By BRIAN LEAHY
of The Gazette
Opposing sides are vigorously debating the future of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest as the Forest Service revises its long-range plans for the forest, which covers 1.7 million acres in northern Wisconsin
The public comment has been extended 30 days to Aug. 11, as based on requests from "a variety of people with a wide range of interests," according to Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest officials.
Michael Dombeck, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point pioneer professor, has a distinct perspective on Wisconsin's national forest and the wide range of interests people have in forest policy. While he was born at St. Michael's Hospital in Stevens Point, he grew up in Sawyer County surrounded by the Chequamegon National Forest. During his long career in resource management, including a stint as acting director of the Bureau of Land Management, he served as chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service from 1997 through 2001.
"The conservation public policy debate really occurs on public lands," Dombeck. "As chief of the Forest Service I viewed the national forests as a wrestling mat where the debate occurred."
Dombeck will be featured in an upcoming segment of Wisconsin Public Television's "In Wisconsin" magazine show, where he will discuss forest issues he thinks are important to Wisconsinites. The program is scheduled to run on Thursday, July 24, at 7 p.m., Sunday, July 27, at 6 p.m., and Wednesday, July 30, at 10:30 p.m., on WHRM-TV Wausau, UHF 20 or channel 8 for cable subscribers in the Stevens Point area.
One of the issues facing all natural resource managers, and not just in the national forests, is invasive species, Dombeck said.
"Of the 2,000 plant species in Wisconsin, over 700 are introduced exotics," he said.
Some of the species are benign, but others, like purple loosestrife and oak wilt, negatively impact forests, he said. Exotic inspect species, like the gypsy moth, are also a challenge.
Dombeck also predicts off-road vehicles will be a "very tenacious" issue. Currently, the off-road vehicle policy for the Chequamegon-Nicolet isn't uniform. Off-road vehicles are allowed in the Chequamegon side of the forest, unless the area is specifically posted to prohibit their use. On the Nicolet side, off-road vehicles are prohibited unless the area is specifically posted to permit their use. The contradictory policy dates to when the Chequamegon and Nicolet were managed as separate national forests.
His hope is that a system of designated off-road vehicle trails will be developed in the Chequamegon-Nicolet and that vehicles will be restricted to those trails so sensitive areas can be protected.
"It's really a debate on the allocation of resources," he said. "There's not enough to go around, and we really have to share."
Another issue is promoting old growth forests.
"In Wisconsin we revere the white pine, yet we have very little old growth of white pine beyond the Menominee Reservation," he said. "There are only a few hundred acres that were missed during the cut-and-run era."
A related issue is the timber program on the Chequamegon-National. Timber sales on the forest are among the highest in the national forest system, Dombeck said.
"There are those who are opposed to it, yet much of our economy in this state is based on the forest products industry," he said.
Either too many or not enough areas are open to logging and off-road vehicles, groups with opposing points of view say.
"This exemplifies the controversy over various special interests," Dombeck said.
A report issued this year by the National Forest Protection Alliance and Greenpeace, "Endangered Forests, Endangered Freedoms," listed the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest (CNNF) as one of America's 10 endangered forests because of what it termed unsustainable logging, high road densities and off-road vehicle use.
"Of all national forests, the CNNF is the poster child for ecologically and economically unsustainable logging," according to the report. "The CNNF was the highest cut national forest in the entire national forest system in 2002, and has logged at least 116 MMBF (million board feet) each year for the past decade."
Another interest group, the Lakes States Resource Alliance, doesn't support any of the management alternatives proposed in the draft environmental impact statement for the plan revision.
"The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest could be a model for multiple use and sound forest management," the alliance said in a position paper. "Instead, the alternatives do not give a fair consideration to multiple uses of the forests, instead favoring set-asides, no harvest zones, and limits on reasonable motorized access to the forest."
Critics say promoting old growth forests would come at the expense of younger forests, such as aspen, that serve as habitat for game species, like deer and ruffed grouse.
People tend to react to forest issues based on six-year election cycles or 10- or 15-year economic cycles, but forests are hundreds of years old and must be looked at with that in mind, Dombeck said. Decisions must be made by applying science.
"The responsibility of public forest managers is really to find that balance," Dombeck said.
The 1.7 million acres of national forest is an important asset to the state, Dombeck said. The Chequamegon-Nicolet provides jobs, recreation and water.
"My plea to all citizens is they get involved and really understand the issues," Dombeck said. "We're in this for the long haul, and we really have to take the long view."