Opinion ID: 742736
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Commercial Logging Program (Count IV)

Text: 106 The plaintiffs argue that the Forest Service's decision to allow logging in the Shawnee is based upon several erroneous assumptions including: (1) that commercial logging is required by law; (2) that logging in the Shawnee helps the local economy; (3) that logging of hardwoods in the Shawnee can be profitable; and (4) that logging will promote biodiversity. The fourth argument already has been discussed in relation to the artificial openlands issue above and will not be repeated here. The following analysis, therefore, will focus only on the first three arguments. 107 The Court agrees with the plaintiffs that the FSEIS for the ALRMP erroneously assumes that logging is required by federal statutes. (FSEIS at 2-4 to 2-5 (Alternative 4 [the no-logging alternative] is probably a violation of the Resource Planning Act, the National Forest Management Act and the Multiple-Use Sustained Yield Act of 1960.).) The Forest Service is correct in stating that the national forests were created for multiple purposes, including timber. See MUSYA, 16 U.S.C. § 528 (1988) (It is the policy of Congress that the National Forests are established and shall be administered for outdoor recreation, range, timber, watershed, and wildlife and fish purposes.). However, while that language indicates that timber is a permissible use of forest land, the statute does not require that every forest provide for every one of the enumerated uses. To the contrary, while NFMA directs the Forest Service to manage forests for multiple use and sustained yield of the several products and services obtained therefrom[,] 16 U.S.C. § 529 (1988), the statute makes it clear that multiple use means the most judicious use of the land for some or all of these resources and recognizes that some land will be used for less than all of the resources. 16 U.S.C. § 531 (1988) (emphasis added). 12 108 This defect is not fatal to the ALRMP, however, because there is no indication that Regional Forester Marita's decision was based upon this assumption. Rather, in explaining his decision, the regional forester stated: 109 I selected alternative 5 because it provides timber products to help supply the nation's need for quality hardwood sawtimber and veneer. The timber program will concentrate on growing and harvesting those wood products most desired by the local timber industry. I realize that some people believe no trees should be harvested from the Shawnee, while others want a much greater amount harvested. I believe timber harvest, as specified in alternative 5, is a needed and beneficial part of forest management. 110 The Shawnee is a National Forest whose multiple-use mission includes the production of timber products. The Shawnee, along with other National Forests, is funded by the United States Congress to produce a sustained supply of wood products. The timber program prescribed under alternative 5 is consistent with the multiple-use mission of the Forest Service and the intent of Congress. 111 (ROD for ALRMP at 19-20.) 112 These comments are consistent with a recognition that timber harvest is one of the legitimate uses for the forest, i.e., part of the forest's multiple-use mission. But there is no indication that the regional forester felt statutorily compelled to provide for timber harvest. Rather, his decision is based upon his professional opinion that timber harvest is a needed and beneficial part of forest management and, therefore, he has exercised his discretion to provide for timber harvest along with other permissible uses of the forest. (ROD for ALRMP at 20 (I believe alternative 5 provides the best possible mix of timber, recreation, wildlife, and other outputs and uses while protecting and enhancing the basic forest resources. Neither a greater or lesser timber harvest volume would produce the best mix of resource use and environmental protection.).) That is precisely the sort of compromise that the NFMA has empowered the agency to make. See Krichbaum v. Kelley, 844 F.Supp. 1107, 1119 (W.D.Va.1994). 113 The plaintiffs' second argument attacks the regional forester's suggestion that timber harvest will benefit the local economy. Although the plaintiffs acknowledge that there is a general demand for timber in the local area, the plaintiffs argue that the cumulative effects analysis in the FSEIS shows that private timberland is capable of supplying that demand. Thus, they contend that the Forest Service's decision is based upon a flawed relative values analysis. The Court disagrees for several reasons. 114 First, in discussing the effects of alternative 4, the FSEIS states that [p]rivate commercial forest lands could theoretically make up this difference since the most current data show that harvest from private land in Illinois is less than growth and since the Shawnee National Forest timber harvest has been less than 1 % of the total harvest for Illinois. (FSEIS at 4-93 (emphasis added).) Implicit in this statement is the fact that while private lands may have sufficient timber to supply commercial needs, there is no indication that private landowners are willing to sell their timber. Moreover, the FSEIS statement is based upon timber data for the entire state rather than just the localized area. Timber harvests elsewhere would not benefit the local timber industry to the same degree as harvests from the Shawnee. 115 Secondly, timber sales from the Shawnee also benefit the local economy through direct payments to county governments based upon a percentage of the receipts from such sales. This income would be lost if the Shawnee halted its logging program, forcing the timber industry to look elsewhere in the state for supplies. Finally, the Court notes that the regional forester's decision was not based solely upon the needs of the local area but, rather, considered the nation's demand for timber products. Thus, as explained above, the decision to allow logging in the Shawnee was based upon a proper relative values analysis. 116 The plaintiffs' final argument is that the Forest Service based its decision upon the erroneous assumption that commercial logging can be profitable in the Shawnee. More specifically, the plaintiffs contend that the Forest Service relied upon erroneous information in a table that set forth the costs and revenues associated with timber sale program from 1987 to 1990. (FSEIS at 3-82 (Table 3-15).) The table shows that the sale of upland hardwood timber turned a profit in all but one year during the four-year period, averaging $103.87 per thousand board feet in revenues against $90.13 in costs overall. 13 However, the plaintiffs have submitted a memorandum in which the Forest Service states that an error was made in the 1988 and 1990 figures used in this tables. 14 (Pls.' Ex. 29.) The corrected values show that the program turned a profit in 1987 and 1988 but that revenues have run below costs in every year since then. The average revenues through 1992 were $98.57 per thousand board feet as compared with $98.10 in costs. 15 117 Based upon the corrected information, the plaintiffs argue that the timber sales barely broke even and the clear trend since 1988 is for such sales to lose money, with substantial losses reported in 1991 when there were $137.88 per thousand board feet in revenues against $255.40 in costs. Thus, the plaintiffs argue that the Forest Service has erroneously assumed that it has addressed the problem of below-cost sales by offering only hardwood timber as part of the commercial logging program. 118 It is clear that an error was made in the mathematical computations set forth in the FSEIS. However, the corrected data is still sufficient to support the regional forester's belief that the hardwood sales would address the below-cost timber sale issue. Although the hardwood sales have averaged profits of only $0.47 per thousand board feet from 1987 to 1992, these are profits nonetheless and, therefore, cannot be considered below-cost sales. Moreover, the regional forester acknowledged that even with this emphasis on hardwood sales, the timber sale program probably will not become profitable in the near future because of the extraordinary expenses for appeals, litigation, and law enforcement associated with timber sales. Thus, while the regional forester was aware that the problem was not entirely resolved, he stated that he chose alternative 5 because it makes every effort to 'turn-around' the below-cost timber sale program on the Shawnee National Forest. (ROD for ALRMP at 20; see also ROD for ALRMP at 19 (Under alternative 5, the timber sale program for the Shawnee National Forest could return a profit, since ... it focuses on sales of high-value hardwood sawtimber.) (emphasis added).) 119 This assumption is supported by the corrected figures for past hardwood sales and, therefore, the decision to continue the commercial logging program was not arbitrary or capricious. As a result, the Court rejects the plaintiffs' challenges to the timber program as stated in Count IV.