Annual Report - Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics

2010
Annual
Report
Forest Service
Employees
for Environmental
Ethics

FSEEE is a member of EarthShare of Oregon and national
EarthShare. At both the state and national levels, EarthShare
is a diverse federation of conservation groups that represents
us in workplace donation campaigns. EarthShare promotes
FSEEE and manages the administration of payroll contributions
that allow individuals to have money deducted from their
paycheck to support FSEEE’s work. We use this money to safeguard
our national forests in the most effective and efficient
way possible. Federal employees giving through the Combined
Federal Campaign can also designate their donations directly
to FSEEE.

From the President
Opportunity for Change
Early in 2010, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture and its Forest Service began
meetings to roll out a new planning rule. Like
earlier rules, we hope that this one is destined
for an early grave. Trying to effect adaptive
management via a planning rule is a special
class of insanity reserved for the Forest Service.
But that is a story better told on the blogs.
(See Forest Policy–Forest Practice at www.
forestpolicy.typepad.com and A New Century of
Forest Planning at ncfp.wordpress.com.)
President Obama might get a chance to
reform the Forest Service in ways that Forest
Service Employees for Environmental Ethics has
been working toward for nearly twenty years. If
the Obama Administration plays its cards right,
we might see it make a move toward a cabinetlevel
Department of Public Lands, complemented
with a sister Department for Environmental
Regulation. A move like that would take
the Forest Service out of the Department of
Agriculture and allow it to start anew—in concert
with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and
the Bureau of Land Management, the National
Park Service and others—as a division of a brand
new public lands department. Or the administrative
could simply move the Forest Service into
the Department of Interior, and follow a similar
plan.
Either way, the public wins with a Department
of Public Lands. First, hide-bound agencies can
be set up with structures and functions that work
2010 Annual Report • 1

for the new century—championing collaborative engagement
for conservation, preservation and use. Second, many
mid-level staff personnel—Forest Service Regional and
National staff members—might be better off in departmental
positions. Why? So that when collaborators are working
out regional assessment, action and monitoring, the federal
government will not be as fractured. Besides potentially being
a boon for collaboration, the taxpayers also gain, since
there should be fewer personnel. And more money can go
to the field, where infrastructure and other needs have been
neglected for too long. There will never be a better time
for this idea, since many mid-level (and high-level) Forest
Service employees, as well as those in other land management
agencies, are near the end of their careers.
FSEEE founder Jeff DeBonis and I offered up this suggestion
early in the Clinton Administration, back in 1990
or 1991. The suggestion fell on deaf ears. Maybe this time
around it can gain traction. Why might it work now? Because
in the next few years, the conversation among our leaders
and representatives will focus on how to trim the federal
deficit and whittle-down the national debt. This may give the
president a chance to do what so many others have failed to
do: bring the Forest Service into line with other federal land
and resource management agencies. In doing so, President
Obama might make history by charting a new course for
federal land management. —Dave Iverson
2 • FSEEE

From the Executive Director
Jobs, jobs, jobs. After two years in the White
House, that pretty much sums up the Obama
Administration’s natural resource policy.
Government-created jobs programs dominated
the Forest Service’s 2010 agenda, with hard-todefine
results. In addition to its regular budget,
the Forest Service had $650 million to spend on
facilities, such as roads and bridges, and $500
million for cutting brush and trees thought to
pose a wildfire risk.
Except for having more money to spend,
there has proven very little practical difference
between the Bush-era Forest Service and the
Obama regime. For example, in FSEEE’s two
cases that were decided in 2010, the Obama
Administration endorsed the position of the
previous administration. It did no better at
defending the indefensible, losing both cases
soundly. (You can read about those victories in
this report.)
In 2010, the Forest Service launched a major
re-write of the National Forest Management
Act forest planning rules. The new rules would
eliminate existing protections for viable wildlife
populations, just as the Bush administration
twice proposed before. Litigation (in which
FSEEE was a party) stopped the last Bush effort.
We are determined to protect our forests
from the machinations of those who want rules
that make it easier to ignore science and species
protections.
The take-home lesson from last year is that
the Obama Administration is, at best, indif-
2010 Annual Report • 3

ferent about national forest issues. It prefers to just let the
Forest Service be the Forest Service, with little effective adult
supervision. The on-the-ground difference between forest
management designed to create jobs vs. forest management
designed to create corporate profits is scant. Both objectives
give little attention to the reasons people care about our national
forests—their beauty, majesty, recreation, solitude and
serenity.
FSEEE was founded to defend and promote a land ethic
that respects the earth and its myriad creatures. We appreciate
your support and look forward to continuing to advocate
for your national forests in the year ahead.—Andy Stahl
FSEEE advocates for special places, like Wasson Creek in the
proposed Devil’s Staircase Wilderness area, so that our children’s
children can enjoy them.
Dave Tvedt
4 • FSEEE

