The variety of geological and ecological features to be found in Oregon
create an array of possibilities for nature lovers. Hiking, camping,
wildlife viewing, swimming, fishing, rock climbing, skiing, boating,
rafting, bicycle touring and sky diving are some of the outstanding
activities that Oregonians and visitors pursue. Maintaining the integrity
of our natural assets and meeting the burgeoning demand for outdoor
recreation and related tourist activities remains one of the biggest
challenges facing natural resource managers throughout our federal, state
and privately managed forests.
With Oregon's population up by 400,000 since 1990, another one million
people expected within five years and out-of-state tourism soaring,
government recreation agencies are having trouble keeping up with the demand
for parks, campgrounds and open spaces. Although Oregon ranks just 30th
among the 50 states in state park acreage, Oregon ranks fifth nationally in
day-use attendance at state parks.5
Oregon has been benefiting from a parks system largely created before 1976.
The Civilian Conservation Corps built most of the hiking trails in national
parks and forests during the Great Depression in the 1930s. Most Forest
Service campgrounds were built in the 1950s and 1960s.
Since the 1970s, little parkland has been acquired, to keep pace with the
growth in population and visitors. The number of out-of-state visitors has
increased 46% since 1991, and Oregon has the West's highest ratio of
visitors per state park acre.6
Oregon's rapidly robust economy and rapidly expanding population means more
income tax revenue that could be used to buy land for parks and natural
areas. Yet, voter approval of property tax-reduction measures and federal
budget cuts--means that instead of buying new areas for parkland,
governments agencies are threatening to close parks and decreasing
maintenance of forests and trails. Many hiking and camping spots--which
were formerly free--now carry a charge. Concerns have been raised by
conservationists that logging on federal lands is being subsidized by
recreation fees.
Spiritual and recreational value of intact forests
Physical activity and contact with nature reduce stress--this country's
number one cause of death. A recent U.S. Senate committee forum on outdoor
recreation urged more government support for parks and recreation, citing
evidence that people who regularly engage in outdoor activities enjoy
greater physical and mental health. The decline in participation by
America's youth in outdoor recreation raises concerns, especially when
two-thirds of the adults who camp, fish, hike, etc., say they began such
activities as children.7
A new field of study has been developing called "Ecopsychology." Born of
the efforts of educators like Michael Cohen of the World Peace University,
ecopsychology links the human biological needs to our spiritual and
intellectual sense of the natural world. In his ground-braking essay,
"Integrated Ecology: The Revolutionary Process of Counseling with Nature,"
Cohen provides a detailed account of his decades of research concerning
human psychology and nature.
"Ecopsychologists submit that most personal, social and environmental stress
results from our estrangement from nature's wise unconditional love within
and about us, Cohen states in his Abstract, "Counseling students in natural
areas over a thirty year period has produced 97 unique nature-connecting
activities that renew over 49 inherent sensory fulfillments. Dramatically,
the activities reduce our estrangement, its pain and adverse effects.
Natural inborn feelings of love and understanding express themselves. They
catalyze responsible relationships that fill the emotional voids which fuel
our destructive habits, dependencies and abandonment feelings. They give
natural areas added value as rejuvenators of our biological and spiritual
integrity."8
Intact ecosystems also provide clean drinking water, fish and wildlife
habitat, climate and erosion control. At the same time that unprecedented
numbers of people want to experience wilderness, wilderness is shrinking.
Many once-pristine areas have been devastated by logging, overgrazing and
mining. The National Forest system was created in 1891 for two primary
reasons: to protect water quality and to preserve some native forests.
Serious questions have been raised as to the stewardship role of the Forest
Service--as well as the Oregon State Board of Forestry. Clearcutting and
road building cause soil erosion, loss of wildlife habitat and can increase
water temperatures. This harms the ability of native fish to reproduce.
Mayors and city councilors in cities such as Portland, Salem, Eugene and
Cottage Grove have fought plans by the BLM and Forest Service to clearcut
many acres of trees in these cities' watersheds, understanding that
increased erosion will degrade water quality, as well as raise water
temperatures. These city officials say much of their concern is due to the
February 1996 record flooding, which caused some of the highest turbidity
levels ever recorded. During the flood, Portland's Bull Run watershed,
which serves over one quarter of the state's population, was shut down due
to high turbidity--the first time in a century. Alternative wells were
pumped and voluntary water restrictions incurred. Many small municipal
providers, unable to handle high turbidity levels, simply shut down.9
Hundreds of landslides in clearcut areas resulted from the flooding, roads
were washed out, and several people were killed due to landslides from
heavily logged areas. According to a Forest Service post-flood survey,
nearly three-fourths of the 254 landslides in the Clackamas Basin occurred
in logged areas or on roadways.10
A healthy forest is like a sponge, absorbing water and slowly releasing it
to the environment. Large living trees have strong roots that keep the soil
in place. But when trees are cut down, the roots of the stumps decay and
lose their strength so the surrounding soil loses its cohesion. Several
scientific studies have shown that the rate of landslides in clearcut areas
is 8 times that of forested areas, and on logging roads it is up to 200
times higher than forested areas.
