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THE WALL S'I'l''""IET JOURNAL. Timber Summit to Attract 30,000 Peacemakers In War Between Loggers and Environmentalists fiy tllIaints MI Co,' And Ruse Grir'el.n .n,u n,m,,,..,.,,i'n„ w,~, .. :, President Ctinton miy4ht want to bring his own chain saw to tlle timber summit Friday in Portland, Ore. He might need it to cut through all the hoopla. About 30,oU0 loggers, environmemal- ists,journalists and other interested par- ties are set tu descend un Portland for the summit, me.ant lo start a peace process in the nallan's protracted wars over wild- life protection and logging. Bonnie Raitt, one ot the president's favorite singers, and other pop stars will perform. Salmon fishermen will send a flotilla up the Colum- bia River. f.umberjacks will hold a mid- night prayer vigii. Mugfcians, sword swal- lowers and jugglers will do thelr things, loo. "II has all the elements of a cfrcus;' observes Brnek Evans, vice president of the National Amlubon Society. No Big Initiatives Expected Indeed, the murhalicipated summit is shaping up its a lol lupwro show than go. The govenmlent no lu¢~;rrl,is expected lo put forth illly nhljnr hlitlatives at the sununit to break the logjam over forest pullcy - a fm1 thut will disappoint many in the West. And the kind of things Ihat the Clinton team is likely to promote at the summit, like juh retraining for displaced loggers and broad ecosysteni management in public foresls that would allow some logging, dou't address sume of the biggest problems right now. 'fhuse problems In- clude sky-high lumber prices and heavy loggling - oftei'iw,ftly brudish pogging tech- niques and harsh Impitt~ls on wild'libe - on private timberlands. The president's call fur a timber sum- mlt flllfllletl a I:anlpalgn pledge and raised a lot of expeclulions in Ihe West, where it was seen by many on both sides of the issue as a last shot at ending the warfare over wildlife protection and logging that has raged since the spotted owl was de- clared endangered in 1990. In addition to Mr. Clinton, Vice President Albert Gore, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and sev- eral other cabinet officials will attend. Adlninistration officials say Ihe confer- ence, modeled after December's economic lipitheri,ng in Llttle Ruck, Ark., will consist of rnundhIhle discussions on three topics: who is affected by Ihe Ilmber crisis; the ecronomic, envfrunmentul and sociological and economic development. After the event, an interagency task furre that has already been working on issues related to the conference will help develop a compre- hensive forest-management plan. One aim will be to standardize the oftemcunfjicting practices of the various federal agencies involved in timber policy - and to assure that they obey Bmbermanagemenl and wildlife-prolection laws, which they re- peatedly failed to do during the past two administrations. The Clinton administration's lungierm plan for resolving the clash over cutting in the federal forests centers on first getting court injunctions banning logging on mil- lions of acres of public forest lifted. That won't be easy: Federal timber agencies must first come up with a spotted uwl-pm- tection plan that federal judges deem meets legal requirements; the courts have rejected several previous plans, which can take months to compile, as inadequate. Survey Completed Moreover, ajusPcompletGd survey by Forest Service biologists has fonndithat Ohe, Northwestern ancient forests are homel to more than 600 species, many of which are suffering. The scientists' report con- cludes that any owl-protection measures should be expanded to ensure that those other species are protected as well. It Implies more logging restrictions than the government has ever proposed for the ancient forests. Mr. Babbitt has praised the new report, but the Forest Servlce's chief, Dale Robertson, has been cool to it, . In the long run, the Clinton administra-, tion seems headed toward al1oaing some cutting while setting aside enough habitat to ensure that healthy forest ecosystems survive intact. Indeed, "It's the habitat, stupid," has become a catch phrase among summit-going environmentalists - and some administration aides. The govern- ment may also try to restrict raw-log exports, which have remained high even as mlllworkers have been cast out of work by the thousands because of log shorP ages. Walt Mtnnlek, chief execulive officer of TJ Internatlonaf Inc., a Boise, Idaho, lumber company, says the industry shouldn't expect logging on public lands to ever reach more than about 1051of the levels seen in the 1986s. 'Those days are gone for gaod, and we better face reality," he says. Mr. Mimiiek and other timber operators also believe they'll eventually be required to use far nwre gentle logging techniques. "The era of those big clearcuts Is over," he says. Congress May Act Much of what the administration hopes to achieve in the forest, though, will take many months and probably require con- gresslonai action. Moreover, because of the factlonalization in the environmental community, timber harvests will still be subject to legal challenge and protest, even If mainstream environmental groups sign on m the new approach. Timber companies want to somehow restrict their opponents ability to sue; environmentalists are dead set against that. In the meantlme, the situation in the Western forests is growing grimmer. The plunder of public timberlands has slowed and owls are safer, but the logging restrictions have helped drive lumber prlres to record highs in recent monlhs. The price of redwood logs in Califurnia, for example, has snared to 59u0 per 1,000 board feet, more than double year-earlier prices. To date, the increased costs haven't seemed to have much impact on the gen- eral economy because home sales have been relatively slow and builders haven't been able to pass on their increased lum- ber costs to consumers. Prices Spur Heavy Logging The surging prices, however, have spurred heavy logging on private lands and prompted many holders of smaller timber parcels to~ selI them off for log- "It's a great irony9•, but a lol of trees that would have stoud forever are coming down because of high prices and the fear landowners have thal they might never be able to log," said Dun Bealy, a timberland manager and forestry consultant in Redd- Ing, Calif. Moreover, because the costs of meeting limber-harvesting regulations and acquiring permits have soared in the pest fewyears-to about $8,000 from about II,SOp for a slale-required timberharvest plad In California, Mr. Beaty estimates- landowners who do decide to cut are having to cut more to make any profit. Aaton Smythe's family owns 160 acres in Mendlcfno County, in California's red- wood country. lie considers himself an environmentalist, hut he recently sold tim- issues involved in forestry, and "new and /- ®~`O'~T~7~,'~yL,ryy innovalfve" ideas for forest managemen V4l The Lumber and Timber Industry "'4MhasM waea prodealr employment le Oryou ad Wahlnplon, in Ihousandr 41 130 .125 ItSS' 114 4 I ; n .mm_-_,aa -.---,- n?; ''n ~'rf 'a 'Se 'u 'x 'af nupionsma. ~as d ~ ~ iv>, s i ~iaCax tlEmAN+nuK Total hervert lor Orepon and Washlnpton, in Olllfons ol board laet 'et at 15 'eI 8artts us forcsrSrmre.Y.-..'.a Em~.'armenranCTnJe m Mrm,,,,~ Fm her rights to 35 acres; logging wdl start trees can cmnmand rn;hl mnc .,i, ~wlt soon. "We didn't want to cut thosc trees, but I've got taxes to pay, and Ihe prices lievahle," he says. might never be uble. 11 1 d,m I, w i„•u . I I II~III~1 I '.'ll~