The assistant U.S. Agriculture Secretary in charge of the Forest Service has been forced to cancel a trip planned tomorrow to a scientific conference at Lake Tahoe.

Mark Rey says he will have to remain in Washington to monitor congressional talks over legislation aimed at reducing wildfire risks in national forests.

Rey had been scheduled to give the keynote closing address tomorrow to 300 scientists attending the Sierra Nevada Science Symposium at Kings Beach.

Jack Blackwell, the Forest Service´s regional forester for California and the Sierra, will give a speech in his place.