Charles Taylor: “I appreciated the support of the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Obey] for this bill, and I would tell him today that he…”

“I appreciated the support of the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Obey] for this bill, and I would tell him today that he has been misinformed about green timber being cut in the salvage area. The Senate included 318 language for the Pacific Northwest. The President endorsed 318 in his option 9,318, by the way, will expire September 30. Therefore, it is really moot, because this bill probably will not be passed much before September 30. So 318, whether it was good, bad or indifferent, will be moot in a few weeks. The salvage bill has not had green healthy timber cut. As has been explained by the gentleman from Washington [Mr. Dicks], and I explain also, when you have disease, you cut a periphery area where the insects are in a given tree. I would say to the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Obey], when you were not on the floor I laid out a challenge offering $1,000 if someone could show us a green tree that had been cut in the salvage areas that was not infected or was not part of that proposal. The thought that we have had 50 percent of the timber that has been cut so far in the salvage areas has been healthy green timber, unfortunately, has not been the case. The Forest Service is under such pressure, they are watching this stick by stick. Nothing came out in the hearings we had across the country. No accusation was made that a single stem of green timber had been cut in the salvage operation.”