American

For years environmentalists and loggers have quarreled over the fate of "old- growth" forests in the Pacific Northwest. Conservationists contend that cutting the ancient trees on federally owned land in Oregon and Washington State threatens the habitat of the endangered spotted owl, which lives only in old-growth forests. The lumber industry objects that a ban would devastate the timber-based economies of the region. Last week George Bush signed into law a compromise hammered out by a congressional conference committee. It prohibits sales of timber from areas where the spotted owl dwells, but permits 7.7 billion board feet of wood to be harvested on nearby tracts where cutting has been stalled by environmentalists' lawsuits. Environmentalists can sue to prevent future logging of old-growth timber, but only if they file within 15 days of the issuance of a federal permit. Said Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin: "We protected habitat and jobs."