CLEAR-CUT POLICY NEEDED FOR NATIONAL FORESTS

In the Shawnee National Forest, located between the Mississippi and Ohio rivers in Southern Illinois, is a case study of how befuddled federal policy has become regarding vast forest resources -- and how inept the U.S. Forest Service has become in dealing with special interests that are pulling in every direction.

For years, environmentalists have butted heads with logging interests that seek to profit from federally approved harvesting of timber. The courts have been flooded with lawsuits seeking restraining orders and injunctions.

Some environmental groups have even gone beyond the courtroom to stop the logging, often using their bodies as a barricade. Other environmentalists have made their point by driving spikes into trees that might be logged, thereby rendering them extremely dangerous to loggers.

Just last week a federal judge issued yet another restraining order that sent a small timber crew packing after environmentalists sent their lawyers to court.

Meanwhile, another lawsuit seeks to reopen public roads and trails in the Shawnee National Forest natural areas that were closed last year in response to environmental concerns about fragile or unique plant life and geological features.

There is, surely, a middle ground where properly managed logging, horseback riders, rock climbers and environmentalists can survive together in national forests. Unfortunately, the U.S. Forest Service has become little more than a servant of the courts, complying with first one judge's order and then another.

A clear-cut policy that accommodates all Americans in national forests is sorely needed.