2010 Program Report
WILDERNESS DESIGNATION
In 2010, FSEEE brought our first ever wilderness
campaign to the brink of congressional wilderness
designation for the 30,500-acre proposed Devil’s
Staircase wilderness in the Siuslaw National
Forest. Leveraging our momentum from
the previous year, in which FSEEE obtained
Congressman Peter DeFazio’s enthusiastic
support for the Devil’s Staircase Wilderness Act
of 2009, our staff and dedicated supporters
marshaled the bill through passage in both the
House and Senate environment committees.
FSEEE staff remained actively engaged in
maintaining extensive grassroot support for
the wilderness bill that included several public
FSEEE led hikes in the spring and fall. In
September, Andy Stahl attended Wilderness
Week in Washington, D.C., where he met with
members of the Oregon congressional delegation.
On October 14, FSEEE and our conservation
partners showcased a multimedia event
created and presented by professional photographer
and conservation advocate, Tim Giraudier,
entitled “From Source to Confluence: Exploring
Wasson Creek in the Proposed Devil’s Staircase
Wilderness.” An overflow audience of more than
200 interested community members attended the
event. In November, with time running out, we
asked FSEEE members in key legislative districts
to contact their U.S. senators and encourage
Congress to approve wilderness designation for
the Devil’s Staircase area. As usual, our membership
responded in force, and their voices were
2010 Annual Report • 5

Craig Romano
Representative Peter DeFazio continues to champion wilderness
status for the Devil’s Staircase area.
heard loudly on Capitol Hill.
The Devil’s Staircase Wilderness Act was one of only three
wilderness bills remaining at the end of the 111th Congress.
But the conservative storm that swept the House back to
Republican control stifled all attempts to pass unfinished
public lands legislation during the final hours of the lame-
6 • FSEEE

duck session, and the Devil’s Staircase Wilderness Act of
2009 was left as unfinished business.
FSEEE will continue to press for the protection we believe
necessary for this area. Our congressional sponsors have
already launched the process to reintroduce the legislation.
FSEEE will continue our work to see the Devil’s Staircase
and other special lands protected; our gains in the last
Congress will only work to further our eventual victories.
Tracking Travel Management
In 2010, national forests around the country continued to
devise travel management plans that would limit ecologically
damaging cross-country motorized travel while determining
which roads and trails would remain open to OHV (offhighway
vehicle) use. But pressure from the vocal and wellfunded
OHV constituency resulted in travel management
plans and OHV regulations that are ineffective and damaging
for our national forests. FSEEE monitored OHV plans,
projects and problems throughout 2010 to ensure that
the agency properly manages these potentially problematic
vehicles.
We submitted comments to the Flathead National Forest
in Montana regarding a proposed project to add additional
trail miles to an already extensive OHV network. The Forest
Service’s own environmental documents stated concern for
the agency’s ability to mitigate the detrimental aspects of
adding trails in the area.
On the Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho, FSEEE staff
evaluated and submitted detailed comments on the proposal
to open a winter-closure area to snowmobiles. We urged the
Forest Service to carefully evaluate the biological impacts to
wintering elk and wolverine populations that could be negatively
impacted by the presence of snowmobiles in the area.
2010 Annual Report • 7

James Johnston
OHVs tear up fragile landscapes and damage habitat. FSEEE
is working to ensure that they are used responsibly.
FSEEE staff evaluated and provided formal comments on
travel management plans being developed on the Umpqua
and Fremont-Winema National Forests. We expressed concern
regarding the impacts of OHVs on streams and rivers
that provide habitat for threatened and endangered salmon.
And in April, when we were informed of extensive damage
caused by OHVs to fragile meadow habitat on the Wallow-
Whitman National Forest, the Forest Service agreed to close
the area and implement restoration efforts after FSEEE
reminded them of their obligation to do so.
“Faith-Based Firefighting”
With wildland firefighting expenditures now at 50 percent of
the Forest Service’s total budget, FSEEE’s efforts to reform
this wasteful program have gained new significance. FSEEE
8 • FSEEE

prevailed, for the second time, in the only lawsuit in history
aimed at controlling firefighting costs and reforming wildland
firefighting.
In this second round before Montana Federal District
Court Judge Donald Molloy, FSEEE challenged the Forest
Service’s decision that toxic chemical aerial fire retardant had
no significant environmental effects. We also argued that
the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries
Service had failed to properly assess fire retardant’s effects on
threatened and endangered fish, wildlife and plant species.
In a sweeping 79-page ruling, Judge Molloy agreed that
the Forest Service must assess fire retardant’s environmental
risks in a full environmental impact statement. The wildlife
and fish agencies must also assess retardant’s effects on species’
critical habitat and they must set a ceiling on how many
of each threatened or endangered species can be harmed by
retardant.
The Forest Service has not yet determined the effects of aerial
fire retardant on threatened and endangered species.
Keri Brown, BLM
2010 Annual Report • 9

