The Bush Administration has proposed an immense salvage-logging project -- totaling 518 million board feet -– which would severely damage one of America's premier natural landscapes. The Siskiyou National Forest in southern Oregon is internationally renowned for its wilderness, wild rivers, and biological diversity.
The rugged area has the most complex soils, geology, landscape, and plant communities in the Pacific Northwest. At the heart of this fabulous wildland treasure is the Kalmiopsis Wilderness Area surrounded by several large roadless areas. Conservationists have sought designation of a Siskiyou Wild Rivers National Conservation Area to recognize and protect the area’s unique qualities.
After the Fire, Rebirth
During the summer of 2002, the Biscuit Fire burned much of the Siskiyou National Forest, fulfilling a crucial natural role in this wilderness ecosystem. The Biscuit fire was a natural, weather-driven event that burned in a mixed mosaic pattern, helping to maintain the area's phenomenal ecological diversity. Natural rejuvenation is taking place already, with many fire-adapted plants and trees re-sprouting.
Unfortunately, the Bush Administration views the Biscuit Fire mostly as an opportunity to benefit the timber industry. In fact, in December 2003 it proposed one of the largest logging projects in the history of the national forests –- cutting a phenomenal 518 million board feet of timber from 45 square miles of forest land.
Roadless Area Invasion
The proposed salvage logging would have devastating impacts on the Siskiyou's unmatched roadless areas. The agency's preferred alternative would log 20 square miles of inventoried roadless areas, resulting in the loss of wilderness potential on 88 square miles –- some because of adjacency to logged areas, some because logging would reduce them to a size too small for future wilderness consideration.
The Forest Service’s proposal appears to violate important environmental safeguards. First, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule –- adopted in 2001 after the largest outpouring of public support in the history of federal rulemaking –- does not allow salvage logging within inventoried roadless areas. The Biscuit salvage-logging project is the first time that the Bush Administration has proposed large-scale logging in roadless areas anywhere in the lower 48 states.
Flouts Northwest Forest Plan
Second, the proposed salvage logging contradicts requirements of the Northwest Forest Plan, which was put into place a decade ago to protect habitat necessary for survival of the northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet, native salmon, and many other species dependent on older forests. While the Northwest Forest Plan does allow for limited salvage logging in the forest reserves created by the Plan, the scale and intensity of salvage operations proposed in the Siskiyou is entirely inappropriate.
The Forest Service intends to issue a final decision on the Biscuit Project in May 2004. Unless the Bush Administration drastically changes its plan, The Wilderness Society intends to go to court to prevent environmentally destructive salvage logging on the Siskiyou National Forest. While the Forest Service's official public comment period is over, we urge people to express their views about the Biscuit project to Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio and Sens. Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith.
Contact Information
Rep. Peter DeFazio
2134 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
202-225-6416
Sen. Ron Wyden
516 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
202-224-5244
Sen. Gordon Smith
404 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
202-224-3753
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