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Forest Service decision affects local sales BY KELLY STEWART A U.S. Forest Service decision Thursday to halt timber sales in spotted own habitat throughout the Northwest will delay 14.3 million board feet of sales in Southern Oregon. A total of 400 million board feet of sales were put on hold last week by a federal court ruling that said the Forest Service failed to survey for rare wildlife, fungi and plants. The Forest Service voluntarily delayed additional sales Thursday until it could clarify legal issues, a spokesman said. Locally, three sales were affected in the Rogue River National Forest: Wagner Gap (3.2 million board feet), Buck Point (500,000 board feet) and Bibbits (3 million board feet). Superior Lumber of Glendale submitted the highest bids for all three, according to forester John Fertig at Rogue River National Forest. The Forest Service auctioned but held off on awarding the 4 million-board-foot Spencer sale in the Klamath National Forest, said Dennis Campbell, environmental coordinator at the Klamath National Forest. G and S Logging of Rogue River was the high bidder. Two other sales in the Klamath National Forest were delayed after logging had started. The Cast Iron sale, with 1.8 million board feet left to log, was being logged by Rosboro Lumber and Company of Springfield. The High Buck sale was being logged by D.R. Johnson of Riddle. It has 1.8 million board feet left to log. Last week, U.S. District Judge William Dwyer ruled in Seattle that the Forest Service had violated the Northwest Forest Plan by failing to carry out the plant and wildlife surveys prior to putting timber up for sale. The Northwest Forest Plan was adopted in 1994 to balance demand for timber from public lands against the need for habitat for dwindling populations of fish and wildlife. It reduced logging by 80 percent from levels during the 1980s, resulting in the loss of more than 10,000 jobs in Oregon and Washington. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA