50-Year Shield From Salmon ESA For Washington Timber Companies - PI

[hatrack]

For the next half-century, Washington's timber industry will be shielded from Endangered Species Act prosecutions for harming salmon and four dozen other types of water creatures, the federal government declared Monday.

In exchange, the industry pledged to take steps to help salmon, such as leaving forests alongside streams on 9.3 million acres. That's one-fifth of the state, making it the largest such deal in the West. But as speaker after speaker at a signing ceremony cited that figure -- 9.3 million acres protected -- none bothered to bring up the asterisk: Officials don't really know yet how many of those acres actually will get the promised preservation measures.

That's because of breaks granted in the deal to small-time timberland owners. There is no firm figure on how much land is involved. Indian tribes, citing their on-the-ground look at it in portions of the state, objected last week and warned that up to 35 percent of the land supposedly protected might not be. "We don't have a solid answer" about how much acreage won't be subject to the improved conservation measures, acknowledged Bob Turner, the National Marine Fisheries Service executive who shepherded the deal to approval. "That's where the uncertainty lies. ... We want to watch it, and we will."

As a parade of government and timber-industry representatives took the podium at a signing ceremony on the shores of Scott Lake, south of Olympia, all praised the deal, which was worked out in principle in 1999 and approved soon after by the Legislature. It took until Monday for the federal government to sign off. Proponents promised that a series of uncertainties known at the time of the original deal -- uncertainties still not settled -- will be dealt with through a series of studies. If the protections need to be increased to better protect salmon, they will be, said the pact's proponents. "Washington leads the way with a farsighted, science-based approach to the protection of salmon ... and protection of our forestry industry," Gov. Christine Gregoire told about 150 government and timber-industry representatives. She said the deal shows "Washington state will be globally competitive when it comes to timber."

EDIT

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/272903_forest06.html

[Benhurst]

1. Yeah. Sure. When, oh when, is this BushAmerican nightmare going to end?

:argh:

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Why don't I believe word one of this crap?

:shrug:

[enough]

3. "a parade of government and timber-industry representatives"

all praising the deal.

[DELUSIONAL]

4. Logging during the reigns of Ray-gun and bush the elder

was going full blast in the Northwest -- and they logging companies could care less about the salmon spawning streams.

Salmon which were once so plentiful that they could be caught from along the Puget Sound or out in small boats -- became harder to find.

The trees will be cut and shipped overseas -- and the salmon will become extinct -- except for the farmed variety that must be artificially colored to get the pink salmon look.

At this point the Puget Sound never recovered from the Ray-gun/bush years and now it is doubtful it will ever recover from the baby bush years.

Oh . . . and military bases have GROWN under baby bush. One base was in the early stages of closing down -- it has undergone a major upgrade and building orgy. Lots of money to military contractors -- the banks were opened wide for the military contractors.

If I can see this sort of looting on the local level here in the Puget Sound -- none of which EVER makes the news -- how much looting by the military industrial complex is going on around the world?

[pushycat]

6. So many fish you could walk across the river on them...

that is a saying I heard the loggers say as a child (in Oregon)... our salmon are in big decline now.

[enough]

5. I feel this is so blatantly, egregiously and CLEARLY

outrageous that it should be seen more widely than just the E/E forum. Let's get a couple more recommendations for this story and get it out there.

[depakid]

7. More poor forest practices coming to Washington State

It's become a tradition.... one that residents will live to seriously regret.

Kinda like their irrational resistence to public transit.

[deFaultLine]

8. What needs to happen

People need it called to their attention that when the fishing industry suffers; so does the economy.

It costs the Northwest economy around 2 billion dollars per year in lost revenue from salmon.

This includes jobs lost from low salmon harvest, tourism and the misguided hatchery programs.

We just lost over a million smolts at a hatchery from the heavy rains that clogged an intake pipe and the fish suffocated. It's like that money was just wasted.

There is no way that the timber industry can make up for the lost jobs from salmon fishing and last I checked, people can't eat trees.

[gordontron]

9. we don't have Resistance to public transit

we just have a really expensive area to build in. Seattle has tons of hills, waterways, and other complicating measures that make public transit too expensive to be appetizing to voters...hopefully this will change