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79 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, August 4, 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 Prime Times 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 July 10, 2004 Timber groups sue to speed Biscuit salvage logging By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune A lawsuit over salvaging timber from the Biscuit fire was filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Portland — not by environmentalists, as many had expected, but by the timber industry. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene a day after the U.S. Forest Service signed off on decisions allowing the timber salvage sales to move forward. The litigation is an effort to speed up the process of restoring areas burned by the half-million-acre 2002 fire, explained a spokesman for the nonprofit American Forest Resource Council, a group representing forest landowners and forest product mill owners. Others joining in the lawsuit were the Rough & Ready Lumber Co., the Swanson Group, South Coast Lumber Co., Jim Nolan, Jim Frick, Oak Flat LLC and Indian Hill LLC. In a prepared statement, council president Tom Partin indicated the group had been reluctant to litigate. Advertisement "But simply too much time has been wasted and critical wildlife habitats, key watersheds and rural communities are at stake to allow this process to be bogged down by environmental groups who oppose forest restoration in the area of the Biscuit fire," he stated. Noting the value of the fire-killed trees is diminishing daily, Partin stated that environmental groups have been threatening litigation and civil disobedience to stop the salvage. "If we’re really serious about habitat restoration, we need to get busy and that is what this lawsuit is about," the statement said. He did not explain, however, how the lawsuit would speed up restoration efforts. A call to his office was not returned late Friday afternoon. The Forest Service doesn’t comment on lawsuits, said Judy McHugh, spokeswoman for the Biscuit fire recovery project. Joseph Vaile, a biologist with the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, one of the environmental groups opposed to the proposed salvage of some 370 million board feet of timber from the Siskiyou National Forest, said it was ironic the timber industry filed the first suit involving the salvage project. "We’re looking to protect values that most Americans want to protect: old-growth trees, roadless areas and salmon-bearing watersheds," he said. "If logging in old- growth, roadless areas and salmon-bearing streams is still not enough for them, I don’t think they will ever be satisfied." 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 RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times