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 Forests Sam Houston National Forest Under Siege
For the last few years George has been sharing the beauty and lessons of the forest with a new generation by taking at-risk youth hiking, backpacking, and camping in the Sam Houston. He believes that getting away from their troubles and encountering nature is a profound and healing experience for these kids. But like many people who have hiked the trails of the national forest, camped there, or fished along the shores of Lake Conroe, George feels that he is witnessing the destruction of a natural treasure. That's because the Bush administration has opened the Sam Houston National Forest to increased logging and given the oil and gas industry permission to drill 32 wells on the forest. Sam Houston National Forest is one of eleven national forests chosen by the Bush administration to be pilot projects for the ill-named "Healthy Forest Initiative"-ostensibly created to decrease the frequency and intensity of wildfires. Unfortunately, this policy will not protect communities from wildfire, and it actually proposes chopping trees down to "save" them. Instead of focusing on removing brush and small trees from around homes and communities, the administration's policies will allow timber companies to harvest larger trees deeper in the forest. The Bush administration's misguided initiative for the Boswell Creek Watershed calls for destroying native hardwoods on 8,650 acres through an overzealous burning program, and commercially thinning pines from 4,800 acres over the next two to five years.1 The administration's policy also decreases public involvement in the management of the forest, reduces environmental protection, and increases timber companies' access to the Sam Houston. When the plan met with widespread public skepticism and Congress adjourned in late 2002 without passing Bush's legislation, the president decided to act by decree, pushing parts of his plan through administratively. Being part of this pilot project is a distinction that those of us who love the forest would rather do without. The type of forest "management" resulting from the Bush administration's policy assures that pure stands of commercially desirable and easily-logged pines continue to thrive. By removing hardwoods and routinely thinning areas of pines, the U.S. Forest Service promotes pine fields that benefit nothing except the timber industry and the destructive Southern Pine Beetle. Once the pine stands mature, they are clear-cut, either all at once or in two to three stages. The original diverse forests thriving in East Texas, which included stands of southern magnolia, American beech, giant bald cypresses, oaks, and hickories, are already almost gone. Commercial logging interests look upon these hardwoods as weed species, invading the easily-logged pine plantations. The Bush administration's forest management proposal will allow commercial logging within the SHNF on, across, and next to a portion of the Lone Star Hiking Trail, the longest continuous hiking trail in Texas. The eastern end of the trail is one of 12 specially-designated National Recreation Trails in the U.S. These special trails are recognized by the Secretary of Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture as exemplary trails of local and regional significance. The administration's proposal also allows logging near streams and on the shoreline of Lake Conroe. This action will increase soil erosion and runoff into the lake, reduce wildlife habitat in the forest, and threaten fish populations. Like hikers and campers, hunters and anglers know that what is needed is the preservation of a diverse forest system to support wildlife. Even more wildlife habitat and native hardwoods will be destroyed by the additional roads to be built for harvesting the commercial pine fields. And now that the Bush administration has opened the Sam Houston National Forest to commercial oil and gas drilling, even more roads will split the forest.2 George Batten calls it "distressing and depressing." He and other recreational users of the Sam Houston are left wondering why the Bush administration favors heavy industry over forest health and local interests. Like many others, George feels that the public and local businesses would best be served by a thriving tourist and recreational fishing economy. When it comes to preventing forest fires and promoting forest health, George recognizes that the Bush administration's policies aren't the way to go. Real public protection requires honest fuel reduction in the quarter-mile surrounding communities, and involving the public and community leaders in long-term education and planning. The Bush administration can and should redirect the Forest Service to manage for endangered species, habitat diversity, and recreation rather than eliminating native hardwood trees and selling the taxpayer's pine trees at bargain basement rates. Houstonians deserve a nearby place to get away from it all. If the public demands it, George Batten's at-risk kids and future generations of young Houstonians can continue to take what they learn about life from the forest back home to the city. For more information contact: Live Oak Alliance National Forests and Grasslands in Texas
Photo courtesy George Batten; used with permission. Up to TopHOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club |
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