Management plan could cut timber harvesting

Congress is to be asked to approve a new management plan for the White Mountain National Forest which would reduce annual harvesting limits.

The 15-year plan for the 800,000-acre forest in New Hampshire would reduce the harvesting limit from 35 million board feet to 24 million board feet.

Forest officials claimed the proposals would not affect logging as the lower figure was still higher than typical harvesting rates. But the logging industry wanted to see the current limit maintained.

The US Forest Service has held more than 100 public meetings and collected about 6,000 written comments since it began reviewing management of the forest.