MPR’s Janet Carter reports on forum sponsored by the Lake Superior Basin Study Center at UMD addressing the issue of whether logging should be allowed in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

The long-standing argument by environmentalists is that the BWCA should remain untouched Wilderness. Supporters of the Oberstar bill say logging should be allowed, with forest industry representatives contending the timber on the BWCA is needed by the industry. 

Transcript:

(00:00:00) The long-standing argument by environmentalists is that the Boundary Waters canoe area should remain untouched Wilderness. Even if it's only used by a small number of visitors people want to know that it exists The Forum sponsored by the Lake Superior Basin study center at UMD address the issue of whether logging should be allowed supporters of the Oberstar Bill say logging should be allowed Forest industry Representatives contend the Timber on the BWC a is needed by the industry. Carrie Fisher vice president of the Minnesota timber producers
(00:00:33) Association, but you can't make proper paper with just a hundred percent Aspen or a hundred percent birch as we're learning every day. We're utilizing far more Hardwoods today. In fact Aspen is actually become where our most valuable species in the fact that we 50% of all the wood using Minnesota's Aspen. This is due to technical logical increases, but we still need these soft woods and they're very important product a part of our wood supply. And like I say you need that ingredient and happens. The Barney Waters is over mature Timber is providing this this species at a time until other stands become available in the rest of the force and when that carries to that period then of course there will be growing the stands in The Boundary Waters. But right now this is a very needy species for the paper mills many meals are importing soft wood species Boise Cascade brings in soft wood chips from Wyoming to sort of loses Potlatch brings in soft wood pulp and a few other Mills bring in certain types of Pulp Bland and brings in Pulp because they can't find enough sausage pieces literally to provide their need no
(00:01:45) friends of the BWC a supporters of the Fraser Bill say that there are other sources of Timber that the industry could use Chuck Stoddard vice president of the Wilderness society says the BWC a should be left alone
(00:01:59) the Real issue is more intensive management of the commercial Forest lands rather than having to reach out into these sub marginal and I'm you want to Define that term submerged Larry's in The Boundary Waters canoe area. There was this was the last area in Minnesota was logged in some of it. It wasn't logged in. That's why we have it left. Now, why was it locked? It was logged because the cost of getting the logs out was greater than the value of the lat a study back in the middle 1960s showed that it was that it cost more to rehabilitate to log and rehabilitate the area of Timber sales in Jack Pine in the BWC a or in the portal Zone. Then the value of the Timber derived from the government. This in effect was a direct subsidy to Industry. They got three dollars a quart. For 10 quarts on the average the timber sale $30 an acre it cost $50 to plant it and then building the roads and providing fire protection and giving the payments in lieu of taxes and so on somebody ought to make it up to date study to show exempt precisely. What a losing proposition it is for the taxpayer to log in the BWC a if you want to put it on straight economics
(00:03:13) under recent Court decisions logging a virgin Timber has been permitted in certain areas of the BWC a the forest industry has decided to leave the area alone until congress makes a decision between the Frazier and Oberstar bills environmentalists. And the forest industry will be closely watching the outcome. I'm Janet Carter.