WildEarth Guardians

Monday, September 19, 2005
New Report Casts Doubt on Rio Grande National Forest Logging Proposal

Analysis of Over 300 Relevant Studies Shows Industrial Logging is Not the Solution to Forest Insect Outbreaks
Contact: WildEarth Guardians

Monte Vista, CO - Today, the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation released an 88-page research compilation that dispels many commonly held misconceptions about forest insect pests and casts serious doubt over a logging project in headwaters of the Rio Grande. The County Line project was proposed purportedly to reduce the chances of a spruce beetle insect infestation spreading across public forests. In September a diverse group of citizens and conservationists field an administrative appeal of the logging project with the Lakewood office of the Forest Service.

Logging to Control Insects: The Science and Myths Behind Managing Forest Insect “Pests.” A Synthesis of Independently Reviewed Research includes a summary of relevant studies on the importance of insects to forest function and the methods used to control forest "pest" insects, and a compilation of summaries of over 150 scientific papers and Forest Service documents.

Key findings in the report include:

• Native forest pests have been part of our forests for millennia and function as nutrient recyclers; agents of disturbance; members of food chains; and regulators of productivity, diversity, and density.
• Fire suppression and logging have led to simplified forests that may increase the risk of insect outbreaks.
• Forests with diverse tree species and age classes are less likely to develop large insect outbreaks.
• There is no evidence that logging can control bark beetles or forest defoliators once an outbreak has started.
• Although thinning has been touted as a long-term solution to controlling bark beetles, the evidence is mixed as to its effectiveness.

"The findings are very clear," said Scott Hoffman Black, executive director of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and author of the report. "A review of over three hundred papers on the subject reveals that logging is not the solution to forest insect outbreaks and in the long run could increase the likelihood of epidemics.”

Why this is a timely issue

The Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-148) used forest insect outbreaks as a justification for increasing logging and limiting environmental protections. Currently, the Rio Grande National Forest is promoting a massive logging project, 29 million board feet or over 7,000 log trucks, to control spruce beetles. The logging project will have significant impacts on water quality and soils in the upper Rio Grande watershed that is so critical to the lives and well-being of the San Luis Valley.

“The Forest Service is using insects as a ruse to turn over valuable public resources to private logging corporations.” Said Bryan Bird, a forest ecologist with the WildEarth Guardians. “This new report cast a serious shadow of doubt onto the legitimacy of the logging and its effects on insects. There is too much uncertainty for the Forest Service to assume such risks to water and wildlife in southern Colorado.”

What others are saying about the report, Logging to Control Insects: The Science and Myths Behind Managing Forest Insect "Pests."

Mike Dombeck, Chief Emeritus, U.S. Forest Service: Scott Hoffman Black's masterful synthesis of the state-of-the art science in Logging to Control Insects is a must for those who care about forests and forest management. It explodes many of the myths about logging to control insects and demonstrates the need for forest managers to work with and not against nature. This easy-to-use reference summarizes the latest authoritative research about the natural interactions between forests and forest insect pests, including what has worked to control insects and what has not. It is the most useful publication on the topic of forests and forest pests that I have seen and has my highest recommendation."

About the Author Scott Hoffman Black, executive director of the Xerces Society, has degrees in ecology, horticultural plant science, and entomology. He has written many scientific and popular publications and co-authored several reports on forest management, including Ensuring the Ecological Integrity of the National Forests in the Sierra Nevada and Restoring the Tahoe Basin Forest Ecosystem.

View the report on the Xerces website

Conejos Peak District Ranger Roberto R. Martinez’s decision of July 18, 2005 to approve the County Line Vegetation Management Project and Final Environmental Impact Statement (“FEIS”). The project area is located on the Conejos Peak Ranger District of the Rio Grande National Forest.