The feds lost $126 million from logging on national forests in 1998, according to a draft report released yesterday by the U.S. Forest Service. The agency spent $672 million to administer timber sales that generated only $546 million in revenue. The Tongass National Forest in Alaska led the list of money losers: It cost $35.6 million to run the forest’s timber program in 1998, with returns of only $6.5 million. If you’re shocked by these numbers, check out this whopper: A “Green Scissors” report by Friends of the Earth, Taxpayers for Common Sense, and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group uncovered 74 wasteful government programs that, if cut, would save a staggering $55 billion a year.
