Sponsor Statement for HB 373

"An Act Relating to Forests and Forestry Practices."

A cooperative agreement between timber, fishing and environmental stakeholders has resulted in proposed changes to the Forest Practices Act (FPA) that will strengthen the stream and water quality protections currently found in state law.

In an effort to continually reappraise the FPA’s effectiveness, a committee comprised of timber, fishing and state agency representatives evaluated scientific findings over a two-year period. In January, the Board of Forestry endorsed the findings at its January 1998 meeting. The Board subsequently requested legislative approval of the proposed protective measures.

Under current regulations, all anadromous* streams are protected, but exceptions are allowed for marginal streams. The new law will eliminate that exception, while adding additional stream protections.

The changes affect only the "coastal forest of spruce or hemlock" in the Department of Natural Resources’ Region I (coastal area covering roughly Ketchikan to Kodiak). The proposed language accomplishes several goals:

• assigns a "type" designation to all streams, putting to rest concerns that some segments of anadromous streams were not classified
• extends the no-harvest riparian* * buffer zone to ALL anadromous fish streams, relative to "type"
• requires the retention of low-value timber along certain tributaries where prudent, so that the large woody debris (LWD) may eventually fall into streams, forming natural pools downstream, which are important for the rearing of juvenile fish.

I am is pleased to sponsor this legislation which represents solid teamwork between various members of timber, fishing, environmental groups and state agencies. The resulting legislation is a big step toward protecting our valuable fish resources, while the collaborative process all the stakeholders went through to define the changes has paved the way for future cooperation.

Last updated February 19, 1998

* anadromous – bodies of water in which salmon travel upstream to spawn

* * riparian – located on a river or stream bank, as in riparian vegetation