August 25,1976
Page 27650
Mr. MUSKIE, Mr. President, the National Forest Management Act of 1976 is an important step toward providing modern policy guidelines for management of the resources in our National Forest system. It is important that we act on this measure quietly because it addresses many of the controversial and far-reaching legal questions which were raised in the Monongahela decision and I am persuaded that this legislation directs the country toward a resolution of the issue without making prematurely binding decisions on silvicultural questions.
I share with Senator RANDOLPH his well-placed concern about indiscriminate clear cutting and other forest harvesting practices in our national forests which do not fully reflect long range silvicultural priorities and environmental problems. I am concerned, however, that we are poorly prepared at this time to make decisions that will finally bind forest managers. The bill now contains clear policy guidelines directing that clear cutting will be permitted only where it is determined to be the optimum silvicultural method. The amendments which Senator HUMPHREY successfully added provide a mechanism to assure that these silvicultural and environmental guidelines are followed in particular harvesting decisions.
I shall be following the administration of those guidelines and will join the effort to draft more rigid requirements into law if the discretion granted to administrators is abused, but I am not persuaded we should completely forbid clear cutting activity in all cases. Sound forest management may permit decisions to clear cut and use other even-aged management practices in some cases consistent with silvicultural and environmental concerns. It would be inappropriate for us to prejudge those decisions until we have the opportunity to view the administration of the policy guidelines.