True forest recovery needs a light touch

By fall of 2006, the number of scientists has grown from 167 to 571 professionals from around the country who have signed on to a letter to Congress expressing their concerns about a post-disturbance logging bill. It's a group with wide expertise, and credentials working in fields ranging from aquatic sciences to zoology to fire ecology.

Walden and co-sponsor Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA) claim that legislation is needed to expedite logging in forests after natural disturbances to promote ecological recovery, despite the lack of scientific support for such an idea.  In the letter, the scientists rebuke the bill's premise, saying "proposed post-disturbance legislation...crafted as a response to recent fires and other disturbances, is misguided because it distorts or ignores recent scientific advances. Under the labels of 'recovery' and 'restoration,' these bills would speed logging and replanting after natural disturbances."

The letter goes on to say, "Although logging and replanting may seem like a reasonable way to clean up and restore forests after disturbances like wildland fires, such activity would actually slow the natural recovery of forests and of streams and creatures within them."

Read the entire scientists' letter here.