S-0598.2  _______________________________________________

                    SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 8011

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      54th Legislature     1995 Regular Session

By Senators Hargrove, Owen, Snyder, Bauer, Deccio, Morton, A. Anderson and Rasmussen

Read first time 01/25/95.  Referred to Committee on Natural Resources.

Requesting that the U.S. Department of Agriculture assist in restoring burned forests.

    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, THE SECRETARY OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE:

    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, The summer of 1994 brought devastating lightning-caused wildfires to our state as well as to Oregon and western Canada, including a 135,000 acre fire that was this state's largest since 1929; and

    WHEREAS, Those fires burned over 280,000 acres of private, state, and federal forest, grass, and range land; and

    WHEREAS, The burned area contains over 700 million board feet of timber that will lose commercial value within two years; and

    WHEREAS, 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, 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

    WHEREAS, 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 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 United States Forest Service, 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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