Spotted Owl Data was Faked

[Kuasimodem]

And it looks like a few other "studies" were skewed towards the tree hugger point of view.

Judge Margolis ruled the Forest Service action was "arbitrary, capricious and without rational basis." He also found that the officials knew their findings were faulty when they ordered the sale canceled.

Washington Times News Story

[samwichse]

Yeah, nothing like faking data to finally take back control of the forests that the Quincey Library Group was doing good by.

You go over the head of a pointless, high level bureaucrat and look what happens...

Look here
This bill would fix so many problems and give much more local control over forest management/harvesting, but it's stalled for 2 years and isn't even on the schedule for this one.


Provisions in the Public Lands Planning and Management
Improvement Act of 1999 include:
A requirement that plans for federal lands must use
the best scientific and commercial data available.
A structure for resource management and activity
planning, as well as encouragement of collaborative
planning.
Consideration of budget and funding effects in plans.

A process for monitoring plans and adaptive
management.
Better coordination with other environmental laws and
the establishment of a global renewable resources
assessment.
General provisions concerning Senate confirmation of
the chief of the Forest Service, fees, and activities
on federal lands.
Administrative provisions pertaining to management of
federal lands and access to nonfederal lands.

[Kuasimodem]

I figures...

Why does it seem that every piece of legislation that would actually do some good gets put on the back burner or buried?

It is true that there should be more localized control over forest management, instead of a desk jockey in Washington calling the shots.

[KAknight]

I would have done the same if I was a ranger. Those trees are too valuable to lose. Just my $.02

[Kuasimodem]

Proper forest management is the key to keeping everybody happy, lumber companies and environmentalists alike. Remember that "controlled burn" that the forest service did about a year ago in the southwest? The one that burned over 600,000 acres of forest, endangered peoples' homes and businesses, not to mention the amount of air polution that it created?

If the lumber companies cut down all the trees, they would be out of business within a couple decades. Through select cutting of trees, the forest can be kept healthy and livable for the wildlife that inhabits it.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative, which many lumber companies are participating in, will ensure that there is plenty of lumber, paper and other products, along with healthy, lively forests and wildlife habitats. A friend of mine works for a lumber company in Oregon that practices select cutting and replanting, they've been using the same few thousand acres of land for over two decades with no problems. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that this year, they have been harvesting trees that they planted when they started the program.

Clearcutting is a thing of the past, it ruins habitats and watersheds, which we need if we are to keep our water supply even close to usable.