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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 14, 2004 Litigation won’t halt Biscuit fire auction By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Nearly 42 million board feet of fire-killed timber will be offered for sale Friday, the first for the Biscuit fire salvage project in the Siskiyou National Forest. Despite lawsuits by both those hoping to stop the salvage and those wanting to speed it up, there was no indication Tuesday that litigation would halt the planned oral auction, said John Fertig, timber program manager for the Siskiyou and Rogue River national forests. The first of the five sales will be auctioned off at 10 a.m. in the Rogue River forest headquarters in Medford. The second one will be offered at 11 a.m., followed by the third at 1 p.m. and the final two at 2 p.m. "We’re assuming we’ll have protests outside," Fertig said. "We will have law enforcement presence here." Advertisement However, previous protests have never disrupted timber sale auctions in the Medford facility, he noted. Some 200 environmental activists opposed to the Forest Service salvage plans held a rally at Medford’s Alba Park last week when the agency announced its records of decision concerning the timber sales. A pro-salvage rally is being organized for Friday at the park by Grants Pass resident Dan Vest, a former timber faller who now works as an auctioneer. Meanwhile, because of the number of potential bidders expected and the limited space, there will not be any seating available to the public, Fertig said. "There is a fair number of people looking at them," he said. "But it remains to be seen whether anybody bids or not." Each sale will begin with sealed buds followed by an oral auction. Participants must first submit sealed bids to qualify, then bid for the sale, Fertig explained. The largest unit to be offered is the Fiddler sale, which includes some 14.5 million board feet. Located in the Illinois Valley Ranger District, it covers 697 acres. It was appraised at $1,060,790. Appraised at $546,857, the Berry sale in the Gold Beach district includes 12.8 million board feet on 339 acres. The Flattop sale in the Galice Ranger District includes about 7 million board feet. Appraised at $563,415, it will be harvested on 596 acres. Offering some 6.3 million board feet of timber, the Indi sale in the Gold Beach district covers 153 acres. It was appraised at $681,066. The smallest unit to be offered Friday is the 1 million-board-foot Cedar sale on 127 acres in the Galice Ranger district. Its appraisal is $48,466. Five more Biscuit fire salvage sales are expected to be sold in a few weeks, Fertig said. The Forest Service's salvage plans call for harvesting 370 million board feet of fire-killed timber on about 19,400 acres. Much of the half-million-acre Biscuit fire, sparked by a lightning storm July 13, 2002, burned in the Siskiyou forest. Late last week the American Forest Resource Council, a group representing land and mill owners, filed a federal lawsuit along with several timber firms and private property owners to speed up salvage logging on the public lands burned by the Biscuit fire. Environmental groups countered with a lawsuit of their own on Monday, seeking to halt the salvage project. They also asked a judge to stop both the Fiddler and Berry sales from being auctioned Friday. 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 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