[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 50 (Monday, May 2, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
  THE RETIREMENT OF DEPUTY CHIEF OF INTERNATIONAL FORESTRY JEFF SIRMON

 Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the Forest Service honors Jeff 
Sirmon today as he retires from his post as the first Deputy Chief for 
International Forestry at the U.S. Forest Service. His 35-year career 
has touched elements of just about every forested landscape in our 
country.
  I believe one could think of Jeff Sirmon as the Gifford Pinchot of 
international forestry--a visionary founder of a conservation program 
that is certain to change the way our Nation, and perhaps the 
international forestry community, considers forestry issues.
  The International Forestry Program was authorized in the 1990 farm 
bill to recognized the links between domestic forest productivity and 
global forest health. The goal of this legislation was to address 
transboundary threats such as global climate change, toxic contaminants 
in air, water pollution, and loss of biodiversity.
  In 1991, Jeff was appointed as the first Deputy Chief of 
International Forestry to implement the provisions of the 1990 farm 
bill. He developed the program in an era when people are often tempted 
to focus resources in our backyards and overlook the ways in which 
international trends reflect our experience and affect our forest 
productivity.
  Many nations are experiencing the same natural resource issues that 
Vermont faced over 100 years ago. Technology is facilitating the 
liquidation of forest resources and the conversion of marginal land 
into intensive agriculture. A quick tour of Honduras, Brazil, Papua New 
Guinea, or Ghana will demonstrate this disturbing trend.
  If this heavy-handed management strategy was viable, Vermont would 
still be 70 percent agriculture and flourishing. Clearly, the strategy 
doesn't work--Vermont's land base has reverted to only about 25 percent 
agriculture today. Furthermore, during this unfortunate transition, 
Vermont suffered prolonged economic hardship and suffered widespread 
ecological loss. Jeff's International Forestry Program shares our 
domestic experience to help other countries avoid wholesale destruction 
of forests.
  In addition, we know now that there are domestic benefits to sharing 
our expertise with developing countries. The implications of global 
deforestation contribute to global climate change and loss of 
biodiversity--issues that can affect the way we practice forestry in 
the United States.
  In other ways we are still bearing the high costs--economic and 
environmental--of turning a blind eye to forest ecology beyond our 
borders. The American chestnut, for example, once comprised 25 percent 
of the eastern hardwood forests. A foreign blight has all but 
eliminated this species, and with it the economic advantages of a 
strong, fast growing, straight tree with unparalleled wood qualities. 
The wood was used for everything from fence rows to fine musical 
instruments.
  The American chestnut blight has altered the Appalachian ecosystem 
more profoundly than any timber management technique used in the 
history of the region. The International Forestry Program under Jeff 
Sirmon's direction, in cooperation with other agencies, worked to 
prevent catastrophic disasters such as this one.
  There are many examples of Jeff's initiatives. An ongoing United 
States/Russian cooperative effort on the Asian gypsy moth could save 
$3.5 billion in timber revenues over the next 40 years. Collaborative 
efforts on industrial pollution analysis in Eastern European forests 
has changed the way we analyze pollution impacts on domestic forests. 
Resource managers from South Africa, Brazil, Canada, and the United 
States have developed equipment that can predict fire movement and 
smoke composition. The wintering habitat of neotropical bird 
populations that fill our forests this time of year are protected by 
international forestry efforts that Jeff has managed.
  I want to thank Jeff Sirmon for his 35 years of leadership and 
service in the Forest Service and wish him well in his retirement. I am 
confident that his mark on international forestry will endure for many 
years to come.

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