In addition to evaluating the harmful environmental effects
of toxic retardant, FSEEE is pressing the Forest Service
to acknowledge that there is no evidence retardant helps
achieve any firefighting objectives. For example, we pointed
out that Texas has more wildland fire ignitions and more
homes exposed to wildfire threats than does California. Yet
California loses more homes to wildfire even while using 33
times as much aerial fire retardant. As one wildfire researcher
explained, “using fire retardant is faith-based firefighting.”
Judge Molloy ordered the Forest Service and wildlife
agencies to complete their new analyses by December 31,
2011.
Farming between the Lakes
The Forest Service’s Land Between The Lakes National
Recreation Area thinks of itself as a land management
innovator. That seems the most parsimonious explanation
Wild turkeys feed on corn and soybeans left by commercial
farmers on National Forest lands.
Land Between The Lakes Recreation Area
10 • FSEEE

for the Land Between The Lakes’ inexplicable decision to
abdicate responsibility for overseeing corn and soybean
farming to the National Wild Turkey Federation, a private
special-interest organization.
Two farmers grow thousands of acres of corn and soybeans
in the area’s bottomlands along streams. The farmers
pay the Forest Service with hay, which is fed to captive elk
and bison, for the lease of these lands. Not only do these
public lands come cheap, but the farmers also receive tens of
thousands of dollars in federal crop subsidy payments.
The Turkey Federation supports the arrangement because
the farmers leave ten percent of their crops in the field for
deer and turkeys to eat. This high-energy food supplement
supports unnaturally large populations of these game animals,
which make for easy pickings for hunters.
In FSEEE’s second lawsuit over these farming practices
(our first compelled the Forest Service to evaluate farming’s
environmental impacts), we gained a court order invalidating
the special-use permits that the Turkey Federation had given
the farmers to crop these national forest lands. A Kentucky
federal judge agreed that the 1897 Organic Act requires the
Forest Service to administer the national forests; not some
private special-interest group. Who knew?
Other Action
FSEEE staff continued to monitor and participate in projects
on national forest lands across the country on a variety of
issues. These projects included:
• Reviewing and commenting on the Forest Service’s
proposed plan to open 1.2 million acres of national forest
lands in Mississippi to potential oil and gas exploration. The
Forest Service failed to provide a full and accurate accounting
of all the environmental impacts that oil and gas leasing
2010 Annual Report • 11

James Johnston
One of FSEEE’s ongoing efforts is aimed at stopping livestock
grazing on public lands.
would have on these lands, an obligation that FSEEE seeks
to ensure is fulfilled for every such lease.
• Monitoring and participating in forest plan revisions. In
May, FSEEE commented on the proposed forest plan for the
Blue Mountain forests that encompass six national forests in
eastern Oregon and southeast Washington.
• A campaign to reform livestock grazing on public lands
beginning with our most pristine areas, wilderness. Our staff
commented on numerous proposed grazing plans on national
forests in Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho
and Colorado. We pushed the Forest Service to properly
disclose the impacts of grazing on wilderness values.
• Our staff fielded calls and emails from around the nation
throughout 2010 from concerned citizens and Forest Service
employees. We monitored outfitter guides running amok in
wilderness areas, conflicts between the Forest Service and
private land inholders, misapplication of recreation fees, and
12 • FSEEE

a group of private citizens maintaining a wilderness cabin as
their own private wilderness retreat.
Forest Magazine
The Spring, 2010 issue of Forest Magazine was the last print
issue before we transitioned to an online format. In that issue,
we revisited the Cerro Grande Fire that swept through
Los Alamos in 2000. Long-time FSEEE members will recall
that the first issue of Forest Magazine warned of the dangers
of wildfire in the woods near the Los Alamos Nuclear Lab.
We thought it was fitting that the last issue examined the
aftermath of the fire that came only a few months after our
first publication.
The transition to online news has had its challenges, but
as 2010 drew to a close, we were confident that we made the
right choice. Our updated website provides a clearinghouse
of information about national forest issues and has allowed us
to post up-to-date news so that our readers can continue to
be enlightened and informed. At www.fseee.org, the public
can find weekly updates of Forest Service news by region,
pictures and stories about national forests across the country,
book reviews, blogs and more. In addition, we have archived
all the issues of Forest Magazine and provide this database of
information at no charge.
To supplement our online presence, and maintain a connection
to our members who prefer print, we produced the
first issue of Forest News in November. We plan to send the
six-page newsletter out by mail three times a year, in addition
to posting it on our website and sending it electronically to
agency employees and citizens who sign up to receive news
from FSEEE. In addition to our FSEEE news, we send a
weekly roundup of Forest Service news stories to subscribers
by email.
2010 Annual Report • 13

