Dear HCN,
The recent article (HCN,
9/29/97) on the Quincy Library Group bill (S.1028) once again
implies that this is a divisive issue caused by friction between
the national environmental groups and the grass roots. That’s just
not accurate. The vast majority of the environmental community is
opposed to S.1028. Rather than dividing, this legislation has
unified conservationists in opposition to such a large-scale and
precedent-setting experiment.
The QLG bill is not
a balanced solution to managing more than 2 million acres of
national forest lands. The bill mandates far higher levels of
logging than are currently allowed, and would prescribe “group
selection” (small clear-cuts up to two acres in size) across 9,300
acres of forest lands each year, increasing habitat fragmentation
and threatening sensitive wildlife species.
This
is not an issue of nationals vs. locals but rather one of a handful
of well-intentioned activists in one community believing it’s
appropriate for them to wheel and deal on behalf of all Americans
for two-and-a-quarter national forests.
As local
grassroots leaders in California and Nevada, who have been longtime
friends and associates with the few Quincy-area environmentalists
who advocate the QLG solution, we respect their good intentions but
we disagree that legislatively adopting their compromise solution
will be good for the national forest lands in question.
We do believe, however, that some of the
concepts within the QLG bill are worth considering as a
smaller-scale, non-legislated pilot project on an experimental
basis. Only then, after seeing the results, and with the fullest
possible public involvement, should there be any consideration
given to adopting a large-scale program.
John Buckley, Central Sierra
Environmental Resource Center, Twain Harte, California;
Sally Miller, Friends of the Inyo, Lee Vining,
California; John Preschutti, Plumas Forest Project, Blairsden,
California; Don Jacobson, Tahoe Forest Issues Group, Grass Valley,
California; Craig Thomas, Friends Aware of Wildlife Needs, Kelsey,
California; Stephen Sayre, Lassen Forest Preservation Group, Chico,
California; Joe Fontaine, Sequoia Task Force, Tehachapi,
California; Marge Sill, Toiyabe Chapter, Sierra Club, Reno, Nevada;
Dick Kuntsman, Yosemite Area Audubon,
Mariposa,
California
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Quincy bill unifies opposition.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
