Union.
The Grant Study was based on 40 years of data from the Willamette
National
forest, and found that clearcuts and logging roads increased peak flows in
mountain streams by 20% to 50% The effects diminish gradually, but were
still
apparent 25 years later. This study was completed BEFORE the recent floods
and deals with more normal or average rainfall conditions. It has been
extensively
peer reviewed and has been termed by colleagues as very persuasive.
Shortly after the floods the Pacific Rivers Council contracted with
Pacific
Watershed Associations, a well-known and highly respected engineering firm,
to do aerial overflight studies of damage watersheds on public lands, with
some
startling results. The damage was so extensive in many streams that it is
likely a whole year class of salmon has been lost. Among those runs most
affected are many so severely depressed that they qualify for listing under
the endangered species act. The text of the Pacific Watersheds study is
included below.
Two days after the flood waters receded, the Association of Forest
Service Employees for Environmental Ethics (AFSEEE) also did an aerial
assessment of its own (using well accepted observer protocols) of the
Mapleton Ranger District, and found the following results:
"A total of 185 landslides from the February 1996
storm was recorded. Of these, 114 were in-unit slides, 68 were
road-related slides, and 3 were natural, in-forest slides."
"On average, road-related slides appeared substantially
larger than in-unit slides, which is also consistent with previous
studies. Road-related slides also appeared to cause more
damage to streams; several large debris torrents were triggered
by road failures."
This report is also included below.
Forest Service flood damage surveys will take some time to complete,
but preliminary estimates exceeded $40 million in road damage alone,
excluding any damage to fish and wildlife due to widespread mass
failures and siltation. Many important salmon producing areas suffered
extensive damage. (Oregonian 2/14/96)
On the basis of these studies and the incoming reports of serious damage
to USFS and BLM lands and salmon streams in the path of the storm, Pacific
Rivers Council and PCFFA held a joint press conference February 16th to
release
damage reportsand call for a complete moratorium on road building, logging
and
other soil disturbing practices on public lands most affected by the storm
until
storm damage can be fully assessed and mitigation measures can be taken.
When storm damage reports are more complete, we may renew this effort.
It makes no sense to continue activities which we know will exacerbate the
damage and cause yet more damage to salmon runs already nearly destoyed
in the worst natural disaster salmon have faced in a century.
--
The Editor
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Preliminary Executive Summary
Post-Storm Aerial Reconnaissance of the
Middle Oregon Cascades and Middle Coast Range
prepared by
William Weaver, Ph.D.
Pacific Watershed Associates
Geomorphic Studies* Erosion & Sedimentation Processes* Wildland
Hydrology* Erosion Control
Box 4433* Arcata, California* 95521* 707-839-5130
Purpose
On February 14-15 Pacific Watershed Associates of Arcata, California,
conducted an aerial survey of storm damage in the Middle Oregon
Cascades and Middle Coast Range. The purpose of the reconnaissance
was to provide an immediate post-storm assessment of
the nature, magnitude and spatial distribution of watershed erosion and
impacts to stream channels which serve as habitat for anadromous
salmonids, resident trout and other riparian resources. A second objective
was to visually determine the association between watershed variables, land
use practices and landslide activity triggered by the storm. A total of 9
hours of aerial reconnaissance was conducted during which I viewed a
portion of a number of watersheds and smaller sub-basin areas. This
review was not intended to be a complete or thorough inventory of
storm-related landsliding and watershed impacts.
Areas reviewed
Rivers and watershed areas reviewed in the Cascades included portions of
the North Fork Middle Fork Willamette River, the McKenzie River and the
Santiam River basin. In the Coast Range, a number of mountainous areas
were also reviewed, including portions of the Smith River basin, the
Suislaw River, the Alsea River, the Yakina River and several small coastal
watersheds which drain directly to the Pacific Ocean between Reedsport
and Waldport.
