History of The Willamette National Forest

INTRODUCTION

The history of the Forest Service in the period 1970-1988 was one of dramatic change and heated controversies. The Willamette National Forest was affected by these changes and was a center for a number of controversies, some of which still persist. In part, these changes were due to changes in the nature of American society itself. They include a growing urbanization, and with this urbanization a tendency to look upon the land as a playground rather than as a producer of goods and services. In part they represented a change in the tactics, make-up, and effectiveness of pressure groups. Other changes were those within the Forest Service itself. They represented both a growing diversification of the tasks of the Forest Service, and the difficulty of maintaining the traditional approach to resource management. We will examine each of these phenomena as applied to the national scene, and then as applied to the Willamette National Forest.

SOCIETAL CHANGES

The growth of an urban population—it reached 70 percent nationally by 1985—meant that an increasingly large number of people were life-long city dwellers who had no economic ties to the land. Also, a growing number of people were from heavily populated areas outside the Pacific Northwest. Plus there was an increasing interest among native and long-term residents in the naturalness of the mountains and streams that they so long took for granted. There was, in much of their writing, a lack of understanding or sympathy with the timber industry; and an assumption that if loggers lost their livelihood, it made no great difference.

In the Pacific Northwest, native Oregonians dwelling in cities had generally held a holistic view of the management of forest lands. Urban groups played a large part in creation of the first forest reserves, recognizing their values for recreation, city watersheds, and aesthetic and scientific study, for developing forest trails and highways, and in working with managerial problems. Loggers kept ties with the small towns and city; while they worked in lumber camps, their wives stayed in town. The city was the main supply center for goods needed by the rural groups; the country was the source of food and building materials used by the city dwellers. With the development of power saw logging and truck hauling after World War II, loggers worked in the woods and lived in towns, but the ties between rural and urban areas were kept alive by farmer's markets. During the New Deal, the mutual dependence of city and farms was evident in the programs for sustained yield units in the timber industry, and for forest communities in Oakridge and Westfir. [1] Generally speaking, the citizenry recognized the purposes in managing forest lands as being Samuel Trask Dana's phrase, "The management of forest lands for the continuous production of goods and services—an art based on science and practiced with regard to social and economic considerations." [2]

Major changes in the population occurred in the last third of the twentieth century. One change was the movement of summer home owners and retirees into the river valleys of the Willamette National Forest. Their general way of life and outlook toward the forest was often at odds with those of the established residents. They looked upon the forest as something to be managed primarily for social considerations rather than economic ones—that is, for recreation and aesthetic values rather than for timber production. The influx of Californians has been blamed for a great many of Oregon's woes, and in this case there is probably some truth to the accusation. In California the forests were used more for recreation than for timber production, and opposition to the Forest Service was traditional in many areas, and confrontation was a way of life. [3]

Closely related to this influx was the growth of colleges and universities in Oregon; particularly the University of Oregon. In the previous chapter mention has been made of the activist groups that grew up in connection with the University. Such groups persisted, occasionally picketing the Eugene Forest Supervisor's Office in the Federal Building and passing out pamphlets. Though the presence of such groups, "noisy, often ill-informed, litigious and hell-bent on confrontation" continued, there was some change in the make-up and tactics of the groups after 1970. A part of this change came from the development of programs in environmental education in the 1970s, analogous to the development of programs in conservation education in the first half of the century. The earlier programs tended to channel the activities of students into scholarly rather than emotional outlets, and led many people to seek methods of working within the existing system rather than trying to force change in it. [4]

There were far-reaching changes within the Forest Service as well. One change was a bewildering succession of legislation, appeals, litigation, and directives designed to clarify its tasks, and to settle legal issues. (See the Chronological Summary of each Chapter for a listing of the important laws.) The Federal legislation was paralleled by state legislation, designed to further Federal-state cooperation in such areas as wildlife management, research, and timber management. The growth in appeals and litigation, especially in the late 1970s and 1980s, has been spawned by the special interest groups. Generally, the environmental groups found that working through the local District Ranger or Forest Supervisor was often unproductive from their point of view. Part of this was because they tended to deal with national issues, such as wilderness, spotted owl, and old-growth that could not be settled or resolved at the local level. These groups found that the best approach to resolving their concerns has been through the legal system and Congressional actions. In contrast, the timber industry for decades had worked very well with the local District Ranger or Forest Supervisor to get satisfaction on particular project concerns. Only during and after the first Roadless Area Review and Evaluation (RARE) did the timber industry get heavily involved at the national and Congressional levels, as well as using the legal appeals and litigation to resolve their concerns.

There were a series of national level power struggles, particularly within the Carter and the Reagan administrations. They were marked by interagency and intra-agency struggles for influence. The one struggle occurred over the increased commercial pressure on national forests, which foresters thought could be met with increasing intensive management, coupled with increased demand by environmentalists and social groups that timberland be taken out of commercial production. In the words of one writer, "Instead of arriving at mutual accommodation, policies and actions have veered from one extreme to another, and exchanges between factions have grown increasingly acerbic and accusatory." Another struggle revolved around a push by the Carter administration to combine the Forest Service with other land management agencies in the Department of the Interior into a super Department of Natural Resources. This effort, as with others since the 1920s, was doomed to failure. Lastly, there was an effort in the Reagan administration to sell unneeded Federal land, especially USDI Bureau of Land Management (BLM) grazing land in the Rocky Mountain states. Another proposal in late January, 1985, was to join the Forest Service and BLM offices in areas where it seemed practical and efficient. In Oregon, this proposal meant that the BLM administered O&C lands would be brought under management of the Forest Service, with several changes to Forest and Ranger District boundaries to make administration of the land and resources more efficient. This proposal was greeted with much glee by real estate brokers and others in the administration, but almost total shock by the Congressional staffs and communities where the lands were to be changed. The end result, after a series of public hearings and an extensive public outcry, was that by the late summer of 1985 the proposal was put on the "back burner" by Interior Secretary Donald Hodel and Congress. [5]

There were also changes in the make-up of the Forest Service itself which presented new problems for forest management. The aim of the Forest Service was holistic forestry, that is "management of the entire forest environment, including both market and non-market resources." Holistic forestry holds the promise of successfully combining management of the commodities (wood, water, and forage potential), protection of wildlife and fisheries habitat, outdoor recreation, and aesthetics. It is "the management of forest lands for the continuous production of goods and services, an art based on science and practiced with due regard to economic and social consideration."

Foresters had these aims in mind from early times, and the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (NFMA) expressed this balance. As the management has become more complex, specialization has occurred. Forest Service now has its own resource specialists—soil scientists, range conservationists, recreation managers, and a sprinkling of social scientists. (See Appendix for the range of jobs filled on the Willamette NF in the spring of 1988.)

It is the professional forester manager who must provide the integrated forest management—that is, the continuous yield of desired commodities with due consideration for social and environmental values. The task is in some ways easier, since the managers can call on experts; but the presence of experts may make the task more difficult. A major reason for the Forest Service's success in the past has been the fact that forestry education, meeting high standards set by the Society of American Foresters (SAF), gives the school trained foresters a common set of values, adherence to a common background, a set of professional ethics, and a great deal of professional pride. Ideally it provides the holistic point of view needed for successful forest management. [6] A great many of the new specialists were not forestry graduates and were loyal to their own disciplines or interest groups rather than to the practice of forestry and to the Forest Service as an organization. These were commonly thought of as obstacles to developing a holistic viewpoint, but today it is apparent that these new specialists have given a new direction to national forest management. They have brought new ways of looking at the forest and new ways of doing things into the mainstream of forest management. These new specialists have created a new dynamic that is considerably different from the older forester/engineer generation. It remains to be seen if these new members of the Forest Service will create a better, more responsive agency in the future. [7]

ADMINISTRATION

Forest Service Chief Edward P. Cliff retired in 1972, just when the Forest Service was beginning to feel the heat from a wide variety of critics. Cliff was replaced by John R. McGuire, an Associate Chief with long experience in research. McGuire served admirably during this environmental era, and was an important force in helping Congress write several important laws dealing with national forest management: Resources Planning Act (1974) and the National Forest Management Act (1976). McGuire retired in 1979 and was replaced by R. Max Peterson. An engineer by training, Peterson spent several years in the Washington Office dealing with Congress and proposed legislation before his appointment as Chief. In addition, he spent much of his time as Chief trying to deflect the many harsh criticisms of the Forest Service by many groups that wanted their piece of the resource pie. Probably most important was his even handed dealings with Congress concerning the disposition of the remaining roadless areas in the national forests. Peterson retired in 1987 and was replaced by F. Dale Robertson who worked for a number of years in the Southern Region and the Pacific Northwest Region. Robertson served as Forest Supervisor for the Siuslaw and Mt. Hood National Forests before going to the Washington Office as Associate Chief in 1980. Tides of national policies were reflected in the Region and in the Willamette Forest.

Charles A. Connaughton retired as Regional Forester in 1971 and was succeeded by his deputy, Rexford A. Resler. Resler, a native of Illinois, was educated at Oregon State University, earning his B.S. in 1953, and his Masters in 1954. He served with the Army Air Corps during World War II, and began work with the Forest Service in the Deschutes National Forest in 1950 as a forest aide. Subsequently, he worked on the Siuslaw and Rogue River National Forests, and on the Willamette where he became Deputy Supervisor in 1962; he became Supervisor of the Malheur in 1965. In 1968 he went to the Washington Office working in the recreation division, then was reassigned as the assistant director of timber management. In 1970 he became Deputy Regional Forester in the Pacific Northwest Region and the following year became Regional Forester. He was faced with implementing the new National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 and the Clean Air Act of 1970. In early 1972, the Region and the Forests began a controversial public review of the remaining roadless areas (RARE). In 1972 Resler was transferred to Washington as Deputy Chief, retiring in 1978. He was replaced by Ted Schlapfer.

Theodore A. Schlapfer, a native of New Jersey, was a 1943 graduate of the University of Georgia, and served for three years in the United States Navy before entering the Forest Service. His early work was in the Pacific Southwest (California) Region. In 1959 he was appointed Supervisor of the South Tongass National Forest, and in 1963 became Supervisor of the Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota. Between 1965 and 1968, he was assistant director of the division of recreation of the Forest Service in Washington, DC. He was appointed as R-6 Regional Forester in 1972, where he became involved in the RARE analysis and recommendations for wilderness in the Region. A final environmental impact statement (EIS) was produced by the Washington Office in late 1973, but it did not resolve the issue. In addition, Congress passed the Resources Planning Act (RPA) in 1974, the Monongahela decision against clearcutting in West Virginia was upheld by the courts in 1975, the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) was passed in 1976, and a new roadless area review (RARE II) was begun in 1977. Schlapfer retired in 1977 to take on consulting work dealing with natural resources at Lewis and Clark College in Portland. He was succeeded by Dick Worthington.

Richard E. Worthington, a native of Oregon, was a 1950 graduate of Oregon State University. He served with the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1943 to 1946. He worked in the Umpqua, Rogue River, and Mt. Hood National Forests, where he became deputy Forest Supervisor. In 1965 he was transferred to the Olympic as Supervisor, and in 1968 became Supervisor of the Klamath National Forest. He was promoted to the Regional Forester's staff in the Pacific Southwest (California) Region in 1970 as Assistant Regional Forester, becoming Deputy Regional Forester in 1971. In 1972 he was returned to Washington, DC, and became director of the division of timber management. He became the R-6 Regional Forester in June of 1977. Worthington faced the continuing RARE II controversy even after the publication of the final EIS in 1979 and the beginning of the regional and forest planning efforts under the mandate of the NFMA. In addition, the Regional Office put together a team to prepare an EIS on the proper use of herbicides in forestry. This document was produced in 1978, but immediately came under fire from newly formed anti-herbicide groups. In response, the Region in the spring of 1979 chartered a new team to evaluate other methods of treating competing and unwanted vegetation. A final EIS was published in 1981. A rather unexpected natural event occurred in the spring of 1980, when Mt Saint Helens awakened and on May 18, 1980, it erupted in a fury, scattering tons of ash across Washington and dust around the world. The Regional Office scrambled to evaluate the disaster, provide assistance to communities, make ready for President Carter's visit, and prepare a plan for the management of the mountain. In 1982 Worthington retired, and was succeeded by Jeff Sirmon.

Jeff M. Sirmon, a native of Alabama, graduated in 1958 from Auburn University with a degree in engineering. Sirmon served as forest engineer in various positions from 1958 to 1963. In 1963 he was transferred to R-5, and in 1969 to the engineering division of the Washington Office. Three years later he was named Assistant Regional Forester for the R-1 in Missoula. In 1974 he became Deputy Regional Forester for the Intermountain Region (R-4) and was promoted to Regional Forester in 1980. He was appointed as Regional Forester for R-6 in 1982.

One significant problem that Sirmon had to address as Regional Forester was the so-called "Timber Depression." During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the timber industry was expecting that the national inflation would continue, higher prices would be paid for their wood products, and that the NFMA forest planning effort and the RARE II controversy would reduce the available supply of timber. Thus, they tended to overbid on timber sales, betting that the law of supply and demand would make up for the high prices on national forest and BLM timber. When the interest rates soared to near 20 percent, housing demand fell, and the wood products market shrank to almost nothing, yet the companies still were under legal contracts to log and pay the high prices. After getting little satisfaction from the Regional Office, the industry was more successful at the Washington Office to delay the harvest of these high bid sales to avoid going into default. Eventually, Congressional action was necessary to relieve the industry from going bankrupt. After months of negotiation, as well of threats to have the National Park Service take over Mt Saint Helens, the Mt. Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument was established in 1982. He also faced numerous legal actions against the RARE II study and the new Regional Guide (1984). After questions arose from the timber industry about the adequacy of Forest planning, he stoppped the effort to allow time to study the problems and come up with Region-wide solutions. In 1983 and 1984, there were efforts to resolve the roadless area question through Congress, and after months of negotiation, the Oregon and Washington Wilderness Acts were passed in June of 1984. Sirmon also faced an administration effort in the spring of 1985 to transfer or interchange certain BLM and Forest Service lands in Oregon. Sirmon transferred to the Washington Office in the fall of 1985 as the Deputy Chief for programs and legislation. He was replaced by Tom Coston.

