On October 21, 1998, the United States Senate approved the FY 1999 Omnibus Spending Bill that included the Quincy Library Group legislation, a landmark forest management plan in Northern California. The bipartisan legislation was introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) in the Senate and Representative Wally Herger (R-Chico) in the U.S. House of Representatives, where it passed last year on a vote of 429 to 1.

The following is the statement of Senator Feinstein on the legislation:

"I am very pleased that the Quincy Library Group bill has been included in the Omnibus Appropriations bill. This legislation embodies the consensus proposal of the Quincy Library Group, a coalition of environmentalists, timber industry representatives, and local elected officials in Northern California, who came together to resolve their long-standing conflicts over timber management on the national forest lands in their area.

"The Quincy Library Group legislation is a real victory for local consensus decision making. It proves that even some of the most intractable environmental issues can be resolved if people work together toward a common goal.

"I first met the Quincy Library Group back in 1992 when I was running for the Senate, and was then very impressed with what they were trying to do. The members of the Quincy Library Group had seen first hand the conflict between timber harvesting and jobs, environmental laws and protection of their communities and forests, and the devastation of massive forest fires. Their overriding concern was that a catastrophic fire could destroy both the natural environment and the potential for jobs and economic stability in their community. They were also concerned the ongoing stalemate over forest management was ultimately harming both the environment and their local economy.

"The group got together and talked things out. They decided to meet in a quiet, non-confrontational environment -- the main room of the Quincy Public Library. They began their dialogue in the recognition that they shared the common goal of fostering forest health, keeping ecological integrity, assuring an adequate timber supply for area mills, and providing economic stability for their community.

"After dozens of meetings and a year and a half of negotiation, the Quincy Library Group developed an alternative management plan for the Lassen National Forest, Plumas National Forest, and the Sierraville Ranger District of the Tahoe National Forest.

"In the last five years, the group has tried to persuade the U.S. Forest Service to administratively implement the plan they developed. While the Forest Service was interested in the plan's development, they were unwilling to fully implement it. Negotiations and discussions began in Congress. This legislation is the result.

WHAT IS THE QUINCY LIBRARY GROUP LEGISLATION?

"Specifically, the legislation directs the Secretary of Agriculture to implement the Quincy Library Group's forest management proposal on designated lands in the Plumas, Lassen and Tahoe National Forests for five years as a demonstration of community-based consensus forest management. I would like to thank Senators Murkowski, Bumpers, and Craig, Representatives Herger and Miller, as well as the Clinton Administration, for the thoughts they contributed to the development of the final bill.

"The legislation establishes significant new environmental protections in the Quincy Library Group project area. It protects hundreds of thousands of acres of environmentally sensitive lands, including all California spotted owl habitat, as well as roadless areas. Placing these areas off limits to logging and road construction protects many areas that currently are not protected, including areas identified as old-growth and sensitive watersheds in the Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project report.

"However, in the event that any sensitive old growth is not already included in the legislation's off base areas, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee provided report language when the legislation Was reported last year, as Senator Feinstein requested, directing the Forest Service to avoid conducting timber harvest activities or road construction in these late successional old-growth areas. The legislation also requires a program of riparian management, including wide protection zones and streamside restoration projects.

"The Quincy Library Group legislation directs the Forest Service to amend the land and resource management plans for the Plumas, Lassen, and Tahoe National Forests to consider adoption of the Quincy Library Group plan in the forest management plans. The legislation does not require the Forest Service to continue implementing the Quincy Library Group pilot project once the forest plans are revised. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee adopted an amendment, which I supported, to ensure that there is no conflict between the pilot project and the most current and best science reflected in any new forest plans.

MISINFORMATION ABOUT THE LEGISLATION

"There have been a number of inaccurate statements made the Quincy Library Group legislation. I want to clear up three important points:

"First, every single environmental law, including the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Forest Management Act, will be followed as this proposal is implemented. The legislation explicitly states, "Nothing in this section exempts the pilot project from any Federal environmental law."

"The legislation requires an environmental impact statement to be completed before any resource management activities occur. It also provides for full public participation and input throughout the pilot project's implementation.

"Second, the Quincy Library Group legislation does not double the volume of logging on the affected national forests. The intent of this proposal has always been to replace, not supplement, current logging activity, and the legislation will provide for timber harvests similar to current levels.

"In a letter to me dated October 22, 1997, Ronald Stewart, Deputy Chief of Programs and Legislation for the Forest Service, states, "based on the agency's current estimates, the potential timber outputs that would be generated by this bill, if fully funded with additional appropriations, would not double but would remain consistent with the outputs provided from these forests over the last five years."

"Third, the legislation explicitly prohibits the funding of Quincy Library Group projects through reallocation of funds from other national forests. The legislation explicitly states, "The Secretary may not conduct the pilot project using funds appropriated for any other unit of the National Forest System."

"The bottom line is that the Quincy Library Group legislation will provide strong protections for the environment while preserving the job base in the Northern Sierra--not just in one single company, but across 35 area businesses, many of them small and family-owned.

"This Quincy Library Group legislation is strongly supported by local environmentalists, labor unions, elected officials, the timber industry, and 27 California counties. The House approved the Quincy Library Group legislation by a vote of 429 to one last year. The Senate Energy Committee reported the legislation last October. The legislation has been the subject of Congressional hearings and the focus of nationwide public discussion.

"I thank my colleagues for ensuring that this worthy pilot project has a chance."