Summary Observations
* Watersheds and stream channels in many drainage basins of the both the
middle Cascades and the middle Coast Range have been hard hit by the
February 1996 storm. Sub-basins which were observed during this
reconnaissance to be especially impacted include Quartz Creek and Blue
River (tributaries to the McKenzie River), Quartzville Creek (a tributary to
the Middle Santiam River), Hadsall and Knowles Creeks (tributaries to the
Suislaw River), and Lobster Creek (a tributary to the Alsea River), among
others.
* Damage is widespread and highly variable from watershed to watershed
and is not limited to the human infrastructure. Many rivers and stream
channels have received extensive new deposits of both organic debris and
fresh sediment. Some streams have been impacted much more than others.
Some new organic debris may be beneficial in the long run, but the heavy
sediment deposition insome rivers and streams is likely to affect channel
morphology and aquatic habitat for decades.
* The cause of variations in the extent of watershed damage from basin to
basin is under investigation. The greatest concentration of landsliding and
watershed damage occurred or originated in recently clear cut areas and in
areas with logging roads built on steep slopes. However, not all managed
areas were heavily impacted.
* It appears that the greatest damage occurred in watersheds with a
combination of steep slopes and/or unstable bedrock geology, recent
harvesting high road densities (or roads built on steep slopes), and within
an altitude range where precipitation intensities were probably the greatest
(1500 feet for the Coast Range and 3000 feet for the Cascades). In the
absence of recent land management (roads and clear cutting) it appears that
similar watershed areas experienced much less severe damage.
The most heavily impacted watersheds in the Cascades ranged in elevation
between 2,500 to 3,500 feet Watersheds lower than 2,500 feet and higher
than 3,500 feet elevation showed substantially less damage. Higher
watershed areas are less managed and probably retained their snow cover
during the storm while lower watersheds do not contain as many managed
steep, unstable slopes. In the Coast Range, most damage occurred on
managed lands near the 1500 foot elevation, level where slopes are steepest
and precipitation was probably the greatest.
Landsliding is the most visible erosion process that has been triggered and
dramatically accelerated by the storm. Approximately 60 landslides were
documented in the Cascades and twice that many in the Coastal
watersheds. An estimated total of 500 landslides were observed during the
limited reconnaissance.
There were many landslides in the 100 to 1,000 cubic yard size range, a
large number in the 1,000 to 5,000 cubic yard size range and a few very
large slides estimated to exceed 10,000 cubic yards in volume.
Most landslides delivered large quantities of sediment to stream channels
and many traveled as "torrents" or mud flows for hundreds or thousands of
feet down hillslopes and stream channels before coming to rest in larger
stream beds and river channels. It is estimated that over 80% of the
observed landslides delivered sediment directly to stream channels.
The frequency of landslides within recently clear-cut areas and along forest
roads was much higher than for comparable watersheds in middle elevation
wilderness or unmanaged areas. Increased rates of landsliding was clearly
associated with forest land use activities.
* Some watersheds displayed only localized landsliding while others
showed widespread landsliding activity. In both areas, landsliding was
almost always associated with managed areas (clear cuts and/or roads).
* Several 40 to 50 year old harvest areas in the Coast Range also showed
considerable debris torrenting and landsliding in steep stream channels.
* Logging roads in both the Cascades and the Coast Range were common
sites for landslides triggered by the storm. Most of these landslides also
delivered sediment to stream channels. Many forest roads have been
heavily damaged and will require substantial efforts if they are to be
rebuilt.
Many probably should not be rebuilt, but will still require considerable
preventive treatment to stabilize them against future erosion. Roads
located on steep slopes and near stream channels were much more prone to
landsliding and failure than roads built on moderate or gentle upland
terrain.
*In some watersheds, stream channels have been heavily impacted with
sediment and logs.
* Debris torrents in steep channels have scoured the stream bed down to
bedrock while large log jams and sediment accumulations have been
deposited at the mouths of tributaries.
* A number of main tributary streams have experienced considerable
sediment deposition as material is washed in from the steeper channel
systems.