Charles T. "Tom" Coston, a native of North Carolina, was a forestry graduate of the University of Montana in 1955. He served with the U.S. Army in 1955-56, starting with the Forest Service on the Lolo National Forest. After serving in the Regional Offices in R-1 and R-4, Coston was named as the Deputy Forest Supervisor on the Boise National Forest in 1970, then Forest Supervisor of the Bridger-Teton National Forest in 1971. He went to the Washington Office in 1975 before returning to R-1 in 1977 as Deputy Regional Forester for resources. Two years later Coston was appointed as Regional Forester for the Northern Region (R-1). After his appointment as Regional Forester in R-6, Coston unexpectedly retired after a few months and was replaced in 1986 by Jim Torrence. [8]

James F. Torrence, a native of Iowa, graduated from Iowa State University in 1955, then started with the Forest Service on the Ochoco National Forest. In 1956-58, he served with the U.S. Army Signal Corps, then returned to the Ochoco and on to the Wallowa-Whitman and Winema Forests, then to the Regional Office to work on environmental impacts statements. In 1972-1974, he served at the Washington Office dealing with developed and winter sports recreation sites, then in 1974-1977 he was the Forest Supervisor on the Superior National Forest in R-8. He was appointed as Deputy Regional Forester for resources in R-6 in 1977, leaving in 1983 to become Regional Forester in Region 2. Torrence came back to Region 6 as Regional Forester in the spring of 1986. Torrence faced the controversial proposal to have portions of the Columbia River Gorge established as a scenic area. After considerable opposition, including the Office of Management and Budget, President Reagan signed the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area into law in November of 1986. In addition, there was the terrible fire situations in 1987, the publication of the first NFMA Forest Plans in 1987, the Oregon Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1988, and in 1987-88 Regional efforts to address through EISs the very controversial spotted owl habitat and the management of competing and unwanted vegetation. [Torrence retired in August of 1989 and was replaced by John F. Butruille, former R-6 Deputy Regional Forester for resources.]

On the Willamette National Forest, Zane Grey Smith, Jr. became Supervisor in 1970, serving until 1974. A graduate of the University of Montana, he also studied at Cornell. He had worked with the Job Corps in Washington, DC, and had first become Deputy Supervisor, then Supervisor of the Sierra National Forest, California. He also worked at the Job Corps training center at Cispus in Region 6. Zane Smith was Forest Supervisor when the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) Local 457 won, by election in April, 1973, the right to exclusive representation of the 500 or so non-managerial employees working for the Willamette's seven Ranger Districts (the Supervisor's Office had been represented by NFFE since 1967). In March, 1974, the Willamette became the largest national forest unit to be represented by the NFFE union. At the contract signing ceremony, Zane Smith noted that "we welcome this new alliance between labor and management which promises to maintain and improve the level of Forest Service performance. We must seek new ways to improve employee communications and to promote better conditions under which employees accomplish their work. Our union can be a significant step towards the realization of these needs." Smith was succeeded in 1974 by Jack Alcock.

John E. Alcock had previously served as Supervisor of the Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky, and Green Mountain National Forest, Vermont. His experience also included work as Director of the Jobs Corps Center in Ripton, Vermont and work on national forests in Indiana, Missouri, and Wisconsin. [9] During Alcock's tenure, the Supervisor's Office moved in February, 1975, from the old location at 210 E. 11th Avenue in downtown Eugene to the new Federal Building on High Street between 6th and 7th Streets.

Michael A. Kerrick became Supervisor in 1980. He graduated from the School of Forestry of the University of Minnesota in 1954. He was on old-timer in the Willamette National Forest, having begun work there as a student on the South Fork of the McKenzie in 1952, mapping the country in preparation for timber sales. In 1953 he laid out timber sales on Quartz Creek in the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, and in the Blue River area. In 1959 he went to the Mt. Baker National Forest, returning to the Willamette in 1966 as timber management assistant, and then as District Ranger in Blue River in 1968. In 1974 he became deputy Forest Supervisor of the Mt. Hood National Forest, moving on to Supervisor of the Coconino National Forest in 1976, and returning to the Willamette as Supervisor in 1980. [10]

ORGANIZATIONS

The 1970s and 1980s were marked by persistent efforts to analyze the nature of the varied groups of people the Forest Service dealt with, and to foster public participation in decision making. Controversies, then and now, tend to be emotional. At hearings on Terwilliger Springs management, which dealt in part with public nudity, the Forest Service plans were characterized as both communistic and fascist. In meetings dealing with herbicides, the Forest Service was accused of trying to poison yet unborn children and cause miscarriages. Arguments over oral vs. sealed bidding on timber sales were abrasive, and debates over wilderness vs. multiple use (not "locking up the land"), as well as below-cost timber sales, often generated more heat than light. Environmentalists asserted that Forest Supervisors should be chosen from outside the ranks of foresters—an assertion that critics put on a par with suggestions that physicians should have no medical training. Environmentalists asserted that the timber industry was "in bed" with the Forest Service, to which an industry spokesman replied that if that were the case, "it was the industry that was getting screwed." Some of this seems like an old tune, newly orchestrated. Views of the Cathedral Forest Action Group and Oregon Natural Resources Council that their rights to use the land were superior to those of either government or private ownership are reminiscent of the arguments of "tramp" sheepmen, in asserting their grazing rights in the Lakeview area of Oregon. Sabotage by wrecking machinery or driving spikes into trees was used by the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) in the World War I period. The IWW called it sabotage; today its proponents call it "environmental activism." [11]

"Good terminologies reveal differences; bad ones conceal them." Since the term "environmental" is used by a great variety of groups, some with totally differing points of view, it is desirable to develop a consistent terminology for defining them. Here, environmental/social is used to define those groups whose interest in the environment is primarily for recreation and aesthetic purposes, like the Sierra Club, the Oregon Natural Resources Council, the National Wildlife Association, or the Audubon Society. Environmental/production is used for those groups whose interest in the forest is primarily as a source of production, such as the various timber associations or woodland owners; environmental/holistic/production is used for groups and organizations who think of the forest as being managed "for the continuous production of goods and services—an art based on science and practiced with due regard for its economic and social considerations." Such groups include the American Forestry Association, the Society of American Foresters, or the Forest Service as an agency.

There were changes among these groups. The Mazamas, formerly the most important of the Oregon groups, largely confined their activities to mountain climbing and did not take a part in the controversies. A civil, "gentlemanly" group, many of them were offended by the confrontational tactics of the more militant. The Sierra Club, while not cutting its ties to the militant groups, publicly moved toward a center-of-the-road position. After Brower's ouster as president, they saw more to gain in a posture of moderation. An umbrella organization, at first calling itself the Oregon Wilderness Coalition, then changing the name to the Oregon Natural Resources Council, incorporated most of the local, Oregon-based groups, initially following the lead of the Sierra Club, but then becoming more independent and finally at odds with the Club over some important issues. Timber land owners maintained their traditional organizations, but adopted more effective means of presenting their points of view through ever more vocal lobby organizations and associations, such as the North West Timber Association, Northwest Forestry Association, Western Forest Industries Association, and the Willamette Timbermen Association.

There were also groups on the fringe of the recognized ones. On the radical right were those people who believed in "privatization," a philosophy based on turning the public lands over, by sale or gift, to private individuals. Termed by one of its proponents "free-market capitalism," it involved selling the public lands except for national parks and national wildlife refuges to the highest bidder. It was argued that public land management of public lands was disgraceful, and that the remedy was to sell off the land. The privatization arguments had some support from the Reagan administration but were viewed usually as a land grab. They had some support from University of Oregon professors, notably William C. Mitchell. [12]

On the radical left were those who advocated, and sometimes used, tactics of passive resistance and sometimes industrial sabotage to economic activities, largely the cutting of timber. Their tactics included parading with signs in front of the Regional and several Supervisor's Offices, blocking entry into the Offices, building platforms in trees and living on them to prevent the cutting of the trees, blockading roads to timber sales, driving spikes into trees, wrecking logging machinery by draining the oil out of the motors and then starting the engines. Increasingly, these groups found rationalizations for their actions from courses in, and writings on, environmental ethics which justified use of these methods on the grounds that ethics transcend law, and that, as one person put it, "It takes outlaws to stop outlaws." [13]

A partial list of the organizations active in the controversies 1970-1988 includes the following:

I National Groups - Environmental/Social

-American Alpine Club
-Audubon Society
-Izaak Walton League of America
-Natural Resources Defence Council
-Nature Conservancy
-Sierra Club
-Wilderness Society
-Wildlife Society

II National Groups/Associations - Environmental/Holistic/Production

-American Forestry Association
-Society of American Foresters

III Regional Groups - Environmental/Social

-Bella Abzug Garden Club
-Cascade Holistic Economic Consultants (CHEC)
-Cathedral Forest Action Group
-Central Cascades Conservation Council (founded 1973)
-Corvallis Environmental Survival Center (students)
-Earth First!
-Eugene Natural History Society
-Hardesty-June Wilderness Council
-Hardesty Mountain Avengers
-Mazamas
-Middle Santiam Wilderness Council
-Native Plant Society of Oregon
-Obsidians
-Oregon Environmental Council
-Oregon Guides and Packers
-Oregon Natural Heritage Data Base
-Oregon Natural Resources Council
-Oregon Rivers Council
-University of Oregon Survival Center (students)
-Waldo Wilderness Council

IV Regional Groups/Associations - Environmental/Holistic/Production

-Association of O&C Counties (Western Oregon counties)
-Concerned Citizens of Western Lane County (Florence area)
-McKenzie Guardians (McKenzie River area)

V Lumbermen Associations - Environmental/Production

-North West Timber Association
-Northwest Forestry Association
-Northwestern Lumbermans Association
-Oregon Women for Timber
-Western Environmental Trade Association
-Western Forest Industries Association
-Willamette Forestry Council
-Willamette Timbermen Association

There were shifts in the relationships of guild organizations with the Forest Service. Relations with the Sierra Club became less abrasive. In part this was because the controversy over wilderness area designation had largely shifted to the political arena. In part it was because Zane Smith took steps to lessen the focus on French Pete. The Sierra Club, which in the past had reported favorably on direct action tactics, now backed away. As Sierra Club leader Holway Jones of the University of Oregon wrote, it was fantasy to undertake ecological sabotage "without an underlying set of principles." On the other hand, Andy Kerr of the Oregon Natural Resources Council gave them approval. Kerr remarked, "Earth First! is on the cutting edge of the conservation movement. They are precursors of things to come if the Agency doesn't change its policies in this matter [timber sales]...Dismissing Earth First! as too radical is similar to dismissing Martin Luther King as too radical at that time." Industry spokesmen had the view that the established outdoor groups encouraged the militant groups. As Dennis Hayward with the North West Timber Association said, "I think the preservationists are sitting back and saying we don't want to perform in that way, but my God, you guys, keep up the static, keep that issue before them, make the people forget we passed a Wilderness Bill. I think they're using the radicals to keep this issue alive." [14]

In dealing with these groups, the Regional Office and the Willamette Supervisor's Office tried a variety of approaches, some old, some new. In the midst of turmoil, the Forest Service continued, with success, its work of informing the public and securing cooperation and approval. Programs for children and young adults were highly successful. These included the Smokey Bear and Woodsey Owl programs; involving Boy Scouts and 4-H groups in tree planting and other activities; and, after 1960, environmental education workshops. The Federally funded Job Corps work (JCC), the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC), the Young Adult Conservation Corps (YACC), and the Neighborhood Youth Corps (NYC); conservation education workshops; were successful in teaching young people basic principles of good land use. These programs did not arouse the public interest that the controversies of the period stirred up, but were probably in the end more significant. [15]

Zane Smith called on University of Oregon scholars Richard P. Gale of the Department of Sociology and Phyllis M. Ford of the Department of Recreation and Parks Management, as well as Paul B. Beistel of the Lane County Board of Parks and Recreation, for judgements on the future of recreation. Gale recognized the variety of demands for various recreational groups, but pointed out that meeting each new demand created new ones—i.e., more trailer campgrounds tended to encourage more people to shift from tent camping to trailers. He felt that state, private, and BLM lands should help to meet the demand for more recreational land. Beistel described the "automization of society into a proliferation of special interest groups" with each "insistent on its own objective to the exclusion of the objectives of others." Ford categorized the various types of recreation seekers into six groups—solitude seekers, motor enthusiasts, adventurers, naturalists, anglers and hunters, and car campers. Each was in conflict with the other groups, and often, when one set of people became accustomed to using a given area, they conflicted with others of their group who moved into "their" territory. Zoning was a possibility for eliminating friction. Other sophisticated methods were used to take the pulse of the public and to analyze the nature of the groups. These involved the use of sociologists and university students to study socio-economic changes in the river valleys. Linda J. Peterson, a sociologist and a member of the Willamette National Forest planning team, studied the upper Santiam, McKenzie, and Willamette River Valley areas, especially the small forest-dependent communities. Richard Wilen, a cooperative work study sociology student, made a study of the McKenzie River Valley. Both found large changes in the population, with a growing division between the groups making a living from wood products and the retirees and summer home people. [16]

Under Forest Supervisor Smith, a complex planning process was initiated for long-range Forest planning during the fall of 1973, when a draft publication "Issues and Concerns" was distributed for public comment. Only 140 responses were received. On March 8, 1974, the Willamette released a document entitled "Situation and Assumptions" to the public to comment on regarding future management of the Forest. A lengthy draft environment impact statement (EIS) was released on January 8, 1976, for public review and comment in Forest Supervisor Alcock's tenure. A number of public meetings were held in the communities surrounding the Forest. The final EIS was released on April 18, 1977.

The EIS contained a great deal of information from the more than 2,600 postcards and letters received in response to the draft EIS from the various groups in the Willamette National Forest. Of the responses received, 727 were from the Eugene-Springfield area, 161 from Salem, 124 from the Albany-Corvallis area, 69 from Portland, 350 from various communities within or adjacent to the Forest, 471 from other places in Oregon, 45 from Washington and California, and 96 from the other states. For 387 responses, a location of origin could not be identified. The largest single form of response was from the Willamette Timberman's group which sent in 1,626 postcards. The majority of comments were expressed by the public that was most directly affected by the Willamette's timber output. The comments regarding Forest Service land management ranged from the need to protect job opportunities, maintain the allowable cut at present levels, prevent wasting of valuable resources, and strong support for multiple use management. [17]

Implementation of the 1977 Land Management and Timber Management Plans began in the same year. Basically, the plans called for a timber harvest of 636 million board feet of timber (down about four percent), establishment of seven roadless recreation areas, expansion of the Waldo Lake Recreation Area, three new research natural areas, four new special interest areas, 31 old growth groves, three wilderness areas, ten dispersed non-motorized recreation/timber areas, two dispersed motorized recreation/timber areas, reduction of scenic influence I and II areas, and the retention of existing campgrounds, organizational sites, and winter sports areas. These land uses have been effectively used as the basis for land management activities until approval of a new plan, drafted under the guidelines of the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (NFMA).

Supervisor Kerrick was particularly interested in getting views from all segments of the public. Beginning in 1984, Jerry Mason, public affairs officer, undertook a series of interviews with leaders of key "stockholders" groups in the area. The interviews were conducted with a great deal of skill and included representatives from the militant environmental groups; representatives of associations from both the small lumberman's associations and the larger ones; U.S. Representative James Weaver; Regional Forester Jeff Sirmon; and an industrial consultant. The interviews are valuable historical documents, representing a variety of points of view. They indicate a growing polarization between environmental groups, and members of the industries dependent on logging, and the forest communities. Representatives of the environmental groups complained that the Forest Service was too much devoted to timber production; that Assistant Secretary of Agriculture John Crowell was a major villain in the picture; that harvest of old-growth timber should cease, and that the timber industry was of lessening importance both nationally and regionally. Timber industry representatives complained about the fact that while they claimed to be spokesmen only for the industry, environmental groups claimed to be spokesmen not only for their own groups, but for the general public as well. Representative Weaver felt that the Forest Service was going in the wrong direction in regard to timber harvest, and placed much of the blame on John Crowell. There was, he felt, need for the Forest Service to end its use of herbicides. He was, on the other hand, critical of the militant groups who used techniques of sabotage. [18]

Beginning in 1980, the Willamette began a process to develop a new forest plan under the NFMA regulations. The planning group that put together the 1977 plan was essentially enlarged with the addition of several new members, including an economist and a computer analysis to run the very complex FORPLAN model. Other specialists, including cartographers, a wildlife biologist, landscape architect/recreation planner, timber planner, sociologist, public affairs coordinator/writer, and an interdisclipinary team leader, all under the direction of Rolf Anderson, planning staff for the Willamette.

