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44 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, February 23, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental 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 Email Story to a Friend February 11, 2004 Timber plan draws cheers, jeers By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune TRAIL — The Bureau of Land Management plans to salvage about 23.4 million board feet from its forestland burned by the 2002 Timbered Rock fire in the Elk Creek watershed. That’s the amount contained in Alternative G, the agency’s preferred alternative in the final environmental impact statement for the Timbered Rock fire salvage and Elk Creek watershed project. It’s already drawing cheers from the timber industry but jeers from the environmentalists. The preferred salvage alternative is limited to about 900 acres of the 12,000 acres of BLM forestland that was burned by the roughly 27,000-acre fire, according to Jim Keeton, a natural resource staff supervisor working on the project. When the salvage is completed, about 100 million board feet of standing dead timber will remain, he said. Advertisement "We’ve already lost about 8 million board feet of dead timber," he said, noting the nearly two years that have elapsed since the fire. "Most of that has been in the smaller-class trees," he added. "They rot quicker than the big ones." The focus in the preferred alternative would be on smaller trees, not the largest ones, he said. Salvage logging would include both helicopter and land-based logging, he said. The preferred alternative meets the objectives of the Northwest Forest Plan and the BLM’s Medford District Resource Management Plan, officials said. The alternative includes restoration projects to protect or enhance late-successional reserve habitat as well as improve threatened or endangered species habitat, they noted. The 30-day public review period on the selection ends March 8. In addition to salvaging the dead timber, the agency will log another 2.5 million board feet of standing "green" timber as part of its road construction on the project, said George Sexton, conservation director for the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center. "But we believe the standing dead trees are worth just as much to the ecosystem as the green trees," he said, noting that the agency wants to salvage larger diameter trees. The Elk Creek drainage is a valuable fishery for the Rogue River basin, he said. "This is not a watershed we’re willing to write off," he said. If the preferred alternative is selected, it has the potential to undercut the Northwest Forest Plan, he said. "The BLM is basically saying that once an ecosystem set aside under the plan has been burned, then it’s no longer set aside," he said. "We can guarantee you there is going to be a fire in most acres on BLM and Forest Service ownership at some time in the future," he added. "Under this model, at some point everything gets logged." But Dave Hill, executive vice president of the Southern Oregon Timber Industry, welcomes the potential salvage. "The BLM is attempting to do the right thing," he said. "They’re looking to do some reforestation and habitat improvement following the fire and hopefully sell some commercial timber. "This (salvage) would be appreciated by the local industry," he added. "But it won’t be a windfall because a lot of the value has already been lost." Written comments on the document can be sent through regular mail to Timbered Rock EIS, 3040 Biddle Road, Medford, OR 97504. They can also be e-mailed to [email protected]. Copies of the final environmental impact statement will be available soon at Jackson and Josephine county libraries. A limited number of copies are now available at the district office. The document is also expected to be posted in a few days at www.or.blm.gov/Medford/TimbrockEIS/index.htm on the Web. 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 3 WEEKS FREE! 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