I considered this message from the biodiv-l list to be important
information also to the forest list members and am thus forwarding
it to the list.
Jarmo Saarikko
the listowner
Finnish Forest Research Institute METLA
E-mail: Jarmo.Saarikko@metla.fi Fax: +358-0-625308
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 20 Nov 95 13:53:13 EDT
From: STEVE YOUNG 703-235-5593 <YOUNG.STEVE@epamail.epa.gov>
To: Multiple recipients of list <biodiv-l@ftpt.br>
Subject: Lawsuit on Log Imports into US (fwd)
Subject: Lawsuit Filed to Prevent Log Imports
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information Contact:
David Gordon, PERC, (415) 332-8200
Tim McKay, NEC, (707) 822-6918
Joy Belsky, ONRC, (503) 233-9001 ext. 216
Charlie Tebbutt or Mike Axline, WELC, (503) 485-2471
November 14, 1995
Environmentalists Act to Halt Log Imports
Lawsuit filed to prevent introduction of exotic forest pests
and loss of forest ecosystems
In a move to protect the forests of the United States from exotic
insect pests and plant diseases, environmentalists today filed a
lawsuit to block importation of possibly infested logs into the US.
The lawsuit, filed against the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS-USDA), challenges the adequacy of the new regulations
that would allow infested logs to pass through US ports.
The lawsuit, which was filed by the Western Environmental Law Center (
WELC) on behalf of a coalition of environmental groups in Federal
Court in San Francisco, claims that APHIS failed to evaluate the
impacts of introduced forest pests on forest ecosystems, human health,
or regional economies. Plaintiffs claim that APHIS was more concerned
with international commerce than protection of America's forests.
The three plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Oregon Natural Resources
Council (ONRC), Northcoast Environmental Center, and Pacific
Environment and Resources Center (PERC).
APHIS's new regulations, which went into effect in August, allow the
importation of foreign logs and wood products that have not been heat
treated to kill all pests. These logs can be transported in open
trucks through forested regions and stored up to two months before
being heat treated. In December, a truckload of untreated wood chips
from New Zealand spilled in a forest in the Oregon Cascades.
Scientists voice concern. According to forest scientists, these new
regulations will allow virulent forest pests into America. The United
States has a long history of forests being decimated by introduced
pests. According to Dr. William Denison, professor of botany at
Oregon State University, "We can lose our magnificent Northwest
forests if we allow the introduction of a disease that eliminates
Douglas fir in the way that introduced diseases hit chestnut and elm
in the east."
Native tree species such as Douglas fir, hemlock, and ponderosa pine
are vulnerable to these new pests. "Not only will many pests from
Russia, Chile, and New Zealand thrive in the temperate climates of the
US, but they will be able to spread in the absence of their natural
predators and of resistant tree species" said Joy Belsky, Ph.D., staff
ecologist at ONRC. "APHIS has not provided the safeguards needed to
protect our forests or forest industries" said Belsky. "If pests that
are hidden under bark or deep in the wood are allowed to enter
American forests, trees will die by the millions. Forest-dependent
species will lose their habitats and humans will be exposed to
widespread pesticide spraying. The timber industry should stand
together with the environmental community in opposing this threat to
America's forests."
The new rules state that logs from Russia must be heat treated before
shipment, but compliance with the regulations relies only on the word
of exporters. "Corruption in the Russian timber industry and Russian
ports is widespread. Expectations of compliance show an ignorance of
the current situation in Russia," said David Gordon, co-director of
the Siberian Forests Protection Project at PERC.
According to Mike Axline of WELC, attorneys for the plaintiffs, "APHIS
did not disclose to the public the full extent of the risks posed by
exotic pests. The failure to disclose violated APHIS's obligation
under the National Environmental Policy Act."
-30-
[please pardon cross-postings. Interesting issue. SY]
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