After many delays caused by changing administrations, new Washington and Regional Office direction, new laws and regulations, and the complexities required by the FORPLAN model, the draft EIS for the new plan was made available to the public for review on December 7, 1987. The public comment period ended on May 16, 1988, after a series of 120 public meetings, displays, and presentations at various community meetings by the planning team and management team members. Ten of these were open houses at the Supervisor's Office and Ranger Districts. Seven displays were held at community centers in Lane, Linn, and Marion Counties. The remainder were meetings with various groups associations, Federal, state, and county agencies and officials, schools, and other group meetings.

The Willamette NF received over 17,500 responses to the draft EIS and proposed forest plan. The majority of responses (15,999) were submitted by individuals or their families. Businesses or business groups mailed in 95 responses; timber industry businesses sent 68 responses; city, county, and state elected officials with 30 responses; conservation/environmental groups sent 28 responses; followed by civic groups with 19 responses; recreation groups with 17 responses; associations and unions with 15 responses; academia with nine responses; Federal agencies with five responses; professional societies with four responses; county and state with three responses; and five miscellaneous responses. The vast majority of responses were sent from cities in western Oregon, with Eugene leading with 4,280 responses, followed by Springfield (1,142), Lebanon (726), Portland (619), Salem (574), Corvallis (525), and Cottage Grove (500). In spite of the large number of responses, they amounted to less than five percent of the population in the three primary counties of Lane, Linn, and Marion. However, they were informative of the people that were concerned about the present and future management of the Forest.

Several of the interest groups devised their own response form to respond to the Willamette DEIS and "skew" the results to their favor. The most prominent was the Willamette Forestry Council (WFC) which solicited various timber companies and their employees to fill out the WFC response form. The WFC form referred to a specific alternative that they called the "Willamette Multiple Use Alternative," which proposed to increase timber harvest and to eliminate all remaining roadless areas. They were able to generate 19,324 comments (seven comments per form letter) using this form. The Oregon Natural Resources Council (ONRC) also developed their own alternative, which proposed to keep all the roadless areas, protect all spotted owls, and reduce the timber harvest. They used this alternative to develop a form letter, which they distributed to many of their affiliated groups. A total of 19,282 comments (17 to 22 comments per form letter) were received on the ONRC form letter.

Of the nine alternatives presented in the DEIS, the Willamette's preferred alternative had only 784 positive comments, with 18,808 negative comments and 44,075 saying that it needed modification. This alternative proposed to reduce the timber harvest from previous levels, protect some of the spotted owl areas, and to eliminate most of the roadless areas. The other alternatives received few comments considering the 177,701 identified public comments received. The resources that were of primary concern to those who responded were: Timber resource/harvest (39,058), old-growth areas (18,944), roadless areas (17,674), economic considerations (15,001), wild & scenic rivers (13,501), and recreation (11,232). [19]

The Willamette National Forest did have some notable successes in the area of public involvement. One concerned Terwilliger Springs. This hot spring area is located just west of Cougar Reservoir about a quarter of a mile off Road 19. It was discovered in the late 1800s by Hiram Terwilliger, who first filed on, then abandoned, a cinnabar claim there. The spring area consisted of the spring and a series of soaking pools. The spring area was little frequented until the Cougar Dam was completed. During the 1960s and 1970s the spring area became used, often by a rather motley crowd. The area became littered; garbage collected and chemical toilets provided by the Forest Service were vandalized. Nude bathing was popular at the springs, but nudity became extensive on the road as well. The area became a hangout for "hippie" groups. Theft from cars left by visitors in the nearby parking area became common.

In 1978-1979 a series of studies were made by the Forest Service. A posted trail was built into the area and composting toilets set up. Nudity was prohibited on the roads, and camping prohibited in the parking lots. However, the situation deteriorated. Alcohol and drug abuse became common; various cult groups, motorcycle gangs, and ex-convicts made the springs a hangout; nudity increased, and armed robbery and theft plagued visitors at the vehicle parking lot.

In 1982 a thorough study was made by James L. Caswell, Blue River District Ranger, with Chuck Anderson, a Forest Service employee. They considered a series of options, ranging from closing the springs by diverting the water, Forest Service management with a user's fee, commercial management, and turning the springs over to a non-profit organization, Friends of the Springs, to regulate its use. Of the opinions presented and voted on by interested people, a plurality favored the Friends of the Springs approach.

In May 1982 a special use permit was issued to the non-profit organization, Friends of the Springs trust. The organization agreed to have a caretaker present to keep up the toilets, keep trails cleared, manage a small camping area, and cooperate with the Forest Service in building wooden decks around the pools and protecting the soil. A caretaker's cabin was built. The experiment appeared to work successfully, at least for the first two years it was in operation. [20]

A second area of success was in what Jerry Mason called "seeking consensus in the Willamette." The program, initiated by Robert Chadwick of the Regional Office, involved bringing together groups representing various points of view to talk out and reconcile differences, and to reach areas of compromise. In 1981 the Willamette held a series of week-end meetings to try to reach a consensus on various matters such as the management of old-growth timber stands. The meetings had as participants an equal number of people from the Forest Service and from the guild groups. The technique was highly praised by Senator Hatfield, the Obsidians, and the Audubon Society, among others, as a means of working out accommodations.

One of these accommodations involved the management of the land along Highway 19, just to the west of the Three Sisters Wilderness. This was not a wilderness, but was used a great deal by recreationists. The Willamette land management plan (1977) had tried to strike a balance between timber harvest and preservation of scenic values. Various groups and individuals: Richard Noyes of the Sierra Club, a leader in the French Pete affair, and members of the Obsidians, the Oregon Natural History Society, Friends of the Three Sisters, and others groups discussed alternatives, made a field examination, and finally reached an accommodation with the Forest Service making concessions on timber sales and the other groups making concessions on non-use. The ability to sit down and seek accommodation, rather than digging in to an entrenched position and fighting it out on that line was of value to all groups. [21] The techniques involved seem to offer the opportunity for better relationships between commodity oriented and recreation groups, and to further a sense of community in the river valleys.

RESEARCH

Research showed some changes in emphasis from the late 1940s to the 1980s. During this time period (1948-1986) over 600 studies were published regarding research activities in the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest (or simply the "Andrews"). As before, there was close cooperation between Federal and state research agencies, and particularly with Oregon State University. The first studies in the Andrews in the late 1940s through the 1950s tended to focus on logging and road system designs, as well as forest regeneration techniques.

By the 1960s, the research emphasis shifted to watershed studies with the examination of logging methods on water quality and yield. A series of studies in hydrology were carried on which involved stream-flow in unlogged as compared with logged areas and other studies of soil movement in logged areas, especially concerning water quality, water temperature, and oxygen levels. Generally speaking, the studies showed little adverse effect on the environment from patch logging, if carried out with care, though the variety of gradients, vegetation and topography was such that each watershed had to be judged as a unit. Southerly flowing streams, for example, would require more shade to preserve an equable summer temperature than those flowing to the north; for small streams, brush would suffice for summer shade, while larger streams would require more stream cover. [22]

During the 1970s, the focus again shifted to ecosystems, involving studies of nutrient cycling, energy flow, and the basic forest community. The Andrews was selected in 1969 as one of the intensive study sites of the Coniferous Forest Biome Project of the International Biological Program (IBP). During the field seasons of 1971 and 1972, 19 reference stands (plots) were established as part of the IBP studies. These reference points (12 in the Andrews, two in the nearby Wildcat Mountain RNA, four in adjacent drainages, and one located one mile west of Blue River) enabled researchers to focus on limited areas to investigate species diversity, density, biomass, leaf area index, structure, and forest succession. The reference plots, 50 X 50 meters each, served as "bench mark" areas for many of published studies involving the Andrews.

Research activities in the 1970s and 1980s grew rapidly as a result of increased support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through the IBP and grants for individual projects. Further research into the basic ecosystem occurred in the 1980s because of a NSF-funded program of Long-Term Ecological Research Program, as well as research in applied forestry. The long-term—200 years—research is concerned with identifying the factors influencing the decay of logs in the forest and the role of decaying logs in the forest ecosystem. There has been a great deal of speculation on the role of down logs in providing nutrients, and this is the first systematic study. The down log study involves five hundred logs twenty feet in length, representing four west-side species—Douglas-fir, Pacific silver fir, western hemlock, and western red cedar—to be studied as they decay over a 200-year period. The study is managed by scientists from Oregon State University and the Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station.

Further studies were made in regard to wildlife habitat. Earlier studies, as has been noted, dealt with relationships of cutting patterns (primarily clearcuts), to game such as elk and deer. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act provided that all aspects of the environment be studied before timber sales or road construction, and that the Federal agencies provide "critical habitat." The Forest Service found itself faced, in particular, with questions as to what constituted "critical habitat" for such fowl and fauna as the Sitka deer in southeastern Alaska, the pine marten in Michigan, or the pileated woodpecker in the west. Research is an extended process, and the Forest Service often found itself faced with making policy decisions on matters in which experts disagreed. In the northwest, the question of the spotted owl became a major one.

The northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) lives in the dense stands of mature timber, in the coniferous forests, and densely wooded canyons of the west. Old-growth timber is a requirement for their habitat. Although some owls have been located outside of old-growth areas, studies show that over 95 percent nest in old growth trees, canyon wall cavities, or old hawk nests; they roost, in the summer, in the understory and live on the flying squirrels, hares, and wood rats that live in old-growth forest. They have special needs for an undisturbed habitat. Earlier studies indicated that each pair of owls needed a nesting area of at least one and a half miles in radius, or 1,000 acres or more of undisturbed habitat per pair of owls. Cutting roads through old-growth timber has been followed by disappearances of the spotted owl from the area.

In 1985, an appeal was filed by the National Wildlife Federation, the Oregon Wildlife Federation, the Lane County Audubon Society, and the Oregon Natural Resources Council with the Secretary of Agriculture that the Forest Service had been negligent in assuring the spotted owl sufficient habitat to survive. Meantime, the spotted owl question got attention from various pressure groups. "Preservationist" groups seized on the old-growth issue as a means of taking more land out of timber production and preserving it in a natural state urging 4,500 acres per pair of birds. Industry urged that the Service apply intensive management in wildlife habitat as lumbermen were applying it to timber management. As Dennis Hayward of the North West Timber Association said, "Rather than preserving 75 acres for a pair of pileated woodpeckers, or a thousand acres for a spotted owl, there's no emphasis at all in the Forest Service to see if maybe we can get by with half those acres through management of food supplies or specific habitat characteristics." Hayward's statement illustrated a major difficulty in this decision making. [23]

The Regional Office set up a task force to address the issue. In 1986, after involving a variety of in-house and university wildlife specialists, the Regional Forester decided in a DEIS published in 1986 that 400,000 acres should be set aside to protect 400 pairs of owls (1,000 acres per pair). Forest Service officials noted that this would mean taking out of production timber worth $25,000 per year for each pair of owls. The west-side Forests in Oregon and Washington contain an estimated 1,290 pairs of owls on 4.1 million acres of suitable owl habitat and another 1.5 million acres on the BLM and Park Service lands. The FEIS on spotted owls, released in July 1988, recommended 2,700 acres per pair in the Olympic NF surrounding the Olympic National Park to a low of 1,000 acres in the Klamath Mountain province (1,500 acres needed in the Oregon Cascades). Though not presently listed as a threatened or endangered species by the USDI Fish and Wildlife Service, the birds are regarded as an important "indicator" species to show relationship of old-growth to other species dependent on this type of ecological niche [in the spring of 1989, the USDI Fish and Wildlife recommended that the spotted owl be listed as a threatened species]. [24]

One effect of the new legislation of the 1970s was that the Forest Service became more diversified. The Forest Service had in the past relied on experts from the Research Station, on Oregon State University's wildlife staff, and on university consultants whenever special expertise was needed. With research on a continuing basis, they began to hire their own wildlife specialists, botanists, biologists, and fishery experts. A sizeable number of the new group were women. The diversification of the Service led to new employment opportunities for women, and increased enrollment of women in forestry schools. (See Appendix for the distribution of job series and women employees on the Willamette NF in the spring of 1988. Also in May of 1989, the first two women district rangers were in place—Karen Barnette at Sweet Home and Lynn Burditt at Blue River).

During this time, the Forest Service became involved in other areas of research. Historical and archaeological research had not been considered in the past as one of the official missions of the Forest Service, although it had its place in public relations and visitor information service work. For many years studies of this kind were not the responsibility of the Forest Service, and preservation of historical records was a matter of personal judgement by the forest manager. [25]

Supervisors like C.C. Hall, P.A. Thompson, and W.F. Cummins made some attempt to preserve local historic records. Some scholarly studies by people like George Morgan and Lawrence Rakestraw dealt with aspects of the Willamette National Forest's history, while local historical societies collected and published material on the early history of the area. Martin Schmitt of the Special Collections, University of Oregon Library, gathered a mass of material dealing with early forest history of the region.

Some major changes came during the 1960s. The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 declared it to be national policy that "the historical and cultural foundations of the nation should be preserved as a living part of our community life and development in order to give a sense of orientation to the American people." A second act, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), mandated the use of interdisciplinary teams, which could include not only foresters, engineers, and wildlife specialists, but also fish biologists, landscape architects, economists, computer analysts, sociologists, and archaeologists. Some 197 amendments to the Reservoir Salvage Act of 1960 required outside review of cultural resource identification, evaluation, and protection. Cultural resource management (CRM) became the catch-all term for such work, and CRM joined the ever-growing list of acronyms and abbreviations.

