ALBUQUERQUE — U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce has introduced legislation that aims to create jobs by revitalizing the timber industry in the Southwest, but the plan to ease logging regulations and set aside land for the threatened Mexican spotted owl has sparked concern among environmentalists.

Pearce unveiled the bill during a stop Tuesday in Cloudcroft, a mountain village in Southern New Mexico whose history with the logging industry stretches back more than a century.

Pearce's two-page bill would allow the U.S. agricultural secretary to issue permits for timber activity on national forest lands, but clear-cutting would not be permitted unless in compliance with certain federal guidelines. The bill also directs the secretary to set aside parcels of forest as sanctuaries for the owl.

"It's a simple, straight-forward bill," the New Mexico Republican said. "We can keep the species alive and we can keep the environment clean and we can create jobs. I think that's what the American public is needing us to do right now."

With almost 9 percent of people unemployed in New Mexico, Pearce said he sees an opportunity to bring jobs to rural areas like Cloudcroft with commercial timber operations that could also help thin overgrown, mismanaged forests. The benefits of thinning range from less extreme fire danger to healthier forests and potentially more runoff reaching New Mexico's aquifers, he said.

Pearce said he's looking for balance between protecting species and allowing Western communities to develop resources and rebuild economies.

The impact of threatened and endangered species on land and water management has hit the West — with its vast tracts of public lands and limited water resources — particularly hard, Pearce said. He pointed to the spotted owl debate in the Northwest as well as the fight over a minnow in California's San Joaquin Valley.

"We need to take a systematic look at the jobs that have been regulated out of existence in this country and find the balance point," he said.

In New Mexico, environmentalists are concerned Pearce's proposal would exempt timber operations from all environmental laws and would force Mexican spotted owls into "internment camps."

"The whole thing is kind of crazy," said Todd Schulke, a forest-policy analyst with the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity. "It's crazy to say you're trying to find middle ground by eliminating all environmental laws having to do with logging, one of the most controversial public lands issues in the West."

The Mexican spotted owl was first listed as a threatened species in 1993. Most of the owls are found on national forest lands, from steep wooded canyons to dense forests. Federal biologists have said one of the biggest threats to the bird is destruction and modification of its nesting habitat.

In February, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a Bush administration designation of 8.6 million acres in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah as critical habitat for the owl.

The designation is meant to protect the habitat from activities that remove forest cover, including logging, cattle grazing, urban sprawl or power lines.

Schulke accused Pearce of being out of touch. He said there are small restoration projects being conducted in New Mexico's forests that are creating jobs and that Pearce should be supporting those efforts instead.

Pearce said he doesn't want to see the owl go extinct and that creating sanctuaries would protect habitat and still allow for logging. He estimates his legislation could result in between 1,000 and 5,000 jobs in New Mexico.



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