Chattooga Watershed Restoration Project     
County Schools Funding Revitalization Act of 1999
Georgia DNR Bureaucrats Overstep Their Authority
Biodiversity and Funding: The 106th Congress

Chattooga Watershed Restoration Project

The US Forest Service recently decided to implement a large scale watershed restoration project in the Chattooga River watershed. The first year’s funding for the project will be a whopping $2.1 million, with a projected project duration of up to five years. The Forest Service’s list of "potential collaborators" includes three state governments, four county governments, three national forests, two Forest Service Research Stations, numerous special interest groups, and just one conservation-advocacy organization: the Chattooga River Watershed Coalition.

The project’s stated intent is to "build upon the body of research and the relationships developed through the Forest Service’s Chattooga River Watershed Ecosystem Management Demonstration Project conducted in 1993-1995," with a focus on "sediment reduction and alleviating excess fecal coliform concentrations."

Our analysis of the Restoration Project’s fledgling Business Plan clearly indicates that strong third party participation and oversight is needed. It seems that considerable funds are earmarked for projects that are quite removed from "watershed restoration;" for example, activities aimed exclusively at timber management, and creating artificial habitats for game species. Instead, we advocate direct funding to projects for remedying urgent water quality problems, such as cleaning up Stekoa Creek. The CRWC will participate in and closely follow the implementation of the Restoration Project, which begins initial organization and coordination this January.

County Schools Funding Revitalization Act of 1999

Representative Nathan Deal of Georgia has introduced some startling legislation (HR 2389) called the County Schools Funding Revitalization Act of 1999. The proposed Act addresses the federal funding given to counties from timber sales where public lands are located, which is known as the 25% Fund. This fund has dwindled, because the volume of timber sales has been reduced or stopped altogether in many areas due to past over-harvesting, and litigation. Now, this bill would undermine the ability of Forest Service Chief Michael Dombeck to redirect his agency toward responsible land management. Dombeck has strongly endorsed decoupling county payments and timber receipts, because he knows that the current system produces the incentives for logging at the expense of other important values such as clean water, recreation, fish and wildlife. Furthermore, the Deal bill is premised on the idea that our national forests need more logging. The bill increases federal subsidies for logging by at least $90 million annually and $630 million over the next seven years. Yet the Forest Service’s timber program loses millions of dollars of taxpayer’s money, and results in enormous environmental costs as well. The bill also contains provisions to transfer a measure of control of our national forest to a few select, local authorities who would have the means to fashion projects to keep the cash flowing. Certainly, this could further the likelihood of increased resource extraction at the expense of the other values found on our public lands. Currently, the bill has passed the House and is headed to the Senate. Please contact your Senators and express your opinion about this bill. Members of Congress should understand that excessive logging is the problem, not the solution.

Georgia DNR Bureaucrats Overstep Their Authority

On December 16, without public input, knowledge or consulting the DNR Board, DNR Commissioner Lonice Barrett and Division of Wildlife Chief David Waller signed an official policy statement opposing the creation of additional wilderness areas in the Chattahoochee National Forest. This position runs counter to the wishes of thousands of Georgians, who see wilderness designation as a way to protect their drinking water supplies and other natural resources. It also fails to recognize that wilderness areas are open to traditional uses such as hunting and fishing, and this special designation is supported by organizations such as the Georgia Wildlife Federation. We urge citizens to express their views to Governor Barnes. After all, only 15% of the 750,000 acre Chattahoochee National Forest is currently protected as wilderness, and the Forest Service’s draft proposal would add to that figure only 34,000 acres, leaving more 600,000 acres open to logging and possible wildlife management.

Biodiversity and Funding: The 106th Congress

The outcome of the first session of the 106th Congress for biodiversity could be summarized as a few steps forward and no major steps back. Regular funding for the major conservation agencies showed some increases for Fiscal Year 2000 over FY ‘99, as shown below:

National Park Service: $1.8 billion, up from $1.7 billion

Fish and Wildlife Service: $878 million, up from $802 million

Bureau of Land Management: $1.2 billion, up from $1.1 billion

Funding for the Forest Service dropped by $29 million overall, in areas both harmful and helpful to biodiversity. While certain fisheries programs got increases and money to reconstruct degraded roads was increased, so was money to construct new logging roads, as well as increase in logging in Alaska and clearcutting in Colorado. Also, over all funding for the timber program will remain the same as last year.

Funding for lands for habitat protection increased: The President’s Land Legacy Initiative was funded at $651 million, including $444 million for federal land acquisition and $206 million for state and local governments.

The Land & Water Conservation Fund allocations were increased this year to $450 million, and progress has been made toward a permanent funding mechanism via a compromise bill that combines the bill introduced by the late Rep. George Miller’s pro-conservation HR798 and Rep. Don Young’s anti-conservation HR701. The new compromise bill could pass this year.

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