S-1692.1          _______________________________________________

                       SUBSTITUTE SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 8007

                  _______________________________________________

State of Washington              54th Legislature             1995 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on Natural Resources (originally sponsored by Senators Morton, Hargrove, Oke, Winsley and Rasmussen)

Read first time 02/21/95.

Requesting that a state of forest health emergency be declared and that salvage sales of dead and dying trees be expedited.

     TO THE HONORABLE BILL CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE SECRETARY OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, AND TO THE SECRETARY OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR:

     We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

     WHEREAS, 1994 was the latest in a series of catastrophic forest fire seasons in the West, and 2.9 million acres were burned, including a total of 285,700 acres in Washington state, and the lives of 25 courageous fire fighters were lost; and

     WHEREAS, The burned area contains over 700 million board feet of timber that will lose commercial value within two years, and the prompt salvage logging of fire-damaged and killed trees will permit redemption of some of their commercial value; and

     WHEREAS, Removal of damaged and dead trees will also reduce the risk of reburns, such as the three fires that occurred over an 18-year period and were sparked by one original fire, the Oregon Tillamook fire, as well as reduce future fire risk by reducing fuel for fires; and

     WHEREAS, The severity of these fires are the result of prolonged drought and deteriorating forest health conditions, and these conditions still exist over very large areas threatening lives, property, and the jobs of residents of timber-dependent communities; and

     WHEREAS, Enormous wildfires awaiting ignition on public lands of the West can no longer be seen as uncontrollable acts of nature; and the costs and risks of inaction are greater than the costs of remedial actions; and

     WHEREAS, Millions of acres of dead and dying trees have been left in the wake of the 1994 fire season, and leaving these areas untreated will only exacerbate the spread of insect infestations and disease and increase the risk of future catastrophic fires; and

     WHEREAS, Billions of dollars of timber is burned and will have no value if not salvaged quickly, compounding the cost and difficulty of providing long-term solutions; and

     WHEREAS, Removal of such trees will also help control insects and disease, recycle nutrients into soils, and improve wildlife habitat, stream flows, and grazing areas, thereby creating a more resilient landscape of plants and animals; and

     WHEREAS, Burned areas should be promptly reseeded to protect against flood, mud, and erosion damage, and trail erosion control structures should be built to further ensure protection against flood, mud, and erosion damage, and trail erosion control structures should be built to further ensure protection against flood, mud, and erosion damage;

     NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the President of the United States declare a state of forest health emergency in Eastern Washington and other affected areas; and that the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior expedite salvage sales of dead and dying trees to mitigate dangerous conditions and improve future forest health in these affected areas.  Your Memorialists further pray that the United States Department of Agriculture participate in efforts to ensure the long-term health of our natural resources and request that the United States Department of Agriculture:

     (1) Conduct salvage logging on all forest lands burned by wildfires in 1994 or before;

     (2) Take steps to control diseases and insects preying upon damaged and dead trees in burned areas; and

     (3) Reseed and replant seedlings in burned areas in order to prevent further damage to those areas.

     BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the United States, the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, the Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the state of Washington.

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