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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 12, 2006 Environmental group to tour Western Oregon to speak out against the salvage By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Opponents of salvage logging in roadless areas burned by the Biscuit fire plan to take their message on the road. The Oxygen Collective, an environmental group based in Ashland, will fire up its 40-foot biodiesel bus to canvas Western Oregon beginning early Monday. The tour will include a stop in Medford beginning at 7:30 p.m. April 21 at the Central Library, 205 S. Central Ave., Medford. The goal is to bring public attention to plans by the U.S. Forest Service to enter roadless areas in the Rogue River- Siskiyou National Forest to salvage fire-killed timber, said group spokesman Stuart O’Neill. "The vast majority of the American public fully support protecting roadless areas," O’Neill said. "With the Bush administration pushing going into the roadless areas, this is touching a nerve. Advertisement "And that’s going to increase as more people are aware of it," he added. Salvage opponents observe the two roadless-area sales are opposed by Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, who has made his views known to the Bush administration. Entering roadless areas goes against the administration’s 2005 rule that allowed governors to petition for permanent protection of those areas, they note. The salvage makes no economic or ecological sense, said Dominick DellaSala, forest ecologist for the World Wildlife Fund's Ashland office. Fire-killed trees provide shade, erosion control and nutrition for the next generation of trees, he said. A study released earlier this year by a group of scientists, former U.S. Forest Service employees and environmental groups say the agency lost some $14 million on timber salvage from the Biscuit fire. DellaSala believes pressure from the timber industry and the Bush administration prompted the agency to drop its original proposal of salvaging about 100 million board feet of timber to boost the target to 372 million board feet. That increase entered old-growth reserves and the roadless areas, sparking the opposition, he said. "One has to wonder why they are going ahead with this bold attack on the roadless rule," he said. "What keeps coming to my mind is politics. There isn’t a big demand for burned trees. "They are going to continue to subsidize logging — it doesn’t add up," he added. Money spent on the salvage project would have been better spent on fuel management around rural communities that are in harm’s way of catastrophic wildfires, he said. The Oxygen Collective’s O’Neill also suggests a political motive is driving the Biscuit salvage. "It seems like it’s being pushed by the Bush administration, like they are using the Biscuit to challenge the roadless rule," he said, referring to the roadless regulation created by the Clinton administration. "In 2002, it was almost like they decided this would be the place to push through their agenda for the forest," he said. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at Environmental group to tour Western Oregon to speak out against the salvage ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Send Flowers California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Hammocks Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Email Security Advertisement s Advertisement