The adjustment of various national forests and Regions to these new responsibilities was by no means uniform. It was marked by a somewhat unseemly squabble among professional organizations representing historians and archaeologists as to which should get priority in being hired. [26] Some forests and regions took on these new responsibilities easily; others were reluctant to trifle with these new-fangled directives. It was complicated, during the 1970s by directives from the fiscal office to clean out old records, and "clean-out-the-files-fanatics" destroyed a great deal of valuable material. The period was marked by conflicts and debates between the Regional Office and Supervisor's Offices with the Washington Office about priorities. However, we are concerned only with the Willamette National Forest. [27]

In history, Supervisor David R. Gibney took the important step of having his staff begin to collect historical material and for the forest to take steps to get the ranger districts to do likewise, and also to inaugurate an oral history program. To these efforts is due the fact that much of the historical record of the forest has been preserved. [28] During this same period, Martin Schmitt, curator of the Special Collections, University of Oregon, preserved much material of value for the region from the papers of foresters such as the Langille brothers (Will and Doug), Melvin L. Merritt, William B. Greeley, Fred E. Ames, and Thornton T. Munger. In the Oakridge area, a timber sale administrator, Wilbur Council, was deeply interested in archaeology. In his work on timber sales he made a number of finds, and collected oral history from friends among the Native Americans. Though an amateur archaeologist, his expertise was such that he became involved in a survey by the University of Oregon's Department of Anthropology of the Western Cascades in 1969 and 1971. These surveys, financed by the National Science Foundation, discovered a number of potentially significant sites. [29]

During the first part of the 1970s there was little work done by the Forest Service in either history or archaeology. Gibney's successors as Supervisors, Smith and Alcock, were more interested in taking the pulse of the present than in reviewing the past. District personnel did collect data on site locations, largely encountered by field personnel, who found these remains while on other duty.

The decades between 1970 and 1988 saw major changes in CRM work. Beginning in 1970, there were a series of important CRM sites discovered and excavated, including the Baby Rock Shelter on the Oakridge Ranger District which had been disturbed by pot hunters. This was the first excavation of an inland rock shelter made in the Willamette National Forest. (Early research in rock shelters was began in 1964 at Cascadia Cave along the South Santiam River which had been extensively disturbed by relic hunters. The excavation, in which more than 400 artifacts were recovered, was carried out by Thomas Newman and reported in 1966.) In 1972, the University of Oregon, under contract with the Willamette National Forest, conducted archaeological investigations at the Indian Ridge site on the Blue River Ranger District. The U of O also conducted surveys of the McCredie Springs and Breitenbush Known Geothermal Resource Areas in 1975. These studies were under the direction of Sharilyn Reyna, then with the University, and later with the Willamette. The reports recommended that more surveys need to be conducted prior to road construction and timber sales, and that the Forest Service needed to conduct an education program to provide awareness of resource values and laws, especially in view of illegal collecting by citizens and Forest Service employees alike.

In 1976, Leslie E. Wildesen was hired as the first Regional archaeologist. She did much to shape Regional policy in regard to cultural resources, and by 1977 she had developed R-6 CRM guidelines for all 19 national forests. During 1977, she established a cultural resource technician program to train field personnel in conducting a cultural resource inventory. Oakridge was host to a training session for inventory of timber sales areas. In 1978, a University of Oregon graduate student was hired under the work-study program to work in the Oakridge area inventorying timber sales, evaluating sites, and collecting data gleaned from other Forest Service personnel. About this time, also, Sharilyn Reyna was hired by the Rigdon District. They were aided by Wilbur Council and by Terry Bertsch, a technician in fire control, who helped locate many sites and collected a great deal of local history. Paul Claeyssens began work in 1979 in the Oakridge area. Also in 1979, Tony Farque was hired as cultural resource technician in the Sweet Home Ranger District, becoming District archaeologist in 1980. [30]

Under Mike Kerrick, as Forest Supervisor, the CRM program gained momentum. The Willamette National Forest gained its own specialist in archaeology, Claudia Nissley, followed by William Zukosky, and Cari Davis, all of whom strengthened the forest program. They recognized that technicians could not do the needed inventory, and that specialists were needed to evaluate sites and maintain cultural resource programs in the various districts. Over the years, each district hired its own specialist. [31]

The CRM program in the 1980s has yielded a bewildering variety of important discoveries and reports, as well as resulting in two graduate students (Paul Baxter and Sandra Snyder) receiving their Ph.D.s as a result of archaeology work in Willamette NF sites. One of the important archaeology sites was the Blitz site about ten miles north of McKenzie Bridge. Fieldwork between 1981 and 1983 yielded 144 artifacts and 1,745 pieces of debitage at this hunting campsite. Horse Pasture Cave, located in the upper drainage of the Willamette River on the Rigdon Ranger District, was especially important. Excavations of this cave began in 1981 and an impressive list of recovered objects revealed it to be a summer base camp followed in later years by use as a hunting camp. The Vine Rockshelter, located above Coal Creek near the Willamette River, was excavated in 1983. This site yielded an extensive array of of stone and obsidian tools, indicating its use as a hunting camp, similar to the nearby Horsepasture Cave site. Finally, the Colt and Saddle sites were located near a ridge that separated two creeks in the upper Willamette River drainage. Excavations began in 1984 with the discovery that they were very important multi-component sites that probably served as summer base camps.

By the summer of 1987, 824 archaeological sites and 157 historical sites had been recorded on the Willamette (in 1977, only 44 archaeological and 40 historical sites had been identified). Of this total, various researchers had conducted 94 test probes or test pits (including nine data recovery excavations) of archaeological sites on the Willamette National Forest: Ten subsurface investigations on the Detroit Ranger District, 25 (with two excavations) on the Sweet Home, 25 (with two excavations) on the McKenzie, five on the Blue River, four on the Lowell, six in the Oakridge, and 19 (with five excavations) on the Rigdon. As recently as the early 1980s, many academic archaeologists thought that the Cascade Range would not yield any important or significant archaeological resources. The incredible range of prehistoric sites found on the Willamette, as well as adjacent national forests and BLM lands, has provided the academics and CRM managers a new outlook and ability to provide meaning to the valuable cultural artifacts and information about western Oregon's past. [32]

The first of a series of histories of the old land grant wagon roads was completed in 1981 under contract with Heritage Resource Associates and Lewis and Clark College historian Stephen Dow Beckham for the study of the historic Oregon Central Military Wagon Road. This was followed in 1983 by studies of the Santiam Wagon Road, done by the Anthropology and Public Planning Departments of the University of Oregon. [33] A large archaeological testing program was initiated on the Willamette beginning in 1983. Other studies included the historical archaeology around Quartzville; a series of studies of CCC activities were carried on in the Blue River District; while in the Rigdon and Oakridge areas both historic and prehistoric remains were inventoried and documented. The numerous "Bingham Trees" inscribed with Cy Bingham's initials, were identified; and a number of the trees initialized by John Breckenridge Waldo during his trips in the Cascades between 1880 and 1907 were located. [34]

In the administrative history, some major accomplishments were made. Ron Johnson of fire control compiled a remarkable historic record of the lookouts in the Willamette. This included records and pictures of most of the lookouts, panoramic views, pictures, and diaries and memoirs of the people who occupied the lookouts. This is a valuable historic record of a method of fire control that is now passing into history. Historians and archaeologists have worked together to determine which historic lookouts can best be preserved or restored. Gerald W. Williams, sociologist and social historian attached to both the Umpqua and the Willamette National Forests, edited the diaries of John Breckenridge Waldo, collected historic photographs related to both national forests, conducted oral history interviews, compiled a series of lengthy bibliographies on the history of the Forest Service, and written numerous papers on a variety of administrative history topics. He also worked with Ron Johnson in cataloging historic material in the warehouse of the Eugene Supervisor's Office. In the Regional Office, Paul Hansen initiated an inventory of records stored at the Regional Office Warehouse, as well as a study of the Mt. Saint Helens disaster from the Forest Service perspective.

In addition to inventory, recording, and preservation, the Willamette National Forest moved in the direction of interpretation. At Fish Lake, the old ranger station, once the Santiam NF summer headquarters of Supervisor C.C. Hall, was restored. Oakridge RD developed a visitors' display that provides a sketch of local history from 10,000 years ago to the present, including a display of Indian artifacts donated by local citizens. Sweet Home RD has on display a section from one of the "Waldo" trees, and the information office in the Supervisor's Office has a number of cultural displays. Reconstructions of buildings done by the CCC were made near Lowell. The Forest Service carried on some major work in historic preservation on the Klovdahl tunnel and headgate, built between 1909 and 1914 on the west shore of Waldo Lake. This project, mentioned briefly in this history, but worth a book in itself, is of unique historical interest as a dream that failed for developing a power and reclamation system for the Willamette Valley. [35]

Yet the cultural resource data gained has not been without cost and—at least initially—controversy. Most of the opposition came from Forest Service managers who viewed the CRM program as an expensive program, with few if any benefits, and as limiting their options by preventing the development of certain lands which had identified CRM sites. The latter concern was also voiced by the contractors for timber sales and road construction. However, most of the opposition was overcome through an education program to Ranger District staff and the realization that every obsidian flake or rusty tin can found in an area was not "significant" and did not have to be preserved. One of the results of having a number of professional archaeologists was to institute a training program (REC-7) to give the cultural technicians and other field employees some minimal training on the recognition and importance of cultural objects. By the middle of the 1980s, District Rangers could see the positive benefits that could be achieved from the identification, excavation, and interpretation of cultural resources and began to emphasize the CRM program on the Districts.

RECREATION

The wilderness controversy continued during the 1970s, and increasingly became involved in the political arena. The Secretary's offer of granting the public 60 days (period ended January 17, 1970) to provide additional information about French Pete yielded over 10,000 letters, cards, and telegrams. Analysis of the public comments resulted in the French Pete management plan being modified to reduce the impacts from road and logging activities. Because of the new National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Chief decided that an environmental impact statement (EIS) was required. The draft EIS was circulated on November 6, 1970, for public comments. A final environmental impact statement was prepared to establish management direction for the French Pete area by July 14, 1971, and Secretary Clifford M. Hardin approved the decision on October 14, 1971. The lower portion of French Pete was to be left in its present state. Access trails would be built into the Quaking Aspen Swamp, and dispersed recreation trails built into the upper reaches of the creek. Cutting would be mainly for salvage and improvement. The plan stressed public participation in decision making and flexibility, with recreation trails given a high priority. [36]

In implementing Hardin's directive, Smith modified existing management plans and announced his intention to take three years to make a comprehensive plan to follow the management direction outlined in the final EIS. Robert Tokarzyk and George Gudch worked out plans for both helicopter and road logging. Overall, the plan included timber harvest on the upper French Pete Drainage, with extreme care to be taken to avoid soil and stream erosion; and some priority given to building trails. The area south of French Pete Creek was reserved from future harvest. The vegetation canopy could not be opened, but might be modified by cutting. Balloon, multiple high-spar systems, and helicopter logging would be considered. [37]

Oregon's Senator Robert Packwood at first advanced the "Intermediate Recreation Area" plan of Richard Noyes, but eventually dropped this in favor of adding the French Pete-Ollalie Ridge area to the Three Sisters Wilderness. Senator Packwood, who had early drafted a bill modeled on Richard Noyes' plan, shifted first to a bill to include French Pete in the Three Sisters Wilderness, and then to enlarge the Three Sisters area.

However, in the early 1970s the focus shifted from French Pete to the entire problem of roadless (de facto wildernesses) areas. French Pete was listed in the Roadless Area Review and Evaluation (RARE) study that was undertaken by the Washington Office of all roadless areas remaining on the national forests. Initiated in 1971, a national review and evaluation of all existing areas without roads was scheduled for every national forest in the country. On February 29, 1972, the first of a series of public meeting was held to discuss those roadless areas identified on the Willamette National Forest. The roadless areas had to be 5,000 acres or larger that were undeveloped. In addition, those areas that would qualify for wilderness would have to meet the additional considerations of suitability, availability, and need. On the Willamette, the areas were as follows: Little North Santiam (Area 2-1) — 17,700 acres; Elkhorn (Area 2-2) — 4,700 acres; Middle Santiam (Area 2-3) — 12,000 acres; Echo Mountain (Area 2-4) — 6,000 acres; Smith Reservoir (Area 2-5) — 4,200 acres; McLennen Mountain (Area 2-6) — 7,400 acres; Walker Creek (Area 2-7) — 9,900 acres; Rebel Creek (Area 2-8) 8,600 acres; Maiden Peak (Area 2-9) — 58,100 acres; and Timpanogas (Area 2-10) — 7,900 acres. Of these ten roadless areas, three were within the French Pete area (McLennen Mountain, Walker Creek, and Rebel Creek). Initially, not one of the areas on the Willamette were proposed for wilderness study because they were felt to not meet the criteria for wilderness. Over 5,000 comments were received at the Washington Office concerning the Willamette's roadless areas.

On January 18, 1973, the Chief announced that nationally of the 56 million acres (1,448 roadless areas) under review, 235 of the areas were tentatively selected for possible wilderness status. Four areas on the Willamette would be studied for possible wilderness, which were all adjacent to existing wildernesses: Two additions to the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, one addition to the Mt. Washington Wilderness, and one addition to the Three Sisters Wilderness. In the spring of 1973, two additional roadless areas (approximately 13,600 acres), both on the Sweet Home Ranger District, were added to the Willamette's eleven inventoried roadless areas. These two new areas, along with the other roadless areas, were to be considered in the unit land allocation planning effort that was beginning on the Ranger Districts.

On October 15, 1973, Chief John McGuire announced that 274 roadless areas nationally would be studied for possible inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System. On the Willamette, there were four areas to be considered for wilderness—the same four as announced in the January draft. None of the French Pete roadless areas were included as an existing management plan had previously been decided for those areas. The final decision, however, was short lived, as it was appealed by various environmental groups and the EIS found to be inadequate. This set up a new review of roadless areas, to be called RARE II.

The RARE II reinventory began in the summer of 1977. Nationally, there were found to be 2,919 roadless areas, using new criteria, which was published on June 15, 1978. The final EIS was produced on the following January 4, 1979. More than 260,000 responses (58,606 from Oregon) were received on the national draft, which resulted in having 624 roadless areas being considered for wilderness classification. On the Willamette, eleven areas (200,066 acres) were studied: Bull-of-the-Woods (#6098), Mt. Washington (#6103), Mt. Jefferson Wilderness Study Area (#6101), Hardesty Mountain (#6105), Waldo (#6106), Charlton (#6107), Maiden Peak (#6108), Cowhorn (#6109), Bull Dog Rock (#6110), and Middle Santiam (#6929). Two of them (part of the Bull-of-the Woods and Mt. Washington roadless areas) made the final cut for wilderness study. (The French Pete-Ollalie Ridge controversy was finally resolved when it was added to the Three Sisters Wilderness in the Endangered Wilderness Act of 1978.) However, the RARE II decision, much like the RARE decision was appealed and taken into court. A decision by the Ninth Circuit Court in 1983 rendered the RARE II EIS as inadequate. After a brief attempt by Region 6 to undertake a new review of the roadless areas in the spring of 1984, the Congress made the decision on the disposition of the remaining roadless areas in Oregon and Washington during the summer of 1984. [38]

As part of the Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984, a series of large wilderness additions were made to the Willamette. These included the west side of Waldo Lake, formerly designated as a recreation area now called the Waldo Lake Wilderness; additions to the existing Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Washington, Three Sisters, and Diamond Peak Wildernesses, totalling 20,709 acres, and three new Wildernesses: Menagerie and Middle Santiam, in the Sweet Home District, and Bull of the Woods, most of which was in the Mt. Hood National Forest. This gave a total wilderness acreage in the Willamette of 380,853 acres, or about 23 percent of the total Forest area. The 1984 Act also included the Oregon Cascades Recreation Area (OCRA) of 157,000 acres on portions of the Willamette, Deschutes, Umpqua, and Winema National Forests. The OCRA acreage includes the Mt. Thielsen Wilderness on the Umpqua and Winema National Forests, as well as the 1984 additions to the Diamond Peak Wilderness. [39]

The decision on the wildernesses were not universally popular. Many people felt that the areas included too much land which was marginal, from the standpoint of wilderness values. As one ex-Regional Forester commented, "Ninety percent of the wilderness that exists in Oregon is not used by anybody. Regardless of timber values, there are a lot of areas that are now being considered for wilderness, but there is more area now designated as wilderness than will ever be used. The Forest Service ought to have the opportunity to manage them for their recreation values so that recreation values are protected, and you can't do that on a wilderness area." [40] Preservationist groups were disappointed that certain areas they had desired for classification as wilderness were not included, and efforts were made to delay or halt timber harvest in existing roadless areas outside the wilderness. These took forms ranging from legal and constructive, including both work with the Forest Service to develop a consensus on management, to illegal and destructive methods, such as entering closed areas and sitting in trees, sabotage of machinery, blockading of roads, or driving spikes into trees. [41]

Plans for wilderness management were adopted for each of the wildernesses. In order to be compatible with the Wilderness Act, the plans had common characteristics. These included restricting travel to foot and animal travel; removing traces of previous occupation by humans; locating trails and campsites to avoid trampling the sensitive environment; protecting water purity on the streams and lakes; and recognizing that wildfire is a natural element in the wilderness. A major problem occurred with a large increase in the use of wildernesses. Use of the Three Sisters Wilderness, for example, rose from 64,000 in 1965 to 193,000 in 1971.

