Homebuilders, blaming steeply climbing lumber prices on an endangered owl, are asking President Clinton to relax environmental laws so Americans can realize the dream of buying their own home.
The National Association of Home Builders said timber prices have gone up by 90 percent in the past five months to record-high levels because of dwindling supplies. The increase has pushed up the cost of building a typical home by $4,500, the NAHB said.J. Roger Glunt, the association's president, said the Clinton administration and Congress should take steps to check rising prices and he reiterated the call for a "timber summit."
"There is no question that these higher lumber prices are making housing less affordable and are disrupting the housing market," Glunt said. "Other things being equal, a $4,500 price increase would price about 127,000 buyers of new and existing homes out of the market."
Environmentalists attacked the NAHB's numbers and arguments, contending timber prices always surge as spring approaches and that builders and lumberers are merely blaming "green" interests to make money.
"They would like to see the Endangered Species Act and other laws weakened," said Frances Hunt, a spokewoman for the National Wildlife Federation. "They're trying to scare the public and intimidate the Clinton administration."
The northern spotted owl factors only partly into the blame the construction and timber industries are meting out for the record wood prices. The owl has become something of a symbol of environmentalists' long fight with the corporate sector.
The government, responding to cries by wildlife lovers, has proposed setting aside millions of acres to protect the spotted owl. Federal courts have issued injunctions against timber sales on the land in question.
The injunctions and other litigation have caused a timber shortage, pushing up prices, said Mark Rey, a spokesman for the American Forest and Paper Association.
"As a consequence of reduced timber supply, lumber prices have nearly doubled in a few short months," he said.
Carpenters, woodworkers and others involved in erecting homes renewed a call for Clinton to convene a summit and review what they consider "overly restrictive" environmental laws and rules.
"Over the long term, the administration and the Congress will have to reform the Endangered Species Act, specifically requiring the government to take into account economic impacts - such as job losses and housing cost increases," Glunt said.
He also asked for the elimination of a 6.5 percent duty imposed last year against Canada for shipping subsidized timber into the United States, and to allow the lumber industry to salvage dead or dying trees on federal lands.
Thousands of jobs have been lost and more will be sacrificed and some mill towns in the Pacific Northwest may become extinct if obstructions to timber sales aren't removed, industry interests said.