Our efforts have allowed us to keep our members better
informed about timely issues and to continue our education
mission in an ecologically sound manner.
14 • FSEEE

MEMBERSHIP
In 2010, FSEEE began the process of digging out after the
financial setbacks of the previous two years. Our membership
numbers remained steady; at the beginning of 2011, we
had 7,561, a small drop from the 7,664 at the beginning of
2010. During 2010 we renewed our efforts to recruit new
members, sending out a prospect petition in both the spring
and the fall. This kept the numbers level, but due to ongoing
economic uncertainty in the country, gaining new members
is an uphill battle.
But our remaining members rallied. Our contributions
were up 3.8 percent over 2009. In addition to membership
dues, our members provided substantial financial support
for some of our 2010 projects, including Tongass logging
reform, our work to ensure the National Forest Management
Rules remain effective, livestock and grazing reform and our
efforts to establish environmental accountability for aerial fire
retardant use.
Our members also called and wrote their representatives
about the designation of the Devil’s Staircase as wilderness
and the passage of the Omnibus Public Land Management
Act to protect 2 million acres across nine states.
2010 Annual Report • 15

2010 Foundation Support
Agape Foundation
Anonymous
Cameron Foundation
Elkind Family Foundation
Florsheim Family Foundation
Global Peace Foundation
The Jacob & Terese Hershey Foundation
Leatherback Foundation
Money/Arenz Foundation
The Mountaineers Foundation
Patagonia
The Price Foundation
The Ungar Family Foundation
William B. Wiener, Jr. Foundation
16 • FSEEE

Matching GiftS
Amgen
Bank of America
CA Technologies
Chevron
Costco
FM Global Foundation
GE Foundation
GlazoSmithKline
Microsoft
Motorola
Oracle
The Prudential Foundation
Reynolds American Foundation
Standard Insurance
Tyco Electronics
Wells Fargo
2010 Annual Report • 17

2010 Financial Statement
SUPPORT
Memberships/Donors
Contributions
Grants
In-kind Support
Fee Recoveries
Other
Total Support
EXPENSES
Salaries
Benefits & Payroll Taxes
Professional Services
Depreciation
Mailing
Printing/Production
Rent/Utilities/Maintenance
Telephone
Travel
Supplies
Meetings/Training
Other
Total Expenses
CHANGE IN NET ASSETS
NET ASSETS — Beginning of Year
NET ASSETS — End of Year
Public
Education
$43,792
21,397
20,596
446
5,214
13,061
8,068
2,014
178
212
640
152
$115,770
Forest
Protection
$97,593
24,881
591
2,182
652
12,592
2,811
1,398
2,647
100
2,543
$147,990
18 • FSEEE

2010 Annual Report • 19
TOTAL
$373,070
110,614
7,000
1,097
0
1,382
$493,163
$227,008
69,059
29,449
2,015
64,917
62,343
38,953
6,752
1,591
4,141
740
10,360
$517,328
($24,165)
$229,368
$205,203
Member
Services
$29,057
8,010
1,609
528
42,798
37,138
9,834
902
253
6,762
$136,891
Support
Services
$36,189
9,462
7,100
229
153
13
4,341
458
697
788
$59,430
Fundraising
$20,377
5,309
144
221
14,570
11,479
4,118
567
15
332
115
$57,247

Board and Staff
Board of Directors
Dave Iverson, President
Social Scientist, Ogden, Utah
Amy Unthank, Vice President
Biologist, Washington, D.C.
Stephen Horne, Secretary/Treasurer
Archaeologist, Bend, Oregon
Ann Bond
Journalist, Durango, Colorado
Jackie Canterbury
Wildlife Biologist, Big Horn, Wyoming
Kevin Hood
Wilderness Specialist, Juneau, Alaska
Staff
Stephanie Boytz Detwiler, Administration and
Finance Director
Jennifer Fairbrother, Public Lands Advocate
and Development Associate
Patricia Marshall, Editor and Director of
Development
Chuck Roth, Office Manager
Andy Stahl, Executive Director
20 • FSEEE

Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics
PO Box 11615 • Eugene OR 97440
(541) 484-2692 • Fax (541) 484-3004
fseee@fseee.org • www.fseee.org
Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics
is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Our mission is to protect National Forests
and to reform the U.S. Forest Service
by advocating environmental ethics,
educating citizens, and defending whistleblowers.

Look at the trees,
look at the birds, look at the clouds,
look at the stars...
and if you have eyes you will be
able to see that the whole
existence is joyful.
—Osho
Front cover photograph: © Dave Tvedt
Devil’s Staircase Proposed Wilderness