Wilderness management required some contradictions in complying with the terms of the Act. One was the presence of archaeological sites or historic structures in the wildernesses. No formal directives have as yet been developed for a compatibility of cultural resource values and wilderness values. However, structures such as shelters (which were already vandalized), water systems, and stone fireplaces were removed. Some protests were made over the destruction of cairns erected by the Mazamas in past years, since they were considered to be of historic value. The Forest Service is apparently leaning toward preservation of old Forest Service lookouts which are of historic value, and can be useful in fire protection. A policy of "benign neglect" was adopted toward some historic properties, which involves allowing these structures eventually to disappear. The debate continues over the nature and number of signs allowed in the wildernesses.

A second problem has been the vandalizing of archaeological sites. This has involved the shift from amateur collectors searching for arrowheads and other relics of the past to commercial collectors using shovels and bulldozers to collect from sites and selling their findings at a profit. To curb their activities, the Archaeological Resources Protection Act was passed in 1979. This made digging or surface collecting of artifacts on Federally controlled lands, without a permit, illegal. The major problems regarding violation of this Act have come on the Deschutes National Forest, but they remain a significant potential problem elsewhere. [42]

Within, and adjacent to, the wildernesses, there came to be special problems. These involved the need to fell trees for safety along the trails, without creating the appearance of use; preparing facilities on highways near the wildernesses which were jumping off places for trips, and which became high use highway areas; keeping animal and human overnight camps away from the water, and at the same time, avoiding damage to fragile areas; and building new trails to keep the old ones from becoming eroded and damaged through overuse.

The Bull of the Woods Wilderness created some new problems. This area, part of which was in the Willamette, but most of which was in the Mt. Hood National Forest, was most accessible from the west by the road up the Little North Fork of the Santiam. As has been noted, this road through some mining claims had been the source of a great deal of strife between the Forest Service and the mine owners since 1930. The Hewitt interests had gone through several reorganizations, and now the chief group was the Shining Rock Mining Company, which had interest in 220 claims: Five of which were patented, seven were purchased from the government, and 208 to which final patent had not passed. The road across the claims was a private one, closed by a gate, but open to the Forest Service and to the mining company. The Willamette National Forest desired to have public access to the wilderness by the road, and to develop some trail heads to the region. The Shining Rock Company, at last report, was willing to allow logging and reforestation if they were paid for the wear and tear on the road; but they were reluctant to have the general public given access to the area. Legal action will probably be needed to settle the issue. [43]

The mining claims in the Three Sisters Wilderness were finally resolved after prolonged debate. In 1976 the U.S. Pumice Company applied for patent, largely to clear the way for a court settlement. The law's processes are slow, and the court did not reach a decision until 1981. They held in a 232-page decision, which will not be summarized here, that 790 acres represented invalid claims, and 670 valid. Final settlement came in 1983, when Congress appropriated two million dollars for purchase by the Service of the patented claims. [44]

The era of the 1980s, with its sharp cutbacks in appropriations, gave the Forest Service some new challenges. These cutbacks in funding were accompanied by phasing out or reductions of such programs as the Job Corps, Youth Conservation Corps (YCC), and the Young Adult Conservation Corps (YACC). With more work to do, there were fewer people to do it. The Forest Service met this need by various means. In cooperation with the University of Oregon, some work-study programs were directed toward assisting the Forest Service. The greatest response came, as it had in World War II, with a call for volunteers to take on jobs usually handled by seasonal, or, in some cases, permanent employees. The response was overwhelming. In the Detroit area, Linn-Benton Community College contributed 12-15 volunteers to aid district archaeologists. Volunteers worked mainly in the recreational areas as back country guards, campground hosts, resource aides, or on group projects. One group, the Obsidians, contributed 1,250 hours of work, maintaining or constructing 62 miles of trail. [45] In 1983, 405 volunteers contributed $250,000 worth of work in resource areas in the Willamette. While the volunteer program did much to meet the needs of the Service, it dealt a blow to schools of forestry in the Pacific Northwest, where traditionally undergraduate students had taken on seasonal jobs. The opportunities for seasonal employment diminished as that for unpaid work experience increased. [46]

Michael Kerrick noted that when he was a student of forestry 30 years ago, it had been the last of his thoughts to be concerned with enforcement of laws for the protection of life and property. Some lawbreaking has always occurred. But Kerrick commented, "There is more vandalism, there is more destruction of public property, and we are seeing more and more the thievery of our lockboxes at our campgrounds." [47] In 1985, it was estimated that four out of ten visitors used the campground facilities without paying the fee. Issuing citations to those who did not pay the fee within 30 minutes of occupying a campsite did result in a decrease of such evasion from 40 percent to seven percent. Cabins or guard stations in isolated areas were routinely broken into and vandalized to the extent that they are now left unlocked, with stoves and other valuables removed in order to save broken doors, windows, and locks.

The Forest Service made attempts better to deal with violations. Kerrick had on his staff a special agent who had been through the FBI Academy. Each district had a pair of law enforcement people who had been through a special eight week training by the FBI. The major effort was to rely on local enforcement officials—that is, the county sheriff's office and the state police; and to focus on Federal regulations that the sheriff did not have authority to administer. [48]

There were major changes in types of camping. Campgrounds originally had been built to accommodate tents and automobiles. The later pattern of camping has been a growth of trailers and motor homes, as well as tents. This has meant the need to enlarge camping spots to accommodate the large vehicles, and to have in some campgrounds pumping stations for the toilets in these vehicles. In wilderness travel, freeze-dry food has largely replaced the canned or preserved food of the past. Wilderness travelers have tended to be as fashion conscious as James Bond, and the felt hat, flannel shirt, and Bergman boots of a past era became declasse in an era of Kelty packs, vibram soled boots, and goose down jackets. Restrictions were placed on camping practices in wildernesses. In the Sunshine Shelter area, for example, camping was forbidden within 100 feet of all streams and trails, and campfires were banned. [49]

Among the various recreational groups, hunting and fishing increased. The big game herds were well managed, and there was more hunting but less poaching. Fish were planted in the Lowell, Sweet Home, and McKenzie Ranger Districts. Fish habitat was improved, but new problems regarding road construction and timber management impacting fish habitat are being expressed by the sport fishing and environmental groups. In the Lowell District, the Forest Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bonneville Power Administration, Rex Lumber Company, and Weyerhaeuser Lumber Company worked out an elaborate project to improve the habitat for anadromous fish. This consisted of habitat improvement developed by the Lowell Ranger District; a fish ladder funded by Bonneville Power Administration to provide passage over a 22-foot falls, a further ladder on Weyerhaeuser lands, and stocking the area with juvenile steelhead and spring chinook salmon. This was the first large anadromous fish habitat improvement project on the Willamette National Forest. [50]

The Forest Service worked with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in their acid rain study in 1985. Since the Wilderness Act of 1964 prohibited motorized travel into the wildernesses, the Forest Service ground crews sampled water from 13 lakes in the wildernesses, while the EPA used a helicopter to test water from eight lakes outside the areas. [51]

Potential conflict over the rights of miners vs. recreationists developed in the Quartzville area. This was an old mining district, and a few miners still held on to their claims. However, panning for gold had become a popular recreational sport in the area; such recreational gold panning, in fact, would date back to CCC days. There was danger of conflict between recreationists and claim holders. In 1985, the Forest Service, in cooperation with the BLM, Linn County Parks Department, and Oregon State Department of Forestry, with other groups and agencies, began to develop an educational program. [52]

All forms of outdoor winter recreation developed, including snowmobiling, downhill skiing, and cross-country skiing. The Hoodoo Lodge burned, but was reconstructed, and the Hoodoo Corporation later obtained title to the Willamette Pass development. In 1983, the Willamette Pass Ski Corporation proposed to expand development in the area This involved building two lifts on the north slope of Eagle and West Peaks, one lift on the south side of West Peak, and construction of a lodge at the top of the runs. Public hearings on the issue found some groups opposed to the lifts on the north slopes, claiming they were more suited for cross-country skiing, and would destroy game habitat and the potential to be added to the new Waldo Lake Wilderness. However, most of the people favored the expansion, which amounted to about 1,100 acres. An environmental impact statement was completed, but work was postponed pending relocation of three miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, which would be affected by the enlarged area. [53]

McCredie Springs also came in for attention. The lodge and facilities had been wiped out by the flood of 1964. At about the same time, Lane County obtained ownership of the remaining buildings for non-payment of taxes. The buildings were burned and debris removed. From that time until 1982 the site remained undeveloped and open to public use.

Like Terwilliger Springs, McCredie became the center for lawless activities including stealing from cars, especially at night, violence, and rape. Squatters moved into the adjacent area. Nude bathing and drug abuse were common. Some armed felons made it a hangout for a time. There was need for more visibility of the law enforcement officers than by occasional patrols. In 1982 the Supervisor considered five alternatives for management:

1. No action.

2. Minimal management for safety and health.

3. Minimal management for safety and health with night closure.

4. A resort on the north side of Salt Creek.

5. A resort with use of both north and south sides of Salt Creek.

6. Closing the area.

A thorough examination of the area was made under the direction of Robert Barstad, Oakridge District Ranger. Public responses varied from leaving it in its present state to development of the area as a tourist attraction. Supervisor Kerrick favored Alternative 5, but with public use of the springs without registration at the lodge. At this writing, the resort has not been built. [54]

There was an effort by various environmental groups, beginning in 1987, to designate many of the Oregon rivers into the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Part of the reason to add Oregon rivers was that few were already in the system and that the wild and scenic river designation would preclude future hydroelectric developments on these streams. Bills were introduced into Congress by Senator Mark O. Hatfield and Representative Peter DeFazio. After several months of wrangling about which rivers or segments would be included, hearings were held in several places in the state. One of the hearings was in Eugene on July 1, 1988. The bills were strongly supported by the various Oregon environmental groups, mostly supported by the Oregon Congressional delegation, mostly opposed by the timber industry, and strongly opposed by several groups. One of the groups in strong opposition was the Alsea River Alliance, a loosely organized assemblage from the Alsea River drainage which did not want their river, and thus their land, included in the bills. Another was the American Inholders Association, which has generally opposed all wild and scenic river bills.

After considerable Congressional discussion, interest group pressures, and the strong influence of Senator Hatfield, the wild and scenic rivers bill was passed by Congress and signed into law on October 28, 1988. The Omnibus Oregon Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1988 was the first state-wide wild and scenic rivers bill ever enacted by Congress. This act added 40 river segments to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Included in this act were the McKenzie River (12.7 miles from Clear Lake to Scott Creek) and the North Fork of the Willamette River (42.5 miles from Waldo Lake to the forest boundary). In addition, two river segments were to be "study rivers": Blue River (from the headwaters to Blue River Reservoir) and the South Fork of the McKenzie River (from the headwaters to the upper end of Cougar Reservoir and from below Cougar Dam to the McKenzie River). Soon after the passage of this bill, the Oregon Scenic Waterway initiative (ballot measure #7), sponsored by the Oregon Rivers Council and other environmental groups, was passed by the voters of Oregon at the November general election. Four river segments on the Willamette were added as Oregon Scenic Waterways in this ballot: South Fork of the McKenzie River; upper McKenzie River; Little North Fork of the Santiam River; and North Fork of the Willamette River, including Waldo Lake.

TIMBER MANAGEMENT

From the 1950s through the 1970s there was a very high level of timber harvest (see Appendix). Willamette's timber sales outranked those of any national forest in the United States, and that of some regions. The combination of a good fundamental road system, an abundance of mature timber, and public demand for timber combined to make Eugene, in the eyes of some boosters, the "Timber Capital of the World." There were other features of the Willamette that were noteworthy. One was that there were a large number of lumber companies in the area. Consequently, a given sale might have 40 bidders, rather than two or three as was the case in many forests in the Southwest. The result was that the winning bid on a sale would usually have to be far over the appraised price—sometimes as much as 50 to 100 percent. With shifts in economic policy and in the business cycle, this bidding got some people into trouble. Because of the continuing high inflation, bidders could make a profit by holding their purchased timber sales until the end of the contract period, usually three to five years. This enabled the timber companies to play a "timbers future" bidding and marketing strategy. With the Reagan administration, a slower rate of inflation, falling off in the home construction and building trade, all-time highs in higher mortgage and lending rates, and Canadian competition caused many companies to find themselves in difficulty. In 1979, the forest had outstanding sales of 3.4 billion board feet, about 2.1 to 2.3 billion of which were purchased at such rates that the operator could not made a profit.

In the early 1980s, a number of sawmills closed permanently, especially those that were marginal or money losing operations. Some sawmills reopened when better economic conditions prevailed or when union concessions were gained. Often the reopened mills had fewer employees who took substantial reductions in wages and benefits so that they could continue working in their chosen professions. The Pope and Talbot operation in Oakridge is representative of the latter group and is now operating with greater efficiency and higher worker productivity than before [in May of 1989, the mill was sold]. [55]

There were changes in logging technology. Truck logging remained the usual type of logging; however, the old spar trees, topped by daring climbers, were replaced by steel towers. In the 1950s, dragging logs on the ground was thought to be silviculturally desirable because it exposed mineral soil. By the 1980s the aim was to preserve the original forest duff as much as possible. Helicopter logging was common in steep terrain and roadless areas, particularly for salvage sales. Clearcuts were limited to 60 acres, but averaged about 25 acres. Each district had available professional engineers, biologists, soil and water experts, and archaeologists to examine sales areas; and to evaluate large sales, there was provision for public input. The major forest road system (consisting of arterials and collector roads) had, by 1970, already been constructed; the new road building has been for spur (local) roads.

