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Roadless Areas and Birds



Folks-
I recall a posting several weeks ago regarding the claims that "too
little logging hurts some dwindling bird species".  I encourage folks to
read the following letter and check out The Southern Appalachian Forest
Coalition's web site for more information:  http://www.safc.org

For additional information on the problems with roads and fragmented
habitats (and how conservation biology can be applied to overcome these
problems) visit The Wildlands Project website:  http://www.twp.org/


--
December 17, 1999

                Open letter to the public regarding protection of
roadless areas:

                 

                     We, the undersigned, wish to reiterate our
endorsement of the Forest Service
                move to protect existing roadless areas in our national
forests. Many of us were
                included in a long list of scientists who made that
point in an earlier letter to President
                Clinton. In light of recent press coverage claiming that
logging is good for wildlife, we
                now feel compelled to take our concerns to the public. 

                     An Associated Press story this past week argued
that "too little logging hurts some
                dwindling species" and that the protection of a small
fraction of natural forest from
                further environmental insults will lead to declines in
species associated with young
                forest. One source stated that logging is the only way
to provide habitat for these
                species. Such statements are readily seized by the
logging industry as justification for
                blocking the protection of the few remaining acres of
intact forest left in the eastern
                United States. But these assertions are untrue.

                     The scientific data are very clear: forest
fragmentation is one of the leading causes
                of population declines in a long list of forest
creatures, from black bears to scarlet
                tanagers to trillium. Some of these have been
demonstrated to flourish only when
                their habitats are available in large, continuous tracts
of unfragmented forest. The
                development of habitats for these mature forest species
requires decades, even
                hundreds of years, and the places still harboring these
species in viable numbers have
                diminished to a tiny fraction of their original extent.
Roadless areas offer the best
                opportunities to promote the survival and reproduction
of species, such as black bear,
                that are known to be negatively affected by roads.

                     We do not agree that protecting the remaining small
roadless areas, totaling
                750,000 acres in the national forests of the Southern
Appalachians, will jeopardize
                the status of a few "early successional" forest species,
such as Golden-winged
                Warblers, which are experiencing declines. Indeed, it is
likely that a number of these
                species are declining in response to the recovery of the
native forests following the
                period of intensive forest clearing that occurred
earlier this century—a time when they
                experienced unnatural population explosions.

                     Early successional habitats are found widely
throughout the region, and many
                species that use them are common in our suburban
backyards. They are also present
                in old growth forests, where natural disturbances of all
kinds (fire, wind and ice
                storms, etc.) create forest openings. That some of these
species are in decline is a
                reason for concern, but in the meantime, let us stand on
solid ground: there are no
                studies demonstrating that roadless or wilderness
protection is responsible for their
                decline.

                     Let the public be assured: Roadless areas on our
national forests represent one of
                the least human-disturbed landscapes in the global
context of which virtually all
                landscapes show some evidence of human disturbance. They
act as refuges for
                numerous sensitive plant and animal species, reservoirs
of genetic material, and
                benchmarks for research. Streams flowing from roadless
areas typically provide
                supplies of the purest water, untainted by chemical
pollutants and sediment, and thus
                provide the highest quality habitat for freshwater
organisms as well as drinking water
                for people. They deserve our protection.

                     Sincerely,

                C. Ronald Carroll,
                Director, Institute of Ecology,
                University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
                (706) 542-2968.

                David A. Etnier,
                Dept. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
                Univeristy of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
                (423) 691-8591.

                Joseph C. Mitchell,
                Adjunct Professor and Research Biologist,
                Dept. Biology, University of Richmond, Virginia
                (804) 740-7086.

                Matthew Rowe, Professor,
                Dept. Biology,
                Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
                (828) 262-2676.

                John Terborgh,
                Professor and Co-Director,
                Duke University Center for Tropical Conservation,
Durham, NC
                (919) 490-9081.

                Gordon R. Ultsch,
                Professor, Dept. Biological Sciences,
                University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
                (205) 348-1827.

                Richard R. Montanucci, Ph.D,
                Dept. of Biological Sciences,
                Clemson University, Clemson, SC
                (864) 656-2328.
-- 
Christopher R. Wilson
Department of Biology
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC 28608
critterfro@interpath.com
fax: 828-262-2127

Appalachian Ecological Consultants
http://home.interpath.net/critterfro/AEC.htm