The study of landslides by one Forest Service hydrologist after the winter
1996 floods, found that more than 60% of the slides larger than 100 cubic
yards began in replanted clearcuts or along logging roads. Since most of
the forest areas studied hadn't been clearcut for at least twenty years, it
suggests that the effects of clearcutting can degrade a watershed for
decades.11 Why does an entire state take such risks to our health and our
economy, for the temporary benefit of one industry?
Scientists have known for years that water quality is best in undisturbed
forested watersheds. Logging and road building disturb natural filtration
by the forest canopy and forest floor, thereby harming the ability of nearby
towns and cities to avoid expensive mechanical and chemical treatment.
A 1995 Oregon Department of Forestry publication entitled "Cumulative Effect
of Forest Practices in Oregon," states that "Forestry practices such as
roadbuilding, timber harvest and, to some extent, application of fire, when
conducted in sensitive areas, tend to lend to increased rates of
mass-movement. Forestry practices may also tend to increase the magnitude
of events when they do occur." Despite several decades worth of research
showing a demonstrable relationship between logging practices and
landslides, the Oregon Department of Forestry has insisted there is little
correlation.12
Each year, the U.S. Forest Service, (i.e., the American public) loses
hundreds of millions of dollars in its timber program. In fiscal year 1996
the Forest Service lost $472 million.13 Essentially, taxpayers are
subsidizing timber companies to destroy national forests; trees are sold
below cost and the Forest Service typically reimburses timber companies for
building logging roads with an amount of timber equivalent in value to the
cost of the roads. Granted, after timber is harvested, these roads can be
used by the public for recreational access and for firefighting, but the
need for these roads in fighting fires is questionable. Additionally, a
number of roads are cut into wild areas with sensitive soils that shouldn't
be disturbed. Logging roads cause soil erosion and flooding. The roads
also allow access by people who harass wildlife, steal timber and dump
garbage.
In the summer of 1997, the Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center sued the BLM
for not removed old logging roads from public lands; they contended that the
roads promoted a variety of problems, such as spreading a fungus that kills
Port Orford cedar, fragmenting wildlife habitat and sending sediment into
salmon streams.15
Money spent on logging forests should be redirected to restoration jobs,
such as regrading and ripping out roads, to restoring native biodiversity in
current tree plantations and restoring fish habitat. Aside from scattered
patches of native forests on private and state lands, all remaining native
forests in the United States are on federal public lands. Native forests
there are diminishing with continued clearcutting.
Fifty percent of all remaining wildlife habitat in the U.S. is on National
Forests.16 These lands must be protected from future exploitation and
allowed to stand as reservoirs for biodiversity. The Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has been slow in promoting efforts to restore
wildlife habitat. The vast majority of the ODFW budget goes to hunting and
fishing programs at the expense of programs to protect and restore native
wildlife and ecosystems.17
References and notes
1 Oregon State Department of Employment. back
2 Oregon State Department of Parks and Recreation. back
3 Oregon Tourism Commission. back
4 Oregon State Department of Forestry, Forestry Program for Oregon, 1990. back
5 Oregon State Parks and Recreation Commission. back
6 Ibid. back
7 Lance Robertson, "Crowding Into the Outdoors," The Register-Guard, May
25, 1997, p. 14. back
8 Michael Cohen, "Integrated Ecology: The Revolutionary Process of
Counseling with Nature," The Humanistic Psychologist, Vol. 21, No. 3, Autumn
1993. back
9 Oregon Natural Resources Council, Wild Oregon, May 1996, p. 5. back
10 Ibid. back
11 Lance Robertson, "Flood Gives Researchers Terrific Opportunity," The
Register-Guard, October 22, 1996, p. 1. back
12 Kathie Durbin, "Fixing Accountability for Oregon's Deadly Landslides,"
Cascadia Times, January 1997, p. 3. back
13 Larry Swisher, "Forest Service Could Cut Its Losses," The Register-Guard,
June 23, 1997, p. A11. back
14 Steven T. Taylor, "Chainsaw Justice--The U.S. Forest Service Out of
Control," prepared for Voice of the Environment (VOTE), 1995. The study
also investigates civil rights concerns within the Forest Service and the
failure of the Forest Service to adequately enforce environmental laws. back
15 The Oregonian, "Environmentalists Sue BLM Over Delays in Road Removal,"
July 16, 1997, p. B7. back
16 The Student Insurgent, "The Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde, Warm
Springs, Siletz, Cow Creek and Umatilla plan tribal tourism in Oregon," Vol.
8 No. 13, p. 6. back
17 John Talberth and Gary Kutcher, Can We Save Paradise?--A Citizen's Guide
to Oregon's Forest Policy, Forest Conservation Council, 1992, p. 46. back
Table of Contents
Chapter 6 Intro/Chapter 6.1/Chapter 6.2
Copyright (c) 1997-98 OLIFE -- Oregonians for Labor Intensive Forest Economics. All rights reserved.