From about 1910 to 1950 the aim of the Forest Service and the lumber industry had been, in E.T. Allen's phrase, "New Forests for Old"—that is, eliminating the old-growth forest to make room for new-growth. There came, with the 1970s, a concern for preservation of old-growth forests as habitat for spotted owls and other birds and beasts, for recreation, and for ecological reasons. The question "How much old-growth shall we save?" became a major one in the Region. It led the Forest Service to exercise some caution in making sales in old-growth stands. Pressure on the issue came from various sources ranging from the Oregon Natural Resources Council, making formal demands that old-growth timber cutting cease, to Earth First!'s direct action, sitting in trees destined for harvest, or driving spikes into trees. Representatives of the timber industry argued the need for more research on how much old-growth was needed before trying to save it. As one industry official put it:

How much old growth do we really need? I don't think anybody knows that. I think the perception of some people is that old growth is inviolable, that it represents something almost beyond this world—that it has a spiritual value. As long as you have people that believe that, you will never have enough old growth for them. I think that from a practical viewpoint, you have to take a look at how much old growth is necessary to preserve certain types of eco-systems, how much is necessary to remain for certain kinds of recreation. I happen to believe that we have an awful lot of old growth and I think we're going to have an awful lot of old growth for all time. I don't think it's going to go away, and the perception that people like the environmental community promote is that we're about to cut the last old growth stand, and that's not true at any point and it's not true now...I think there is a misconception of what the root cause of all of this is, and it has nothing to do with old growth, it has nothing to do with spotted owls; it really has nothing to do with any one of these elements. It has to do with the belief that anything man does is wrong if it affects the environment. As long as you have people that believe that, they will use whatever device be it spotted owl, snail darters, old growth, or whatever to achieve the end—shortcutting, delaying or abandoning development of any kind. You have to recognize that there will always be these people, but you also have to go ahead regardless of those people because they do not represent the true interests of the environment.

Representatives were critical of the basis on which the Forest Service accepted untested research by wildlife biologists. As another industrial official said:

It seems to me it's a young science that we're learning a heck of a lot about, but the way the Forest Service is taking it is that it's God-given; that the spotted owl must have a thousand acres or that if it goes to the edge of the old growth it's going to see a clearcut, fall over and die. Well the natural system doesn't work like that; animals adapt, and there's various degrees of adaptation. [56]

Further problems with forest management came about in regard to the use of pesticides. The Federal Pest Control Act of 1947 had declared it the policy of the government to protect all forest lands, regardless of ownership, from destructive forest insect pests and diseases, and authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to work out cooperative agreements with other forest land owners to carry on control measures. In 1962, Rachel Carson published her book, The Silent Spring, an indictment of insecticides. The book led to modifications of existing practices relating to the approval of all pesticides. Generally speaking, and to describe in simple terms what was actually a complex process, the Environmental Protection Agency was given authority to classify, recommend, and ban as hazardous, pesticides deemed dangerous. [57]

The issue arose in 1973 over an outbreak of tussock moth in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. At that time, the only known insecticide for tussock moth control or eradication was DDT. However, Rachel Carson's strong indictment of DDT made the Forest Service aware that its use would arouse all sorts of political recriminations. Regional Forester Schlapfer worked with state officials and the BLM in preparing environmental impact statements. DDT had been outlawed by the Council of Environmental Quality, but had left one loophole: That if there was a true emergency of national significance, the DDT could be used. The area at stake was about 1,200,000 acres. The Forest Service, Indian Service, BLM, Dean of the OSU School of Forestry, head of research and State Forester's office pushed for emergency use. Their petition was denied on political grounds. In 1974, it was accepted after about 800,000 acres were defoliated. The net results of this were mixed. Those who opposed use of insecticides asserted that the problem would have solved itself anyway. Researchers began to look for a biological means of control of insect infestations. The problem encouraged a great deal of research on the effects of DDT.

In 1979, one gypsy moth was detected in Oregon at Lake Owsego. Over the next five years, small outbreaks of the defoliating insect were found and successfully treated in Gresham, Salem, and Corvallis. However, in the summer of 1984, the largest single outbreak of gypsy moths ever found west of the Mississippi River was discovered near Pleasant Hill at the edge of the Willamette National Forest. Attracted by specially scented traps, swarms of male moths clogged the traps. The moths were found on over 200,000 acres of land in Lane and Douglas Counties. If the moths were left uncontrolled, loss of timber would have been enormous. A 16-member task force wrangled for weeks trying to come to a resolution on which chemical agent to apply. The timber industry and state officials insisted on using aerial spraying with chemical insecticides, while environmental groups, led by Lane County Commissioner Jerry Rust, were opposed. Rust, and others, recommended trying a little-known biological compound called Bacillus thuringiensis (or B.t. as it was commonly called). The issue went to court, but before a judge could rule, the state elected to aerial spray with B.t., if enough supplies were available. Some 140 people were assigned to the project, including Forest Service, BLM, USDA Animal and Plant Inspection Service, Oregon Departments of Agriculture and Forestry. Helicopters were stationed at various places in the county, but the main compound was at the old Kimball mill property east of Pleasant Hill. In the spring of 1985, 227,000 acres were sprayed in Lane County, including portions of the Lowell Ranger District and the BLM Eugene District, with 190,000 acres sprayed in 1986, and just a fraction of these acres in 1987. During the summer of 1988, only a handfull of moths were detected in the sprayed areas. This was the largest eradication program using B.t. ever attempted in the U.S. and the outcome was even better than expected, which surprised even the environmental groups. Monitoring of new traps continues. [58]

During the summer of 1987, when gypsy moth spraying was slowing down, an outbreak of western spruce budworm was discovered on the Willamette. The moth larvae eat the new growth of needles and buds on the evergreen trees, eventually slowing tree growth or killing the infected fir or spruce tree. Although the spruce budworm can be found almost anytime on the forest, an estimated 89,570 acres of the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness and adjacent areas were found damaged. The budworm was also found in epidemic infestations on over 900,000 acres of the nearby Mt. Hood and Deschutes National Forests. The Regional Office is coordinating an effort to control the insect populations with B.t. [59]

Under Regional Forester Richard E. Worthington's administration, issues arose regarding herbicides, especially the chemical 2,4,5-T. The Forest Service had been spraying without an environmental statement, on the basis that the herbicide did not have a major environmental impact, since it was used to spray rice fields twice a year. A judge ruled against the Forest Service. The Forest Service completed an environmental statement; spraying began in the Siuslaw National Forest, and this brought about a major confrontation between opponents to spraying and the Regional Forester. However, the Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, because of pressure from the anti-herbicide people, stopped the Forest Service from using it. Worthington's views, that the herbicide was not dangerous, remained.

There were at least four groups opposed to herbicides. One group believed that all herbicides were dangerous, and that the indiscriminate application of the dioxon-based herbicides was causing fish, animal, and even human harm and death. Another group felt that insect infestations and diseases should run their own courses or be treated by natural means. This view was shown by some who opposed cutting insect infested and diseased trees from the French Pete area or any wilderness. A third group were, in Worthington's words, "opposed to anything that would increase the ability of the Forest Service to cut timber; they want to stop cutting timber." Another group were the marijuana growers, afraid of the effects of herbicides on their marijuana patches. Worthington believed that much of the money for anti-spraying campaigns came from this group. [60]

Free use of resources in the Willamette National Forest increased during the 1970s and 1980s, especially in the harvest of Christmas trees and collection of firewood. Logged over lands and power line rights of way were areas in which young growth flourished, and by the 1970s the time was ripe for Christmas tree harvest. The thinning of the stands was also valuable from a silvicultural point of view. The growing popularity of wood stoves, combined with widespread unemployment in the 1980s led to collection of free firewood from logged areas. As in recreation, there was an increase in lawlessness. Firewood was free, but some people attempted to collect the wood and sell it commercially. Some Christmas trees were cut for commercial purposes without permits. In 1982, a new and higher schedule of fines for such infractions was issued by a Federal District Judge in Portland, but the depredations continued. [61]

More serious was sabotage, or in the words of its proponents, "ecotage" or "monkeywrenching." The Sierra Club and other groups had, during the 1960s, dealt with this type of protest in an academic manner or by simply ignoring it. In the 1980s these academic ideas were carried out in action by new fringe groups, especially Earth First! "Ecotage" was the term its proponents used to define sabotage for ecological purposes. It was based on the assumption that just about any action humans takes in regard to the earth is ecologically damaging, that existing land management planning procedures are not working, and that there is need for direct action.

In 1984-1985 a series of actions took place in the Willamette National Forest. There were some peaceful demonstrations in front of the Supervisor's Office in Eugene, where a tepee was erected, pamphlets handed out, and songs sung. But the demonstrations took on an uglier tone. In the Hardesty Mountain area, trees had spikes driven into them by a group identifying themselves as the Hardesty Mountain Avengers. Similar action by the Bella Abzug Garden Club took place at Pyramid Creek. The Abzug Club, along with the Cathedral Forest Action Group also blockaded roads in the Pyramid Creek area. In the Squaw Creek area, activist groups built platforms in trees. The places selected for action were areas which Congress had considered for wilderness status, but were not included in the 1984 Oregon Wilderness Act. Supervisor Kerrick wrote, "Instead of ending the debate over wilderness, things have heated up considerably since Earth First! chose the Willamette National Forest as a battleground to fight for its cause."

The Willamette National Forest met the threat with three approaches. First, it invited the "ecotage" groups to work with the forest managers in seeking a consensus on land management. At this writing, the approach seems not to have much success. Statements and position papers issued by the "ecotage" groups seem to show an unwillingness to take this route. Second, the Willamette National Forest plans to close, to public entry, the entire area in which ecotage or demonstrations are threatened. Third, the Forest will take all steps necessary to bring violators to justice, and take both criminal and civil action against them. Several such actions have been taken, or are pending at this writing. [62]

EPILOGUE: THE TASKS AHEAD

The Willamette National Forest, at this writing, is as always in the process of change. In administration, a shift or transfer of BLM land (mostly the O&C lands) in western Oregon to Forest Service management was proposed in 1986. This would have involved some redrawing of present national forest boundaries and shift in philosophy toward land management in many western Oregon areas. However, actions in Congress and an outcry from affected communities have put this proposal on the back burner of Congress. It is doubtful that it will ever "see the light of day" with the present make-up of Congress. Relief legislation for the timber industry, ranging from tariffs on Canadian imports to sale contract renegotiation, is before Congress. However, the timber contract relief act in 1984 and the trade treaty with Canada in 1988 make these efforts moot at the present time. Problems on a series of questions ranging from timber harvest reductions in the draft NFMA plans, spotted owl management, old-growth (now referred to as ancient forest) preservation or utilization, wild and scenic river designation, big game habitat, and cutting practices continue.

In interviews, both the ex-Regional Forester and the present Forest Supervisor have tried to evaluate the state of the Forest and Region at the present, and to foresee the shape of the future. Sirmon felt that the Forest Service had not done as well as it might have done on litigation dealing with environmental issues. The Forest Service will have to adjust to new economic forces and a perceived scarcity, rather than an abundance of certain resources. One may expect more "regimentation" on the Ranger District level than there has been in the past, and less room for individuality. Allocation of resources is a key problem. He considered the consensus building efforts to have been successful. However, since Sirmon left the Region, it is clear that at least for the major contending groups, consensus is farther away than it was in the mid-1980s.

Such is the perception from the Region. From the Forest, Supervisor Mike Kerrick stressed the success of trying to reach all segments of the public, and of some efforts toward building consensus. He spoke on the urgent need for continued research on wildlife habitat, especially the spotted owl, and its relationship to timber harvest, and predicted that this would be the focus of research during the next 15 years. Lawlessness remains a major problem in the Forest. But the views of both Regional Forester and Supervisor were optimistic insofar as the continuing ability of the Forest Service to solve these problems is concerned.

"The seventies saw the maturation of environmental concern, and the challenge of trying to balance all the needs, wants, and resources." Kerrick said, "I think we have made some advances in learning how to work with people, learning to work with our publics. We aren't there yet. I don't know that we ever will be in a position to satisfy all of the various wants and desires of the American public as expressed through our local public, but that is something we are continually trying to develop."

BIBLIOGRAPHIC NOTE

This history is written for an audience of foresters who are familiar with terms in common use in their profession. For readers who are not familiar with the technical or colloquial terms used herein, the following reference books should be consulted:

Society of American Foresters, Terminology of Forest Science, Technology. Practice and Products (Washington, 1983, Second Printing). This is a standard reference book for terminology.

Richard C. Davis (ed.) Encyclopedia of American Forest and Conservation History. Two volumes. (New York, Macmillan, 1983). This contains a series of brief articles on significant topics.

Walter F. McCulloch, Woods Words (Portland, OR, Oregon Historical Society, 1958). Good source for both technical and colloquial usage.

The following references are useful for bibliographies of forest history books and articles:

Richard C. Davis (ed.) North American Forest History: A Guide to Manuscripts and Archives in the United States and Canada (Santa Barbara, California Forest History Society, 1977). This lists archival holdings.

Ronald J. Fahl (ed.), North American Forest and Preservation History: A Bibliography (Santa Barbara, California Forest History Society, 1977). Standard bibliography for articles on forest history.

E.N. Munns, A Selected Bibliography of North American Forestry, 2 Volumes (Washington, G.P.O. 1940). Definitive bibliography of technical articles up to 1940.

Gerald Ogden (ed.) The United States Forest Service: A Historical Bibliography, 1876-1972 (Davis, California Agricultural History Society, 1976). Very valuable source for periodical material.

In addition to these, Gerald W. Williams has written a number of guides to sources and bibliographies for general and specific topics about the Forest Service as a whole, Pacific Northwest Region, other Regions, the national forests, and forest work programs for youths. Universities like the University of Oregon and the University of Washington have published specialized guides for their holdings.

Magazine articles, used relating particularly to forest history, include the Journal of Forest History (the journal of the Forest History Society), American Forests (the journal of the American Forestry Association, published under various titles), and the Journal of Forestry. Regional historical journals have included the Oregon Historical Quarterly and the Pacific Northwest Quarterly. Journals read relating particularly to recreational groups have been the Mazama and the Sierra Club Bulletin.

UNPUBLISHED SOURCES

The Willamette National Forest is fortunate in having preserved a great number of historical documents dealing with its history. These files are kept in the Forest Supervisor's Office, especially the information office, and in the Willamette National Forest warehouse in Eugene. They are particularly rich for the period from early times to 1971.

The Regional Office warehouse in Portland also has a large store of documents, some of which relate to the Willamette National Forest. A partial inventory of the contents of the cartons, some of which were returned from the Federal Records Center in Seattle, is available in the Regional Office, office of information. Unfortunately, a new lighting system was put in the storage place and the cartons are in a state of disarray, so they were not consulted to the extent they should have been.

