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Opinion period for timber sale to be extended By PAUL FATTIG PROSPECT � The Forest Service will hold an additional comment period before making a final decision on the proposed Mill Creek timber sale, says Prospect District Ranger Joel King. But the comment period likely will be limited to 30 or 60 days and not extended throughout the summer as requested by environmental groups, King said. Activists have expressed concerns that the snowpack has restricted access to the sale sites. "I understand what they are saying," King said. "But that area was accessible during the first comment period." No final decision has been made on when the additional comment period would begin and end, he said. The earlier comment period for the draft environmental impact statement began in November and ended Jan. 16. The agency received 20 comments during that time. In its draft EIS, the Forest Service�s proposed alternative called for harvesting up to 65.4 million board feet (mmbf) of timber on some 6,700 acres in the watershed. The work would be spread over a 10-year period. It is one of five alternatives in the document. The first alternative calls for no action; other alternatives call for a much smaller harvest on fewer acres. In a letter sent to King and Rogue River National Forest Supervisor Jack Williams on Wednesday, four environmental groups and two local residents asked that the comment period be extended to Sept. 30 to allow complete access to the high elevation sites. "This will allow citizens to make site specific comments on this project," the letter said. "As you know, site specific comments are most helpful to the Forest Service. " . . . The Mill Creek project is very large and complex," the letter added. "It is 10 times the size of the next largest Rogue River National Forest timber sale. . . it is especially important and appropriate that the public be able to tour the area." The letter was signed by representatives of the Rogue Group Sierra Club, Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center, Siskiyou Regional Education Project and the Oregon Natural Resources Council. Local residents Michael Hammond and Fred Fleetwood also signed the letter. "This is a mammoth project that has generated quite a bit of controversy," said Tom Dimitre, chair of the Rogue Group Sierra Club. "The best way to see what is proposed and to make useful comments is to visit the proposed project area." He also cited a Jan. 16 letter to the Forest Service by the Environmental Protection Agency that expressed concern that the proposed logging activity could have a negative impact on the upper Rogue River watershed. The EPA letter also noted that past clearcutting and road construction in the area already has impacted nearly 25 percent of the watershed, said Jay Lininger, spokesman for the Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center. "To rush forward with this would be very imprudent," he said. "We want to have the opportunity to provide site-specific comments. "This watershed is already past the threshold," he added. "More clearcutting and roading will further harm the ecosystem and degrade fish habitat. That�s not acceptable anymore." Forest and watershed health is a major concern of the agency, said King, who is also in charge of the Butte Falls Ranger District. A final decision will not be made until late spring or summer, he said. Comments do count, he added. "They make a difference to us � that�s why we�re doing an additional comment period," he said. 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.