* Many of the riparian stands of hardwood trees along major streams and
rivers have not been uprooted or destroyed. Flood flows were often high
enough to move and rearrange large logs and organic debris within the
channel system, and to introduce new material (sediment and logs) from
the steeper tributaries, but not enough to strip flood plains of their
vegetative cover.
Wilderness areas and unmanaged slope areas showed comparably little
storm damage and impacts.
* The mid-elevation portions of six different wilderness areas and several
unmanaged watersheds were also reviewed to compare storm impacts
against managed areas. A few recent landslides were observed in steep
stream channels in wilderness slopes but the rate of landsliding (landslide
frequency) was very low compared to managed areas especially compared
to those which had been recently clear cut. Some wilderness areas
contained no visible landslides or stream channel damage.
* In the most impacted wilderness basins observed in the coast range less
than 10% of the debris torrent tracks were active this storm. Midslope
landslides in wilderness areas were not observed. In contrast, in some
recently clear cut basins in the nearby Siuslaw River basin, up to 70% of
the headwater swales and torrent tracks were activated by this storm, and
midslope landslides were common.
Conclusions
Some tentative conclusions can be drawn from these observations:
* Land use (clear cutting and road building) in some areas and sub-basins
has a high risk of resulting in landsliding and stream channel damage.
Some types of land use activities may be inappropriate in these areas
* Removal of vegetation from steep swales in watersheds where debris
torrenting is a common landsliding process will greatly increase the number
of such landslides which occur during a large storm.
* Road construction by side casting on steep slopes is hazardous and will
result in greatly increased rates of landsliding and stream sedimentation.
* When the next storm occurs (whether or not it is of lesser or greater
magnitude), additional landsliding and erosion will occur in these
watersheds. Many existing logging roads show signs of pending slope
failure and active clearcutting in these watersheds is occurring on terrain
shown to be sensitive to increased landsliding.
* Stream channels will continue to be impacted by the erosion and
landsliding which was triggered by this storm event as bare soil areas gully,
remaining unstable landslide material continues to fail and move down
slope, and sediment deposited in headwater streams is re-eroded and
moved down into the larger streams and river systems.
* The impacts of coarse sediment introduced into streams and rivers by
landsliding and road failures may persist for decades, depending on
transport rates.
* The impacts to lower, larger streams and rivers may actually increase
over the near term (next several years) as sediment from the headwater
areas is moved downstream and deposited in lower gradient reaches.
* Restoration measures for sediment already delivered to the stream system
by landslides and road failures will be impractical and not cost-effective
* Many road systems and road segments that have not yet failed can still be
pro-actively treated (upgraded or decommissioned) so they do not fail
during future storms. This type of treatment will be most effective and
cost-effective. In areas that are most at risk (roads on steep slopes, roads
built near stream channels, roads built by side casting, and abandoned and
unmaintained roads).
* Prevention of landslides from harvested(clear cut) slopes is dependent on
the recognition and avoidance of sites with high risk characteristics. For
example, clear cutting some watershed areas exhibiting steep headwater
swales appears to have dramatically increased landslide activity. Once cut,
the slopes are vulnerable for a period of years until they are well
vegetated.
In sensitive watersheds or where downstream aquatic resources are
threatened, clear-cut harvesting on these sensitive slope locations is best
avoided.
* Future restoration and prevention work should be prioritized based on
the "value" of down slope and downstream aquatic resources. It is likely
that working within stream channels in an attempt to restore productive
habitat and conditions will be futile until future up slope sediment sources
are addressed through control and prevention.
*****************************************
AERIAL LANDSLIDE SURVEY OF MAPLETON
RANGER DISTRICT
FOLLOWING RAINSTORM OF FEBRUARY, 1996
February 14, 1996
Association of Forest Service Employees for Environmental
Ethics
INTRODUCTION
The Oregon Coast Range, especially the Mapleton
Ranger District of the Siuslaw National Forest, is notoriously
prone to landsliding during infrequent (1 in 10- to 20-year)
heavy rainfall events. Since the mid-1970s, it has been the
Forest Service's standard practice to inventory landslides
following a major slide-initiating rainfall event. These studies
have found that the great majority of slides result from logging
roads, clearcut logging, or both. Further, slides from logging
roads are generally larger by an order of magnitude or more
than slides from clearcut units.
