
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 15, 1990                   TAG: 9003152638
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-6   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS BUSINESS WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

JEFFERSON FOREST LOSES ON LOGGING

The Jefferson National Forest, which has its headquarters in Roanoke, was one of five Southern forests that received less money for timber than it spent to sell the wood to private loggers in the 1989 fiscal year.

The below-cost sale of national forest timber has been a major source of debate between the U.S. Forest Service and its critics.

Nationally, the Forest Service reported it made $741.8 million on timber sales during the 12 months ending Sept. 30. Of 122 forests that sell timber, 56 returned more money to the treasury than they spent.

As a whole, the Forest Service's southern region, of which the Jefferson is a part, also reported earning more money than it spent. Nine of 14 forests in the South had positive earnings. The Jefferson and the George Washington in Virginia were among the losers.

The Jefferson spent $1.5 million in 1989 to harvest timber and got $612,500 in return, but a spokesman says the sales figures do not tell the whole story.

"If you just look at the timber payments made to the U.S. Treasury, we only returned 40 cents for every dollar we spent on our timber program," Jefferson spokesman Terry Seyden said. "But if you look at the added economic benefits to nearby local communities, then we were able to generate over $3 of additional local income for every taxpayer dollar spent."

The Jefferson's timber sales provided 217 local jobs and more than $4 million in private income for communities near the forest, Seyden said. In addition, the Jefferson paid $124,250 from its timber proceeds to Virginia counties in lieu of property taxes, he said.

George Washington National Forest, based in Harrisonburg, is one of 12 national forests included in a proposed five-year pilot program aimed at eliminating below-costs sales. The program is included in President Bush's 1991 budget.

Although Congress may take some forests out of the Bush proposal, the George Washington will probably be left in, said Ellen Layman, an aide to Rep. Jim Olin, D-Roanoke. Layman said Olin had talked to Forest Service chief Dale Robertson about allowing break-even logging there.

The George Washington reported a loss of $1.1 million last year on its timber sales program, not counting $206,000 paid to Virginia counties from its timber sales revenue.

by CNB