The Special Collections Division, University of Oregon, has several sets of records of value for this historical work, especially those of Cy Bingham, Smith Bartrum, and other early foresters. The Oregon Collection also has a fair selection of Forest Service publications.

NOTES—CHAPTER VI

1 Lawrence Rakestraw, "Urban Influences on Forest Conservation," Pacific Northwest Quarterly, 46:4 (October 1955), 108-113 gave an account of the early period. David R. Gibney has given valuable information on the New Deal period; see also Chapter IV of this history.

2 Samuel Trask Dana and Everet W. Johnson, Forestry Education in the United States Today and Tomorrow (New York, 1963), 11.

3 Interviews with Gale Burwell and David R. Gibney; Connaughton, "Reminiscences"; Richard Wilen, McKenzie River Societal Analysis: A Pilot Application of a Social Inventory Methodology (Eugene, 1978); Linda J. Peterson, Socio-Economic Overview of the Willamette National Forests Area of Influence (Eugene, WNF, 1983).

4 Roderick Nash, "Rounding Out the American Revolution: Ethical Extension and the New Environmentalism," in Michael Tobias (ed.) Deep Ecology (San Diego, 1984), 176-181. Environmental Review, 9:4 (1985) and 10:1 (1986) give a check list of such courses.

5 Thomas R. Cox, Robert S. Maxwell, Phillip Drennon Thomas and Joseph J. Malone, This Well-Wooded Land (Lincoln, Nebraska, 1985), 260; Forest Service Daily News Digest, January 30, 1985; Article "O&C Timberland Swap Off, Hodel Says" Eugene Register-Guard, August 18, 1985.

6 Keith A. Argow, "Forestry Education," in Richard C. Davis (ed.) Encyclopedia of American Forestry (New York, 1983, Vol. I), 234-9.

7 This abbreviates and oversimplifies a series of complex matters. They involve pressure by professional organizations, such as the American Historical Association and the Western Historical Society to get the Forest Service to hire more historians; struggles for turf among anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians on "Who's in charge here?" in CRM work; curriculum changes in schools of forestry to broaden curricula; efforts by environmental activists to be hired by the Forest Service in order to change it from within; dual degree programs involving forestry and engineering, biology and social science; and in-service training programs by state and Federal natural resource departments. This writer has been involved, over the past twenty years, in a number of these programs, both in teaching and research. He is indebted to Stephen Karpiak, Erick Bourdo, David Gibney, David Burwell, and D. Robert Hakala for discussions and evaluations.

8 Biographical material was supplied by information office, Regional Office. Of particular value were two oral interviews by Linda Dodds of former Regional Foresters Ted Schlapfer, interviewed February 1, 1984, and Richard Endicott Worthington, interviewed April 18, 1984.

9 Willamette National Forest Bulletin 215, December 4, 1970; John Alcock to Elmo Richardson, May 23, 1982, WNF/H.

10 Michael A. Kerrick, taped interview with Lawrence Rakestraw, December 3, 1984.

11 John E. Alcock to Elmo Richardson, May 25, 1983, WNF/H; interview with David R. Gibney and Gale Burwell.

12 See Nancy Shute, "Sell It: Jon Beden's Radical Plan to Save the Land," Magazine Section, Sunday Oregonian, February 10, 1985, 4-8, for the privatization viewpoint.

13 Nash, "Rounding Out the American Revolution."

14 Holway Jones, review of Wilderness and the American Mind, Sierra Club Bulletin, 68:4 (July-August, 1983), 73-7; interview of Andy Kerr by Jerry Mason, May 10, 1984, Information Office, Willamette National Forest; interview of Dennis Hayward by Jerry Mason, July 31, 1984, Information Office, Willamette National Forest.

15 Interviews with Gale Burwell and Jerry Mason; Conservation Education and Environmental Education Files, Information Office, Willamette National Forest, Eugene, OR.

16 Ann. Rep., WNF, 1971, 3-15; Wilen, McKenzie River Societal Analysis: A Pilot Application of a Social Inventory Methodology (Eugene, WNF, 1978); Linda J. Peterson, Socio-Economic Overview of Willamette National Forests Zone of Influence (Eugene, WNF, 1983).

17 Final Environmental Statement, Multiple Use Land Management, Timber Management, Narrative and Appendix (Portland, USDA Forest Service, 1977).

18 Jerry Mason, Hearing the People; Interview with Key People, (Mimeo., Eugene, WNF, Information Office, 1987); Kerrick Interview.

19 Patti A. Rodgers, Content Analysis Report: Public Responses Received on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed Forest Plan, Willamette National Forest, (Mimeo., Eugene, WNF, October 23, 1988).

20 Terwilliger Springs File, WNF/H.

21 Jerry Mason, Seeking Consensus on the Willamette, (Mimeo., Eugene, WNF, Information Office, 1984).

22 Jack Rothacher, Does Harvest in West Slope Douglas-fir Increase Peak Flow in Small Mountain Streams? PNW Forest and Range Experiment Station Research Paper PNW 163 (Portland, 1973); Jack Rothacher, C.T. Dryness, and R.L. Fredricksen, Hydrologic and Related Characteristics of Three Small Watersheds in the Oregon Cascades (USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Portland, 1967); George W. Brown, The Impact of Timber Harvest on Soil and Water Resources, Ext. Bull. 827 (Corvallis, Oregon State University Extension Service, February, 1973); and Forest Service Research News, Willamette Briefing Reports, October, 1985.

23 Jay Heinrichs, "The Owl and Old Growth," American Forests, 90:3 (March, 1984), 22-3, 54-6 contained the best non-technical account of the problem. Habitat Management for the Spotted Owl: Planning Report (Portland, USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region, October, 1985) summarized some of the issues and concerns in dealing with this bird. Quotation of Hayward's was from Jerry Mason's oral interview with Dennis Hayward. On terms of the Endangered Species Act and how it affected wildlife managers, see Fairfax and Dana, Forest and Range Policy, 263-4.

24 Region 6 spotted owl EIS team published, in July 1986, a Draft Supplement to the Environmental Impact Statement for an Amendment to the Pacific Northwest Regional Guide, Two volumes (Portland, USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, 1986), to address Regional guidelines for managing the spotted owl; there were over 40,000 comments received on the DEIS, with both the timber industry and environmentalists agreeing only that not enough research had been completed on the owl; USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Final Supplement to the Environmental Impact Statement for an Amendment to the Pacific Northwest Regional Guide - Spotted Owl Guidelines, Two volumes (Portland, USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, 1988).

25 Directives from the National Archives as to disposal and preservation of records were not always followed in Regional and national forest offices. Archival managers themselves did not always use good judgement; there has been, for example, a persistent ignoring of the value of ranger diaries.

26 Publications of the Western History Association and the James Wright Society are instructive in tracing these squabbles. It was, however, largely limited to the administrative offices rather than to the field. For this writer's evaluation of the relative parts to be played by historian and archaeologist, see Lawrence Rakestraw, "Historical Interpretation," in Grant Sharpe (ed.) Interpreting Our Environment (New York, 1982), 560-585.

27 This writer has seen such destruction in offices of the Tongass and Gifford Pinchot National Forests. The Willamette escaped this blight. This writer was also embroiled in questions of relative jurisdiction between the Washington and the Regional Offices.

28 Interviews with David R. Gibney and Gale Burwell.

29 Paul Claeyssens, "Oakridge Ranger District CRM Program 1965-85." Manuscript in this writer's possession, January 30, 1985; Rick Minor and Audrey Frances Pecor, Cultural Overview of the Willamette National Forest, Western Oregon (University of Oregon Anthropological Paper No. 12, November 12, 1977).

30 Claeyssens, "Oakridge"; Minor and Pecor, Cultural Overview of the Willamette National Forest, Western Oregon (1977); Sharilyn Reyna, Archaeological Survey of the Breitenbush Geothermal Area, Marion and Linn Counties, Oregon (Eugene, OR: University of Oregon, Department of Anthropology, 1975) and Archaeological Survey of the McCredie Geothermal Area, Lane County, Oregon (Eugene, OR: University of Oregon, Department of Anthropology, 1975). Claeyssens lists the major anthropological papers published.

31 Claeyssens, "Oakridge"; Stephen Dow Beckham, Oregon Central Wagon Road: A History and Reconnaissance (Portland: Heritage Research Associates #6, Vol. 1, 1981); James Hold to Lawrence Rakestraw, January 23, 1986.

32 Cultural Resource Management reports (Eugene, WNF, Recreation).

33 John K. Stutesman, Santiam Wagon Road Evaluation, Pt. 1: Environmental Setting, History and Evolution (November, 1983); Cynthia Guminski, Robert Brodsky, and Michael Gilmore, The Santiam Wagon Road, a Historic Preservation Study (Eugene: University of Oregon Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management, 1983).

34 In addition to sources previously cited, visits to ranger stations at Sweet Home, Detroit, and Blue River were revealing as to the field work done by the staff. I am particularly indebted to Gale Burwell, Tony Farque, Ron Johnson, and Gerald Williams for guiding me to this material. Amateur historian Robert Cox of Eugene has been especially helpful to the Willamette NF in tracking down and recording the scribings found on the Cy Bingham and Judge Waldo trees.

35 Gerald W. Williams, "Forest Entry Historical Records Inventory for the Willamette National Forest" (Mimeo., July 20, 1986), WNF/H; Ron Johnson, "Inventory of Historical Records" (Mimeo., 1986), WNF/H; Gerald W. Williams, "The Fur Trade Era: Expeditions, Explorations, and Journeys Into and Through the Regions of Western Oregon, 1805-1869" (Mimeo., July 11, 1986), WNF/H; and Paul G. Claeyssens, Private Enterprise and Early Twentieth Century Development on Oregon's Second Largest Lake: A Cultural Resource Evaluation Report of the Klovdahl Tunnel and Headgate Structure, Waldo Lake, Willamette National Forest, Oregon (Eugene, WNF, 1987). Field examination of sites, 1984-5.

36 French Pete File, WNF/H.

37 French Pete File, WNF/H.

38 RARE and RARE II Files, WNF/H.

39 Forest Service News, WNF, June 28, 1984.

40 Worthington Interview.

41 On illegal methods to prevent timber harvest, see Michael A. Kerrick, Forest Supervisor, Ecotage from Our Perspective: An Explanation of the Willamette National Forests' Policy on Environmental Policy Known as Ecotage (Eugene, WNF, 1985).

42 Claeyssens, "Oakridge"; Christopher Boehme, "Who Won the Past: Archaeologists vs. Collectors," Sunday Oregonian, Northwest Section, February 23, 1986, 6-7, 22, The individual reports on wilderness management plans in the Supervisor's Office (at Eugene) of the Willamette National Forest offer a great deal of detail on individual management plans for each wilderness.

43 Kerrick Interview; Detroit file, WNF/H; Mill City Enterprise, July 12, 1984.

44 Rock Mesa File, WNF/H.

45 WNF News Release, April 28, 1984.

46 This problem has been a subject of frequent discussion with students.

47 Kerrick Interview.

48 Forest Service News, WNF, May 17, June 27, 1985.

49 The James Bond Syndrome in wilderness travel began to develop as early as 1945, based on this writer's observation. I have seen this also in the Great Lakes area, particularly in the Pictured Rocks.

50 Forest Service News, WNF, October 10, 1985.

51 Forest Service News, WNF, October 8, 1985.

52 Forest Service News, WNF, May 11, 1984.

53 Forest Service News, WNF, April 29, November 1, 1985. Willamette Pass Alpine Winter Sports Site: Final Environmental Impact Statement, Summary. (Willamette National Forest, April 29, 1985).

54 McCredie Hot Springs Environmental Assessment, 1982, WNF/H.

55 Kerrick Interview.

56 "Timber Management Perspective on Forest Service Land Management Planning Process: An Interview with Mike Sullivan and Rick Bailey, March 13, 1985," in Jerry Mason, Hearing the People.

57 Fairfax and Dana, Forest and Range Policy, 255-257.

58 Ted Schlapfer, Interview by Linda Dodds, February 1, 1984 (USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, 1984); "Mothbusters' Find Work-and Friends" Springfield News, May 15, 1985.

59 Forest Service News, WNF, July 29, 1987; "Foresters Assess Spruce Budworm Damage" Register-Guard, August 15, 1987.

60 Richard Endicott Worthington, Interview by Linda Dodds, April 18, 1984, (USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, 1984).

61 WNF News Release, July 26, 1982.

62 John G. Mitchell and Constance Stellings, Ecotactics, 56, 150. Kerrick, Ecotage.

CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY, 1970-1988

1970

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) signed on New Year's Day, heralding the commencement of the "environmental decade." NEPA required every Federal agency to prepare and circulate an environmental impact statement (EIS) "on proposals for legislation and other major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment." The act also created the Federal Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) in the Executive Office of the President to advise the President on matters of environmental quality and to review agency compliance with the act.

The first Earth Day celebrated April 22.

Arnold W. Bolle, from the University of Montana School of Forestry, authored a report entitled "A University Looks at the Forest Service." This critical evaluation, referred to as the Bolle Report, of Forest Service timber harvesting and reforestation practices in Bitterroot National Forest prompted national debate on clearcutting.

The Youth Conservation Corps program (P.L. 91-378; 84 Stat. 794), was signed into law on August 13. This act was intended to establish, for three years, a pilot Youth Conservation Corps to further the development and maintenance of the natural resources by America's youth. The act authorized the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to establish camps for young men and women between the ages of 15 and 19 (the YCC was expanded in 1972 [92-597] and given permanent authorization in 1974 [93 Stat. 408]).

The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970, signed into law on December 24 (P.L. 91-581; 84 Stat. 1566), empowered the Secretary of the Interior to issue leases for geothermal resources on public lands.

The Clean Air Act of 1970 was signed into law on December 31. It was designed "to protect and enhance the quality of the Nation's air resources so as to promote the public wealth and welfare and the productive capacity of its population." The act also provided for research and assistance to state and local governments who were designated as having the primary responsibility to control air pollution at its source. The act and subsequent implementing regulations provided for establishing national air quality standards; state implementation plans; national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants; inspections and monitoring; and prevention of a significant deterioration of the nation's air quality.

1971

The Report of the Public Land Law Review Commission issued, generating considerable controversy concerning its commodity and disposition orientation.

"Church Guidelines" for clearcutting were published after the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands investigation of national forest harvest techniques. The guidelines were immediately adopted as clearcutting policy by Forest Service.

The Oregon Forest Practices Act enacted.

Charles A. Connaughton retired as Regional Forester. He was replaced by Rexford "Rex" A. Resler.

1972

"Sierra Club v. Butz" declared that all areas contiguous to a wilderness or primitive area must be protected as wilderness pending Congressional actions on inclusion of area in wilderness system.

Executive Order 11644 (February 8) instructed agency and department heads to issue regulations controlling the use of off-road vehicles on public lands.

