Document text
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 13, 2004 Groups sue to halt Biscuit salvage Staff and wire reports Environmental groups have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to halt the salvage of trees burned in the Biscuit wildfire, the nation’s largest forest fire in 2002. The groups on Monday also asked a judge to stop two logging projects set to go to the auction block on Friday: the Fiddler Mountain and the Berry timber sales. The announcement came three days after the American Forest Resource Council, a group representing land and mill owners, filed a lawsuit to speed up salvage logging of the 500,000 acres of forest that burned in the southwestern corner of the state. "Old-growth reserves were designed for forest protection, not forest destruction," said Marc Fink, an attorney for the Western Environmental Law Center, in a prepared statement. "The Forest Service is using the Biscuit fire as an excuse to log large trees that would otherwise be off limits." Don Smith, executive director of the Siskiyou Project in the Illinois Valley, agreed. "Fiddler Mountain is a beautiful place that deserves to be protected," he said. "Many local people enjoy this area for its scenic beauty and wonderful hiking trails. This is not a place for a massive timber sale." Advertisement In addition to the Siskiyou Project, other plaintiffs include the Pacific Rivers Council, the Wilderness Society, Sierra Club, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, Oregon Natural Resources Council, American Lands Alliance and Defenders of Wildlife. The U.S. Forest Service on Thursday approved plans to log timber burned in the Biscuit fire despite intense political and scientific debate over wildfire policy and salvage logging. The Forest Service plan, combined with a U.S. Bureau of Land Management plan, calls for harvesting a total of 370 million board feet of timber over the next two years. That’s four times the original proposal and enough to build 24,000 homes. The fire was started by a lightning storm in July 2002 in the rugged Klamath Mountains. It threatened 17,000 people in the Illinois Valley and cost $153 million to control. 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