[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 42 (Thursday, April 10, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2969-S2970]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  MISSISSIPPI'S ENVIRONMENTAL SCORE CARD: ``LOUISIANA QUILLWORT 1 AND 
                          TIMBER INDUSTRY 1''

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, finding a new species of plant in America 
brings mixed reactions. From scientists, it brings the excitement of 
biodiversity and more opportunities for scientific investigation. But 
for many Americans, an endangered plant listing often places strict 
controls on the use and resources of the land where the plant is found. 
When an endangered plant is found in a national forest, it can curtail 
the multiple use mission of the U.S. Forest Service. Its mere 
occurrence can stop the timber harvesting, which is so important to the 
rejuvenation of the entire forest habitat. And when trees are not cut, 
there are dramatic economic consequences for the community that lives 
near the forest and depends on it for jobs.
  You can be sure that enthusiasm was not over flowing when Mr. Steve 
Leonard, Camp Shelby's Heritage Inventory Botanist, announced that the 
Louisiana quillwort was found in the DeSoto ranger district in Perry 
County, MI on May 24, 1996.
  Mr. President, let me tell you about Perry County. Perry County has 
only three towns and roughly 11,000 citizens. Perry County contains 
410,000 acres, 162,000 of which--over 39 percent--are national forest 
lands. The employment opportunities are limited primarily to the timber 
industry. The harvesting and marketing of forest products in the county 
has created over 1,800 jobs, of which 330 are involved in timber sales 
in the national forest. Currently, the unemployment rate is 7 percent. 
This year, Perry County's payment from the U.S. Forest Service for 
timber sales was cut by $1.5 million. This money would have been used 
by Perry County's schools to offset the loss of tax revenue received 
because of the large land ownership by the Federal Government.
  Now along comes the quillwort. This county is already absorbing the 
economic impacts of repeated and failed government attempts to 
establish habitats for the endangered red cockaded woodpeckers in the 
DeSoto National Forest. And let's not forget the restrictions for those 
gopher tortoise.
  The residents of Perry County love the environment and many make 
their living from the environment, but the ever growing restriction on 
land use challenges their commitment.
  The Louisiana quillwort is a very small grass-like plant with just a 
few strands--smaller than this ballpoint pen--whose scientific name is 
Isoetes Louisianensis. It was first discovered 5 years ago on private 
property in just two parishes of Louisiana. It was promptly listed as 
endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but since then, there 
has been no monitoring of its population. To this day, there still 
remains huge scientific factual gaps on the known and potential threats 
to this plant.
  There is one thing I know for sure. There is a lot of this quillwort 
growing on the edges of stream beds in Mississippi's DeSoto National 
Forest. It may be scarce in Louisiana, but Mississippi clearly has more 
than our fair share. This is not unlike many other aspects of the ever-
continuing rivalry with our neighboring State. I say this with great 
respect for my friend and colleague Senator John Breaux, but maybe the 
name of this species should be changed.
  Mr. President, today I am here to honor the dedicated efforts of the 
U.S. Forest Service employees who walked over 200 miles of stream beds 
this past winter in order to locate quillwort populations and to ensure 
there would be no disruptions of timber sales. This was no easy task. 
The heavy winter rains left boot-sucking mud everywhere.
  Mr. President, at the end of my remarks I would like to submit for 
the record the names of all 48 U.S. Forest Service personnel involved 
in this effort. I want to recognize them and to thank them. And I know 
the citizens of Perry County want to thank them.
  This was more than an effort by the U.S. Forest Service. It is the 
story of the individual leadership and excellence of Mr. Don Neal and 
Ms. Kim Kennedy, two very able U.S. Forest Service employees. They did 
an outstanding job of determining the environmental consequences 
and developing a plan of action. Thanks to their efforts, the plan 
minimized economic impact without compromising the required protection 
necessary for the quillwort's habitat.

  This is also the story of two Federal agencies--each with partially 
conflicting missions. It took 4 years following the quillwort's initial 
discovery for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to approve a recovery 
plan. Fortunately, it took the U.S. Forest Service only 2 months to 
issue implementing directives. This swift action occurred under the 
watchful eye of Mr. Robert Joslin,

[[Page S2970]]

the regional forester in Atlanta. He is to be commended not only for 
his actions when faced with the quillwort, but for his many years of 
dedicated leadership for balanced forest management throughout the 
Southeast. The forests have thrived. Thank you, Bob.
  The quillwort protection plan established a 165 foot buffer zone on 
either side of a streambed. Limiting timber harvesting within this zone 
maintained a heavy overhead canopy and filtered the light reaching the 
stream's surface. The cutting restriction also curtailed sedimentation 
and changes to drainage patterns. The quillwort seems to like small 
intermittent streams.
  This protection plan created a real challenge for Don and Kim 
because, at that time, there were 25 active timber sales in 51 
compartments of the DeSoto ranger district. Four even had loggers on 
site.
  Due to the lack of factual knowledge about the quillwort's habitat--
especially since it was now newly discovered in Mississippi--
determining which drainage to survey proved difficult. The U.S. Forest 
Service stepped up to the plate and made the decision to survey all 
drainage within or immediately adjacent to cutting units. And, to err 
on the side of caution, the survey was 20 percent wider than the 165 
foot buffer suggested in the recovery plan.
  The DeSoto district established an incident command system team to 
organize and survey 137 miles of streams on all active timber sales and 
88 miles of streams in sales planned for next fiscal year. Timber sales 
were prioritized for survey in the following order: those with loggers 
on site; sales with open payment units; sales which had not been 
opened; and finally next year's planned sales.
  It took 34 days of slow slogging up and down streambeds--both sides.
  More quillwort was found. Louisiana quillwort was found on four 
active timber sales, three of which required modification before being 
released for cutting. It was also found on seven sales planned for next 
year, two of which were modified before the sales were finalized. The 
rest of the Louisiana quillwort was located in existing set aside 
buffer zones.
  Throughout the survey process, Ms. Kennedy maintained constant 
contact with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offices in Jackson and 
Vicksburg. Her persistence ensured that the appropriate NEPA documents 
were amended and the timber sales were modified. Without this level of 
attention, the sales could easily have experienced bureaucratic 
disruptions.
  Mr. President, this is clearly an environmental success story for 
all. An endangered plant was found. The habitat around identified 
populations was protected. Trees were still cut.
  I believe a mutually successful coexistence occurred. The quillwort 
won. Perry County won. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service won. The U.S. 
Forest Service won. I applaud the U.S. Forest Service for protecting 
the quillwort's habitat with a flexible rapid response. They did not 
take the easy route and stop all contracts.
  I'd also like to note that this process has allowed the Forest 
Service to significantly expand the scientific knowledge about this 
quillwort species. With all these new and frequently large finds, it 
makes me wonder just how endangered this plant really is? I hope the 
agency charged with monitoring the livelihood of the quillwort will not 
ignore this information.
  Mr. President, there is another question that cannot be overlooked 
when talking about the DeSoto National Forest. Why has the annual 
forest regeneration program dwindled down to less than 1 percent of the 
total acreage while over 33 percent of the forest has pine trees well 
beyond rotation age? And why is only 35 percent of the annual growth 
being harvested? This only causes these pine forests to get older.
  Mississippi's largest cash crop is timber. Every Mississippian has 
been behind a log truck on its way to a mill at some point, and every 
Mississippian knows a little about silviculture. We know that pine 
forests should be rotated and harvested to maintain their health. We 
also recognize that old trees are vulnerable to the pine beatle which 
jeopardizes healthy sections of the forest. Good silviculture prevents 
a pine forest from getting too old. Good silviculture encourages 
selective tree harvesting. Good silviculture creates healthy forests. 
Good silviculture creates an economically thriving community in all 
sectors.

  I want to challenge the U.S. Forest Service to give me a credible 
response to this question: Why are we only harvesting a small 
percentage of the annual growth? I do not want my inquiry to be 
dismissed with the weak excuse that we just did not have enough people 
to prepare a sale. The quillwort drew 48 Forest Service employees. How 
many Forest Service employees worked on timber sales during this 
timeframe? Recent claims that budget reductions have curtailed the 
timber sale program only go so far. In Mississippi, mature pine trees 
are ready to be cut. And the school district, county government, and 
timber farmers of Perry County who depend on these revenues are 
anxiously awaiting that day. The citizens of Perry County deserve no 
less. I urge a full, honest, and equal commitment to all of the U.S. 
Forest Service's missions.
  It is a sad fact that the U.S. Forest Service does not even live up 
to its existing and approved forest management plans nationwide. It 
repeatedly disregards programmed sales, making it impossible for 
counties like Perry County to plan its school budgets. I view forest 
plans as a contract between the Forest Service and each county. I do 
not expect these contracts to be broken. When these contacts are 
broken, the schoolchildren are the big losers.
  I would like to personally invite the new head of the U.S. Forest 
Service to visit Mississippi's national forests to discuss his plans to 
honor his agency's commitments to Perry County and Mississippi.
  In conclusion, Mr. President, I want to reiterate my appreciation for 
the extraordinary efforts of the regional forester in Atlanta and the 
district ranger and his employees in the Desoto district. They reflect 
great credit upon the proud tradition of the U.S. Forest Service. A 
proper balance was struck --a plant was protected and the interests of 
the citizens it affected were equally protected. This proves a mutually 
beneficial coexistence can occur.
  Mr. President, I request unanimous consent to list the names of the 
48 DeSoto National Forest employees who walked the streambeds in search 
of quillworts. I ask that my colleagues join me in recognizing their 
extraordinary efforts:
  Kent Ainsworth, Debbie Lindsay, Eddie Bagget, Gary Lott, Jim Barner, 
Ed Lumpkin, Anthony Bolton, Robert Lumpkin, Hildred Bolton, Dean 
McCardle, Anthony Bond, Richard McCardle, Charles Broome, Wayne 
McCardle, Ed Bratcher, Mike McGregor, Steve Cobb, Don Neal, Robert 
Cooper, Gordon Pearce, Keith Coursey, Lee Prine, Jefferson Davis, 
Robert Reams, Frank Grady, Tony Rivers, Charles Grice, Patricia Rogers, 
Alicia Gruver, Joe Schonewitz, Andy Hunter, Ray Shows, Harvest Jackson, 
Robert Smistik, Kim Kennedy, John Stewart, Rebecca Ladnier, Wayne 
Stone, Gail Lassalle, Diane Tyrone, Pete Lassalle, Larry Walters, Steve 
Lee, David Wallace, Lisa Lewis, Donald Williams, and Mike Lick. Bruce 
Wilson.

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