"Sierra Club v. Morton," also known as the "Mineral King" case, clarified the "standing" criteria in environmental litigation initiated by reformers acting as "private attorneys general." Justice William O. Douglas's frequently cited dissenting opinion posed question of tree's right to sue on own behalf.

The Volunteers in the National Forests Act of 1972 (P.L. 92-300; 86 Stat. 147) was enacted on May 18. The act authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to recruit and train volunteers to assist in Forest Service activities.

The Clean Water Amendments (P.L. 92-500; 86 Stat. 816), otherwise known as the "Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972," was enacted on October 18 to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters. The act established goals for the eventual elimination of discharge pollutants; prohibited the discharge of toxic pollutants in toxic amounts; and enabled areawide waste treatment management planning to assure controls over sources of pollution. The act also set standards and minimum requirements for the control and abatement of water pollution. Section 208 included controlling nonpoint sources of pollution, such as agriculture, silviculture, and mining operations.

Edward P. Cliff resigned as Chief of the Forest Service. He was replaced by John R. McGuire.

Rex Resler transferred to the Washington Office. He was replaced as Regional Forester by Theodore A. Schapfler.

1973

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-205; 87 Stat. 884) was signed into law on December 28. The act established Federal procedures for identification and protection of endangered plants and animals in their critical habitats. It declared broad prohibitions against taking, hunting, harming, or harassing listed species, and was intended, in large part, through cooperative Federal and state efforts, to restore endangered populations to a level where protection no longer necessary.

A Federal District Court decision in "West Virginia Division of Izaak Walton League v. Butz" commenced the litigation phase of the Monongahela NF controversy with ruling that Forest Service harvesting practices violated provision of the 1897 Organic Act.

The Agricultural and Consumer Protection Act created under Title X of Forestry Incentives Program (FIP) to authorize financial assistance through long-term contracts with owners of nonindustrial private forest lands. Funds provided for tree planting and timber stand improvement to enhance productivity of nation's small private forests.

1974

The "Archaeological Conservation Act" of May 24 (P.L. 93-291; 88 Stat. 174) amended the Reservoir Salvage Act of 1960 such that all Federal agencies were authorized to spend project funds for inventory, salvage, and analysis of cultural resources to be affected by the project.

The Woodsy Owl/Smokey Bear Act (P.L. 93-318; 88 Stat. 244), signed into law on June 22. added the name and character Woodsy Owl, and the slogan "Give a Hoot, Don't Pollute", to the Smokey Bear Act of 1952.

The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA) (P.L. 93-378; 88 Stat. 476), signed into law on August 17, directed the Forest Service to undertake long-range planning to ensure adequate timber supply and maintenance of environmental quality. Forest Service required to prepare a decennial assessment of renewable resource supply and demand and update management program at five-year intervals.

The Freedom of Information Act (P.L. 93-502; 88 Stat. 1561) was signed into law on November 21. This act allowed the opportunity for public review of all Federal agencies records and decisions. Such information was to be made available within 20 working days, unless the request was extended for "unusual circumstances." The act did not apply to information directly related to personnel matters, trade secrets, confidential commercial or financial data from outside companies, medical files, ongoing law enforcement investigations, geological information about wells, and other material exempted from public disclosure.

The "Conti decision," an out-of-court settlement of a Sierra Club suit brought against Forest Service for failure to prepare an EIS on Roadless Area Review and Evaluation (RARE) areas prior to development activities, prohibited alteration of any de facto wilderness pending completion of land use planning process.

The Safe Water Drinking Act of 1974 was signed into law on December 16. The purpose of the act was to assure that potable water systems serving the public meet minimum national standards. The act allowed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish standards for public water systems.

1975

The initial "Monongahela" decision was upheld by Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, setting stage for legislative remedy of the inadequacies in the Organic Act of 1897 (Izaak Walton League v. Butz).

1976

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) (P.L. 94-579; 90 Stat. 2743), enacted for the Bureau of Land Management on October 21, authorized multiple use management of public lands, and declared government policy of retaining public lands in Federal ownership.

The National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of 1976 (P.L. 94-588; 90 Stat. 2949), signed into law on October 22, repealed language of 1897 Organic Act which prompted the Monongahela NF litigation, extensively amended the RPA planning process, and provoked controversy on nondeclining even flow and other key aspects of intensive management. The act also mandated greater public participation in Forest Service decision making and authorized $200 million annually for reforestation work. The act also established a "committee of scientists" to help write the regulations that the Forest Service would follow to implement the new law.

The Omnibus Wilderness Act designated 19 wildernesses in 13 states.

1977

RARE II, a second roadless area review, was undertaken by Forest Service in an effort to speed up designation.

The Young Adult Conservation Corps (YACC) program, included in Title VIII of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-93), was intended to further the development and maintenance of the natural resources by America's young adults. The act authorized the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to establish projects and camps for young men and women between the ages of 16 and 23, with being paid. minimum wage for a 12-month enrollment (the YACC funding was eliminated in 1981 and the Act expired in 1982.)

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 (P.L. 95-95; 91 Stat. 685), signed into law on August 7, was concerned, in part, with forest management activities, such as prescribed burning, and natural occurrences, such as fire, which have attendant air quality impacts. The act gave a Class II air quality designation to all wildernesses created after August 7, 1977. The act also listed as Class I (the highest air quality) areas: National parks over 6,000 acres and national memorial parks and wildernesses over 5,000 acres. All other areas were considered as Class II areas, however, many of these areas could be recommended by the Forest Service to the state for redesignation as Class I areas.

The Clean Water Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-190; 91 Stat. 1393), otherwise known as the "Safe Drinking Water Amendments of 1977", was signed into law on November 16 (it was a series of amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974). The Clean Water Act required, among other items, that Federal agencies comply with all Federal, state, and local requirements for clean drinking water.

Ted Schlapfer retired and was replaced by Richard E. Worthington as Regional Forester.

1978

The Endangered American Wilderness Act designated largest single addition in the National Wilderness Preservation System, totaling 1.3 million acres in 10 western states.

The National Forest Management Act (NFMA) provision which authorized the use of sealed bids for timber sales was repealed.

Congress passed an amendment to Endangered Species Act which modified act's rigid mandate in favor of allowing exemptions in specific cases, determined by a special cabinet-level committee.

The American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) (P.L. 95-341; 92 Stat. 469), signed into law on August 11, stated that Federal agencies are to evaluate policies and programs in consultation with Native American religious leaders in order to determine appropriate changes necessary to protect and preserve Native American religious cultural rights and practices. Also gave access to traditional cultural religious areas and sites within the national forests and other public lands.

1979

The Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) was enacted on October 31 to protect the "...archaeological resources and sites which are on public lands and Indian lands, and to foster increased cooperation and exchange of information between governmental authorities, the professional archaeological community, and private individuals...." The act also revised the permit procedures to excavate sites and remove artifacts from public lands. Additionally, the act specified the appropriate custody of cultural resources, prohibited acts and criminal penalties, civil penalties, rewards (not to exceed $500), and forfeiture of all vehicles and equipment used to violate provisions of the act.

John R. McGuire retired as Chief of the Forest Service and was replaced by R. Max Peterson.

1980

Mt. Saint Helens, on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, had a massive volcanic eruption on May 18, 1980. Heavy amounts of ash were deposited across Washington State, Idaho, and Montana, while dust from the explosion darkened the skies on the east coast.

The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (P.L. 96-487; 94 Stat. 2371) of December 2, provided access to nonfederally owned land within the boundaries of the national forests and other public lands.

The National Historic Preservation Act Amendments (P.L. 96-515; 94 Stat. 2987) of December 12, provided that the Federal government encourage, expand, administer, and cooperate (including financial and technical assistance) with other nations, states, local governments, Indian tribes, and private organizations and individuals to preserve prehistoric and historic resources for the present and future. The amendments also provided that the Secretary of the Interior would promulgate or revise regulations for locating, inventorying, and nominating sites to the National Register of Historic Places. In addition, the responsible agencies were authorized to withhold from public disclosure public records containing information that may create a substantial risk of harm, theft, or destruction of cultural resources or area or place where they are located.

The Wood Residue Utilization Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-554; 94 Stat. 3257), signed into law on December 19, provided that the Forest Service and BLM develop, demonstrate, and "...make available information on feasible methods...to increase and improve utilization...of wood residues resulting from timber harvesting and forest protection and management activities occurring on public and private forest lands...." The act included provisions for pilot projects and demonstrations. Effective date was October 1, 1981.

1982

The Mt. Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument was established.

Dick Worthington retired as Regional Forester and was replaced by Jeff M. Sirmon.

1983

The Small Tracts Act (P.L. 97-465; 96 Stat. 2535) of January 22 authorized the Forest Service to sell, exchange, or interchange national forest lands, of not more than $150,000 value, for private lands of equivalent value. The act was especially designed to deal with parcels of land 40 acres or less.

1984

The Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984 was signed into law on June 26. The act added 846,000 acres of wilderness in the State of Oregon, plus the unique Oregon Cascades Recreation Area (OCRA). The Willamette NF gained the Bull of the Woods (mostly on the Mt. Hood NF), Menagerie, Middle Santiam, and Waldo Lake Wildernesses, as well as additions to the existing wildernesses. The 157,000-acre OCRA has portions located on the Willamette, Deschutes, Umpqua, and Winema National Forests. The OCRA contains the Mt. Thielsen Wilderness on the Umpqua and Winema NFs and the 1984 additions to the Diamond Peak Wilderness.

The Federal Timber Contract Payment Modification Act, often referred to as the "Timber Relief Act," provided that eligible timber operators could turn back up to 55 percent of their uncut (high bid price) Forest Service and BLM timber sales to a maximum of 200 MMBF per company. There was 10 billion board feet of uncut, high-priced sales in the U.S., with 7 billion board feet of these in Oregon and Washington. The act also set a cap on Forest Service timber sales in the Northwest. One provision of the act was that the "turned back" sales had to be re-offered as part of the yearly timber sales rather than as sales above the existing timber.

1985

Regional Forester Jeff Sirmon transferred to the Washington Office. He was replaced in September by Charles T. "Tom" Coston from Region One.

The Reagan administration proposed to transfer or interchange certain USDI Bureau of Land Management and USDA Forest Service lands in the West. After considerable public and Congressional outcry, the proposal was considered "dead," although it has not been withdrawn by the administration.

1986

The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area was signed into law on November 17. It was originally comprised of 277,000 acres (since expanded), with the Forest Service to administer 108,000 acres, a 13-member commission from Oregon and Washington to manage 141,000 acres, with the remainder in 12 urban areas exempted from management controls.

1987

R. Max Peterson retired on February 2nd as Chief of the Forest Service and is its first Chief Emeritus. With this new title, Peterson agreed to undertake special projects for the Forest Service. Peterson was succeeded by F. Dale Robertson, who worked for a number of years in the Southern Region and the Pacific Northwest Region.

Regional Forester Tom Coston retired unexpectedly after a few months. He was replaced on April 7th by James F. Torrence from Region Two (Rocky Mountain Region). Torrence served previously as Deputy Regional Forester for resources in the Pacific Northwest Region from 1977-1984.

After an unusually dry spring and hot summer, a huge "Lightning Bust" hit northern California and southern Oregon on August 30th and September 1st. The dry lightning storm left a trail of thousands of recorded lightning strikes over a two day period causing hundreds of fires. The Willamette NF had 74 fires from this storm. Several of these fires burned into large fire "complexes" frustrating fire fighters from around the nation and Canada for months. The Silver Fire on the Siskiyou National Forest was finally extinguished in November after the late fall rains finally came.

A spotted owl interagency agreement between the Forest Service and the USDI Fish & Wildlife Service was signed on December 12th. The purpose of the agreement was to strengthen "the commitment of both agencies to ensure population viability of spotted owls." In that memorandum of understanding, both agencies agreed that the amount and distribution of habitat was crucial to the survival of the owl. Monitoring of forest plans, as well as future research and inventory, was part of the agreement. Cooperation and sharing of information on the owls was considered to be a very important step in managing spotted owl habitat.

The Clean Water Act of 1987 was a series of amendments to the Clean Water Act of 1972. Basically, the new act was an attempt to address problems of the 1972 act, especially regarding nonpoint pollution sources, including agriculture, silviculture, and mining operations. In addition, section 319 addressed nonpoint pollution on forest streams and lakes. Other sections provided for "demonstration watersheds"; grants and loans to the states; control over stormwater discharges and sewage sludge; established a clean lakes program; a Chesapeake Bay program; and other provisions including penalties.

1988

Publication of the long awaited and very controversial final SEIS (Supplement to the Amendment to the Regional Guide EIS for spotted owls) was published in July. This two volume publication was the result of several appeals of the Regional Guide (1984) and political concessions to both the timber industry and environmental groups. The draft of the SEIS was published in 1986. The Region received a total of 40,820 responses to the draft SEIS.

The Omnibus Oregon Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-557) was signed by the President on October 28, 1988. This act amended the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (P.L. 90-542) to include 1,428 miles along 40 river segments in Oregon for inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System and directed the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to develop management plans for each river. In addition, the act also specified portions of seven rivers to be studied as to their suitability for National Wild and Scenic River System designation. For the Willamette National Forest, the two new wild and scenic rivers were: McKenzie River (12.7 miles from Clear Lake to Scott Creek) and North Fork of the Willamette River (42.5 miles from Waldo Lake to the forest boundary). Two study segments on the Willamette NF were the Blue River (from the headwaters to Blue River Reservoir) and the South Fork of the McKenzie River (from the headwaters to the upper end of Cougar Reservoir and from the lower end of Cougar Reservoir to the McKenzie River).

Publication of another very controversial final EIS regarding the management of competing and unwanted vegetation (especially how the Forest Service was going to handle the use of herbicides) was published in November. This six volume publication was the result of a 1983 law suit on the FEIS Methods of Managing Competing Vegetation (1981). There were widespread concerns that the Region had not previously addressed all methods of managing unwanted trees, shrubs, bushes, and grasses. In addition, there was great concern about the health of people that might be exposed to various herbicides during intensive timber management operations. This lawsuit resulted in a judgment and injunction against the Forest Service, BLM, and the EPA in 1984 which prohibited the use of herbicides until a worst case analysis was completed. A draft EIS was published in October, 1987. A total of about 4,900 responses were received on the draft.

The Oregon Scenic Waterway initiative (Ballot Measure #7), sponsored by the Oregon Rivers Council and other environmental groups, was passed by the voters of Oregon at the November general election. The initiative added 496 miles along 11 river segments as Oregon Scenic Waterways: Lower and upper Clackamas River; lower and portions of the upper Deschutes River; Elk River; Grande Ronde River; Illinois River; lower portions and the North, Middle, and South Forks of the John Day River; upper Klamath River; South Fork and upper McKenzie River; Metolius River; Minam River; Nestucca River/Walker Creek; Owyhee River; lower and upper Rogue River; Sandy River; Little North Fork of the Santiam River; No. Umpqua River; Wallowa River; and North Fork of the Willamette River, including Waldo Lake. Placement in the Oregon Scenic Waterways means that the state will prohibit placer mining and will regulate lode or hardrock mining within the scenic corridor.