The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, a brilliant piece of work, was written by a group of people who knew what they were doing. It outlined a new way of thinking. It required that you take a “hard look” at all resources existing in a project area and analyze the environmental impacts of the proposed project on them. It grew out of a plethora of environmental disasters, and the book “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson. When passed by Congress, it was supposed to be our nation’s premier environmental law.
The US Forest Service, in a unique position because of the multitude of resources under its control, became the nation’s expert on NEPA in the 1980’s and 90’s. Much of my 20+ year career in the agency revolved around NEPA. Unfortunately, it has been abused by people on both sides of environmental issues, making it today, nearly powerless, nothing more than a set of procedures to follow. That’s a shame.
I have personally observed simple timber sale proposals turned into beautiful pieces of work, where elk and other wildlife habitat was “optimized,” snag habitat for raptors and a plethora of other critters improved, riparian areas put on a course of long term improvement, water quantity and quality increased, archeological sites discovered and protected, the threat from forest insects and diseases reduced; and yes, millions of board feet of timber made available for the benefit of the American people.
What became standard operating procedure, an interdisciplinary team made up of wildlife biologists, hydrologists, range specialists, entomologists, forest pathologists, certified silviculturists, forest geneticists and other specialists in their fields would join together and develop plans for large, multi-thousand acre areas of forest and range lands; in my case, in the big tree state of Oregon.
As we move forward with forest health initiatives in the Northern Rockies, there is an opportunity to once again discover the intent and beauty of NEPA. It may well unlock secrets, to this date, undiscovered.
Let’s stop the lawsuits. Let’s stop the denigration of loggers and environmentalists. We have critical work to do here in the Northern Rockies. The implications are enormous.
Chris A. Linkenhoker
Corvallis