U.S. Forest Service Logging Programs Near Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico: A Legal Study

Abstract

This thesis is an analysis of the legal problems and inter-agency conflicts associated with U.S. Forest Service logging programs close to the boundary of Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico. This work is based primarily on comparison of statutes to agency programs, interviews with National Park Service personnel, U.S. Forest Service workers, and citizen activists in New Mexico, as well as research into historical documents. This study specifically describes the (a) legal background of external threats to national park environmental qualities, (b) the history of external threats to Bandelier and those posed by the U.S. Forest Service in particular, (c) the ecological problems for parks posed by nearby logging operations and, (d) the legal problems posed by logging near Bandelier National Monument. This analysis revealed that the Forest Service interprets the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Forest Management Act as purely procedural acts iv with little relevance to actual management actions. I propose that the dominance of timber within Forest Service land management priorities prevents effective integration of environmental protection concerns within that agency. This thesis . proposes that the scientific and legal theory of "ecosystem management'' offers a broad, encompassing framework for protecting lands of the national park system as well as national forest lands by offering a framework for integrating environmental protection laws and an effective scientific approach to land management.