While 2,4-D is the most widely-used herbicide on the market today, there is a tendency for its users to switch to lesser known chemicals as the going gets hot. Roundup, Krenite and Garlon (2,4DB) are ·some examples of herbicides that are coming more into use. It is possible to gain public information on these and other chemicals in university libraries, but the majority of information has never been published and remains a trade secret. Using the Freedom of Information Act citizens can obtain additional information, but with the new administration this avenue of information is also becoming restricted. "I think the one thing the Congressmen in general don't realize is that it's very easy for them to say, 'Yes, the public should have access to this,' and pass a law but do not comprehend that the average ... citizen cannot afford to go to Federal Court to get the information so the companies and the agencies get away with not providing it because no one can take them to court." -Carol Van Strum Here is how to get that information. Using the Freedom ofInformation Act: A Step by Step Guide, by the Center for National Security Studies, ·1981, 19 pp., $1.50 plus $1.00 per order for postage and handling, from: Center for National Security Studies are attempting to negotiate a path, between the hard-line environmental preservationists and the industrial tree farms, that emphasizes stewardship as well as profit. Ray Raphael, author of Tree Talk and a timber grower himself, calls the movement "holistic forestry" while others simply call it common sense. Rick Koven of NWFWA describes it as "site-specific forestry." "Good" forestry management would involve workers more in decision-making, emphasize labor rather than capital-intensive methods, and decentralize forest management and planning. Other foresters emphasize conservation, transforming less profitable woods into usable products, salvaging lumber for reuse, and utilizing wood chips, brush and sawdust for fuel and erosion control. Selective cutting, with an eye toward prevention of high grading, has been demonstrated as a cost-effective alternative to clearcutting_:_despite arguments to the contrary. Staggered growth, crop rotation and inter.cropping, particularly with alder, have been suggested as methods to reduce erosion and improve soil conditions. The time-tested experience of this new breed of forest workers and foresters is creating a vision of forestry management to work toward. Yet more than vision is needed. Structural obstacles impede progress toward these goals. "One of the key points is that this whole controversy exists because the land was abused in the first place. The real solution comes when we begin adfusting our harvesting techniques to reforestation needs rather than the other way around." -;-Paul Merrell, Citizens for Alternatives to Herbicides Questioning herbicide use strikes at the very heart of modern agriculture and forestry. Mere mention of the topic is enough to draw bared teeth and dose doors. (At the time of this writing Georgia-Pacific is refusing to grant interviews to "environmental" groups.) Phenoxy herbicides have become a symbol of a larger battle of how our forests and farms are to be managed and the expansionist principles upon which our economic system rests. Two key figures in the herbicide debate are private industry and the government. The timber industry operates under the same constraints and guidelines as any other profitable b.usiness. Money 122 Maryland Avenue Washington, DC 20002 November 1981 RAIN Page 17 Perhaps no other laws on the books have been so generally useful tq the public as the Federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act. Using these acts, citizens have obtained classified information, blocked .the implementation of federal programs for failure to publish notice in the Federal Register, persuaded corporations to admit they had misinformed the public, and brought civil service chaz:ges against corporations and agencies responsible for withholding infqi;mation. As the title suggests, the guide clearly explains how to use this valuable legislation; how to determine which document you want, what agency to write to, how to write an appeal or get congressional help and how to file a suit if denied information. Under the FOIA, the burden of proof is on the government. Citizens can collect attorney's fees (even if they don't use an attorney) if a suit is filed and won. Because of the current administration's policy of denying access to information, many public interest groups will undoubtedly begin to find a source of funding through filing FOIA suits and collecting legal fees. This guide is an essential tool for the layperson. If you need the original sourcebook, ask the Center for a copy of Litigation Under the Freedom of Information Act (6th edition), $25 for institutions, $10 for (c)3 and (c)4 tax-exempt organizations and individuals, or, if you have a dirt poor story, ·$3 plus UPS delivery. -Paul Merrell invested in timber must bring a return high enough to offset operating expenses, interest rates, taxes and the cost of maintaining a forest over several decades. Each additional year that a company must wait to harvest its timber, the higher the return must be to offset escalating costs. Extra costs must be minimized unless it greatly increases the rate of return. It is because of interest calculations, Raphael explains, that the "economic maturity of timber is realized at 36 years while "biological maturity" (see illustration) is not reached until 64 years of age. Productive maturity (old-growth timber) does not occur until still later. Corporate executives <}re less concerned with long-term gains Ifgrowth predictions are wrong we could be headed towards a timber shortage. This is exactly what some critics feel is happening. than with immediate cash flow .. A fast bookkeeping turnover of tree crops is preferable, although the long-term productivity of the forest is sacrificed. The assets are in timber, not in land. The problem is more than a moral one; there is no economic incentive to practice quality forestry. While Smokey the Bear may be concerned about forest quality and preservation, the performance of the Forest Service contradicts that image. "National harvesting quotas," states Raphael, "are determined by the state of the economy, the rate of employment, the demands of household construction .. . and other political and economic variables." Decisions that affect the Pacific Northwest, for example, are often made by administrators in Washington,
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