Document text
55 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, September 20, 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 How To Guide 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 September 9, 2004 No Biscuit salvage bids received Timber industry seems to be wary of risk that trees will deteriorate too much to have value By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune No bids were received Wednesday during an oral auction for a timber salvage sale in the 2002 Biscuit fire in the Siskiyou National Forest. The auction came one day after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco granted an emergency injunction sought by environmentalists to block salvage logging in old-growth reserves. The logging, which could have started Wednesday on one sale, is halted until the merits of the environmental lawsuit are reviewed. The lack of bids reflects the wariness of the timber industry over its ability to log the trees in the half-million-acre burned area before the trees lose their commercial value, said Dave Schott, executive vice president of the Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association. "A lot of the concern out there is there has been a pretty dramatic deterioration of the wood," he said. "If they do bid on a sale and are awarded a contract, and there is a subsequent injunction, they won’t know how fast they can get to it," he added. "And the risk of further deterioration is there." Advertisement In the two years since the fire, the deterioration in pines and small firs has been dramatic, he said. "The value right now is in the bigger trees," he said, noting those trees are better able to withstand bug infestation and rot. "The risk right now is such if they can’t get to it until later next year, they can’t count on any commercially valuable timber being left," he added. "It doesn’t pencil out, not even close." But Dominick DellaSala, forest ecologist for the World Wildlife Fund’s Ashland office, noted that logging could have already been under way had the agency stayed with its original proposal to log about 100,000 board feet of timber from matrix lands that are designated for timber harvest. Pressure from the timber industry prompted the agency to increase the harvest into old-growth reserves and roadless areas, he said, resulting in the legal battle. The agency ultimately decided to cut some 370 million board feet on 19,465 acres. "It’s unfortunate they didn’t stick with the original proposal — the logs would have been in the mill by now," DellaSala said, adding, "Nobody wins in this situation." Joseph Vaile, spokesman for the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center in Ashland, agreed. The old-growth reserves, also known as late-successional reserves (LSRs) in the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan, were intended to protect old-growth forest qualities, he said. The injunction does not include sales in matrix lands which are designated for logging under the Northwest Forest Plan, he noted. "If these (LSRs) are not protected, then no forests are protected," he said. "The science is telling us that logging post-fire forests, many of which are only moderately burned, will set back old-growth for decades to come." Meanwhile, U.S. Forest Service officials say they plan to keep offering the sales as part of the Biscuit fire salvage program. "We are going to continue the process," said Judy McHugh, forest spokeswoman. Although noting it’s agency policy not to comment on litigation, McHugh said that a delay in logging the fire-killed timber will take a toll. The analysis of wood decay in the final environmental impact statement predicts that about 42 percent of the commercial value of Douglas fir would be lost in 2005, she said. The loss in the pine trees would be much greater, she said. "That’s the volume lost across the acreage, not within a given tree," she said. The Briggs Six salvage sale offered Wednesday, largely in the Illinois Valley Ranger District, included 4.1 million board feet of timber, on both LSRs and matrix lands. Thus far, the agency has offered a dozen salvage sales since July, selling nine for a total 68.1 million board feet. "We are currently assessing the sales that have received no bids," McHugh said. "We are looking at options that include repackaging them and offering them again." Tuesday’s injunction covers six of those salvage sales totaling 47 million board feet of timber, all in LSRs. 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 SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities