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77 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, September 16, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 29, 2003 ‘Shakespeare tree’ on road to Washington By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune A huge wooden slab cut from a Douglas fir stump in northern Josephine County is rolling toward Washington, D.C. A round slice 6 feet in diameter and weighing more than 400 pounds, it is being exhibited by environmental groups as an example of large trees still being cut on public land. The slab is known as the "Shakespeare tree" because it took root some 440 years ago, about the time the Bard was born. It was cut from a stump at a U.S. Bureau of Land Management timber sale on the Glendale Resource Area near Grants Pass in April by environmental activists. "We want to raise the public awareness of what is still going on when it comes to logging on public lands," said Derek Volkart, an activist with the Ashland-based Headwaters group and one of two activists on what is being dubbed the "Healthy Forests Reality Tour." Advertisement "The last tracts of old growth are still being logged, and many in the name of fuels reduction and forest health," he added. Cutting the large trees doesn’t reduce the threat of fire or improve forest health, he said. The tour left Eugene on Wednesday, arriving in Missoula, Mont., on Thursday. After traveling through 13 states on the back of a pickup truck, the slab is expected to arrive at the nation’s capital on Sept. 9. The stump was a remnant of the Mister Wilson timber sale, a 6.4 million-board-foot sale purchased in fall 2001 and logged early this year. However, BLM officials said the average diameter of the trees cut in the sale was about 14 inches. About 94 percent of the sale was harvested for density management or commercial thinning, resulting in a very small portion of large trees being cut, they said. The sale was not part of a program to reduce fire hazards. But environmentalists said no large trees should be cut since they are more fire-resistant than small trees. They urged that thinning of small trees and brush should be done near rural communities, not in remote areas. The tour is intended to coincide with the return of Congress, which is expected to debate several forestry bills aimed at reducing fire hazards on public forestlands. "We are encouraging a good bill that has protection language, focusing on fues reduction and not cutting old growth," Volkart said. He and Joseph Vaile, an accompanying activist from the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center in Ashland, said large timber will be the target if the Healthy Forests Initiative backed by the Bush administration is approved by Congress. Trees like the Shakespeare tree, which took more than four centuries to reach its large size, are vital to long-term forest health, Vaile said. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities