[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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