Though the rate of logging and roadbuilding on
federal lands in the Coast Range has lessened over the past ten
years as a result of court orders to protect streams from sliding
and the President's Northwest Forest Plan, a large
infrastructure of roads and cut-over hillsides remains. Like a
time bomb waiting to go off, these roads and clearcuts are a
legacy from the past that, without rehabilitation and
obliteration, threaten the future health of salmon streams,
water quality, and, in some locations, residential dwellings.
METHODS AND MATERIALS
Two days following the Storm of 1996, AFSEEE
sponsored an aerial inventory of landslides triggered by the
massive rains in the Mapleton Ranger District area. Following
the classification system used in previous inventories, AFSEEE
preliminarily assigned each landslide to one of three types --
road-related, clearcut-related (referred to here as "in-unit"),
and natural. Some landslides that appear to be in-unit might
have been triggered by road drainage that is not apparent from
the air. Thus, a more accurate determination of causality
awaits a ground-based survey.
The aerial survey was done using a two-person
Cessna airplane provided by Lighthawk, the "environmental
Air Force." The survey was performed in six transects over the
course of 2.5 hours from the north boundary of the Mapleton
District to the Umpqua River at the district's south boundary.
Weather conditions for the survey were excellent.
Photographs of several landslides were taken.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A total of 185 landslides from the February 1996
storm was recorded. Of these, 114 were in-unit slides, 68 were
road-related slides, and 3 were natural, in-forest slides.
Consistent with earlier inventories, we believe the number of
natural slides to be somewhat greater than recorded given the
difficulty of seeing such slides, especially small, riparian slides,
from the air. However, even if natural slides are several times
more prevalent, the vast bulk of sliding is logging-related.
On average, road-related slides appeared substantially
larger than in-unit slides, which is also consistent with previous
studies. Road-related slides also appeared to cause more
damage to streams; several large debris torrents were triggered
by road failures.
The reduction in slide frequency in the southern-most
portion of the district appears related to the path of the
rainstorm. There was no evidence of sliding on several very
steep and dissected hillsides that were recently logged between
the Smith and Umpqua Rivers -- an area that is very unstable --
suggesting that the path of the rainstorm was north of this
location. News reports of the storm's path and damage appear
to support this conclusion.
Flight Path Road Slides In-Unit Slides Natural
North
1 (E-W) 7 16 2
2 (W-E) 23 49 1
3 (E-W) 8 20 0
4 (W-E) 16 18 0
5 (E-W) 5 10 0
6 (W-E) 9 1 0
South
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Totals 68 114 3
SUMMARY
A legacy of logging on steep slopes in Oregon's Coast
Range threatens salmon streams, water quality, and even
people's homes. Notwithstanding past efforts to stabilize
roads, large landslides from roads still cause widespread
damage to coastal streams. It appears that only a program of
road obliteration that returns hillsides to their original contour
will prevent sliding from occurring during periodic high rainfall
events.
Clearcut logging on steep hillsides triggers most
landslides in the Coast Range. Notwithstanding efforts by the
Forest Service during the past decade to protect landslide-
prone sites, in-unit slides are still frequent across the landscape.
Landsliding during infrequent, catastrophic events is
often excused as an "act of God." This survey shows that it is
acts of man that create the conditions nature exploits. The
Forest Service should develop training materials to ensure that
its land managers thoroughly understand the consequences of
roading and logging in erosive areas subject to unpredictable,
episodic high rainfall events. We cannot afford to have
managers learn by their own experience; they need to learn
their predecessors' lessons.
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END OF VOLUME ONE -- CONTINUE TO VOLUME TWO
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