Calaveras County Farm Bureau Hots Up Timber Management Issues/Meeting Today

With recent emphasis on protecting forest communities from potentially devastating wildfires, Calaveras County Farm Bureau officials are wanting to know why logging levels haven't increased in the Stanislaus National Forest.

They hope to have their question answered Monday when forest Supervisor Tom Quinn gives the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors a timber management update.

Steve Kafka, the farm bureau's vice president, said that despite President Bush's Healthy Forests Initiative and recent legislation designed to hasten the approval process for logging projects near forest communities like Arnold, logging levels have remained relatively stagnant in the Stanislaus forest. As a result, Kafka said, fire fuels continue to build, because the annual growth far outpaces the amount of timber harvested.

In addition, he said, area mills, mill workers and those connected with the logging industry in general are suffering. Kafka said the farm bureau isn't suggesting a specific amount of timber that the Stanislaus forest should offer for sale each year.

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