CLEARCUTTING: CAN YOU SEE THE FOREST FOR THE TREES?

In West Virginia Div. of the izaak walton league VS. Butz, the U.S. District Court, applying the "plain meaning" of the Organic Act of 1897, permanently enjoined clearcutting on the monogahela Nat'l Forest of West Virginia. The shortcomings of the court's decision are demonstrated by examining the doctrines of statutory construction and by analyzing the legislative history and administrative interpretation of the Act. The real issue, clearcutting as a scientific management technique, is discussed. If the case is remanded for a new trail to determine important issues by examining the forest rather than the trees, then perhaps the decision will go to the protection of the forest rather than the ability to use a modern dictionary to discern what congress intended when it passed the Organic Act.