Jim Petersen’s op-ed diatribe about Kettle Range Conservation Group and me published by the Spokesman-Review (What do environmentalists want? SR 09/15/23) belies the truth.
Let’s unpack a couple of Mr. Petersen’s accusations: 1) litigation of Colville National Forest timber sales prevents “robust restoration,” 2) Kettle Rangers are “litigious,” 3) NEPA needs fixing to prevent litigation and 4) grand fir trees are the problem.
Grand fir “think Christmas tree” is beautiful but a threat to a healthy forest. Grand fir (Abies grandis) can grow upwards of 260’ tall and live 300 years. There are a lot of these gorgeous tall and large trees at our local ski areas. Grand fir is a commercial tree species. I’ve never seen these trees in the Sanpoil project area nor in the area of the 2015 Stickpin Fire in the Kettle River Range.
And besides, if grand fir was the problem, why is the Forest Service logging large/old ponderosa pine and Douglas fir?
The National Environmental Policy Act is a bedrock law that gives citizens the right to review and challenge federal government actions and act as a counter to money and politics. The Sanpoil Timber Sale in the Colville National Forest is a case in point.
Mr. Petersen’s claim that I am “destroying the good work [of] stakeholders” regarding the revised 2019 Land Management Plan (LMP) for Colville National Forest. The Forest Service claimed their planning process was collaborative and that it promotes trees 20” or larger. The LMP includes several exceptions to this goal that allow any large tree to be cut down for such nebulous reasons “to meet, promote or maintain desired conditions.” It was this portion of the LMP that Federal District Judge Bastian vacated in his June ruling for the Sanpoil case.
Kettle Rangers (KRs) challenged the Sanpoil timber sale because it sanctioned logging big trees. Our pleas to the Forest Service to follow collaboratively-agreed guidelines and mimic its work completed in the adjacent Walker Project were outright rejected.
Incidentally, in addition to LMP exceptions for cutting down large trees it also sanctions clearcutting up to 1,000 acres – or larger – in the Colville National Forest. Five years of projects demonstrably shows that “restoration” is based in timber production of every tree species.
Sanpoil Project litigation was KRs first in over 20 years. I am a founding member of Northeast Washington Forest Coalition (NEWFC) – a group Petersen notes contributed “to several widely praised forest restoration projects” – KR dedicated two decades to finding collaborative agreement with the Forest Service and timber industry – including during the entire Forest Planning revision process. Unfortunately, decades of hard work were disregarded in the LMP.
Mr. Petersen interviewed me for his Spring 2017 publication of “Evergreen” the publication of the Evergreen Foundation – about of my NEWFC forest collaboration work.
But it gets worse.
Mr. Petersen mentions nary a word about KRs effort to peaceably resolve Sanpoil litigation including requesting help from NEWFC and the Colville Tribe. In fact, the Forest Service agreed to a Settlement in Principle in March 2022, only to back out of their agreement in June 2022.
A key sticking point has been the government’s unwillingness to retain large and old trees despite its and the bulwark of historic photos, scientific research acknowledging that large and old trees are at historic low levels and their importance to birds, amphibian and mammals at risk of extinction.
For now, the Colville National Forest has agreed to apply the District Court’s ruling to all present and future timber sales – mandating the retention of trees 21 inches and larger. That’s a win for wildlife and the public who value beautiful forests.
Timothy Coleman is director of Kettle Range Conservation Group, based in Republic, Washington.