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Land appeals board upholds challenge of Deer Mom sale By PAUL FATTIG SELMA -- Environmental groups have four words for the Bureau of Land Management: we told you so. They say an appeal of the Deer Mom timber sale by the Ashland-based Headwaters environmental coalition and the Deer Creek Valley Natural Resources Conservation Association has been upheld by the Interior Board of Land Appeals, though the BLM doesn't quite see the IBLA decision in the same light. "Our association, Headwaters and the Southern Oregon Forest Coalition gave the BLM literally hundreds of suggestions that would have avoided this public display of agency errors -- the BLM told us that we were wrong in every instance," said Mort Mondale, chairman of the Deer Creek group. "Now, not only does a United States federal judge agree that the BLM was wrong, so does an agency inside its own Department of Interior." The IBLA, the office of hearings and appeals for the Interior Department in Arlington, Va., on March 15 remanded the case back to the BLM to allow compliance with a ruling made last summer by U.S. District Judge William Dwyer in Seattle. The decision was expected, according to the BLM. "When a decision has been properly appealed to the board, the BLM loses jurisdiction over the case," said Bob Korfhage, resources adviser for the Medford District. "What they have done is remand it back to us so we can comply to Dwyer's decision. "That means we have to meet the survey and manage requirements (of the Northwest Forest Plan)," he added. The timber sale is on hold until that action is completed, he said. Dwyer stopped the logging on the BLM Medford District timber in the Deer Creek drainage east of Selma after determining it violated the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan. The plan required the survey of 77 species of rare plants and wildlife before logging, Dwyer concluded. His decision, which affected similar timber sales in Oregon, was the result of a 1998 lawsuit brought by 13 environmental groups, including Headwaters. About 104,000 board feet of the 2.7 million board feet of timber included in the sale was cut before Dwyer's ruling. The timber had been purchased by Superior Timber Co. of Glendale. The environmental community intends to keep an eye on Deer Mom and other BLM timber sales, observed Tom Dimitre, project analyst for Headwaters. "The saga of the Deer Mom project is not finished," Dimitre said. "We have told the BLM of other violations of environmental law and regulations. Now we can hope they will listen more openly instead of arrogantly dismissing public suggestions." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA