Environmental groups have asked the Interior and Agriculture Departments to establish what the groups term ”a pre-logging requirement” that would allow collectors of Pacific Yew tree bark to be gathered before logging of other timbers can begin. The scarce bark is a source of taxol, a drug shown in clinical trials to be effective against ovarian and breast cancers. Bruce Manheim, the Environmental Defense Fund`s attorney, says ”If the yew tree is taken out after rather than before logging, typically 3 out of 4 trees are lost, wasted. By going in before, enough bark could be saved to treat at least 50,000 additional patients.” Suzanne Stevenson, public affairs specialist, Bureau of Land Management, says ”It`s our goal this year to work toward pre- logging all yew.”
