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Hazardous trees to be cut Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Dead or dying trees that are considered hazardous along Highway 140 will be cut down in the North Fish Haz salvage timber sale. It is one of two sales that will total 4,800 trees along 300 miles of roads in the Butte Falls and Prospect ranger districts. By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Citing public safety concerns, the Forest Service plans to cut some 4,800 trees along 300 miles of roads in the Butte Falls and Prospect ranger districts. The trees will be sold in two salvage timber sales in an effort to remove hazardous trees along the roads, according to Joel King, ranger in charge of the two districts. "Safety and quality access for our public is a top priority," King said. "Most of these hazard trees are dead or dying and are highly susceptible to being uprooted and falling into the roadways." But Joseph Vaile, campaign coordinator for the Ashland-based Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, questions the planned sale. "We're not against all hazard tree removal, but they seem to be overstepping," he said. "They seem to be wanting to cloak this in a safety issue when they are just trying to get the cut out." Many of the roads in question are little-used logging roads, some of which are destined to be removed, he said. He also questioned whether some of the trees were indeed hazardous. The agency is required by the Federal Highway Safety Act to mitigate or remove potential safety hazards along forest roads that are open to the public, King said. Drought, disease and insect infestation have killed or is killing many of the trees, he said. Past fire suppression has led to stand overcrowding, adding additional stress on younger and older trees, he added. In addition to removing hazard trees, the timber sales are intended to manage and create habitat for plants and animals, he said. The largest is the Blanket Haz salvage timber sale, which will produce 1.54 million board feet of timber from about 6,000 acres along 250 miles of road. The sale is located in both ranger districts. The North Fish Haz salvage timber sale will produce 207,000 board feet of timber from 1,500 acres along 50 miles of road. Located in the Butte Falls district, most of the sale area is adjacent to state Highway 140. In addition to the state highway, the sales are spread along Rogue River National Forest roads, including those leading to the Sky Lakes Wilderness Area, six campgrounds and 10 trailheads. Several bidders, including one from the east side of the Cascade Range, already have expressed interest in the sales, said Bruce Casey, assistant timber staff officer for the Rogue River forest. "We think there will be quite a lot of interest in bidding for these sales," Casey said. "There are a lot of folks who do this kind of salvage logging." Like King, Casey stressed that the trees being removed are a hazard. "A lot of them are leaning over roads," he said. "We have to do this every few years to remove the hazard trees." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.