Wilderness campaign targets Sisters project

A newly formed coalition of forest advocates launched a campaign last week to designate millions of additional acres of Oregon's roadless forests as federally protected wilderness areas.

The McCache vegetation management project on the Sisters Ranger District of the Deschutes National Forest is one of "over 80 proposed federal projects that threaten pristine forest lands" in Oregon, according to campaign proponents.

The 15,000-acre McCache project area lies between Black Butte Ranch and Mt. Washington, north of Highway 242. The area is in the Cache "late successional reserve (LSR)," considered important habitat for species such as the northern spotted owl.

According to Sisters Ranger District wildlife biologist Laurie Turner, the Cache LSR is covered with roads and far from pristine, having been clear-cut approximately 15 years ago.

"Pristine implies that it's not managed or is managed in a way that it's healthy, vigorous and sustainable for the future, and the McCache is not that," Turner said.

"They've literally clear-cut the hell out of it," said Tim Lillebo, Eastern Oregon field representative for the Oregon Natural Resources Council (ONRC). "And now they want to go in and log some more when they have other options. We don't want to see that."

Turner confirmed that the Forest Service proposes to "treat" the McCache project area with "several different prescriptions," some of which would include logging such as "commercial thinning, ponderosa pine restoration and hazard tree removal."

Turner said that clear-cutting is not included in any of the treatment alternatives.

ONRC spearheads the Oregon Wilderness Coalition, over 140 businesses and non-profit organizations which seek "to create a citizens' proposal for wilderness protection."

If the campaign is successful, future congressional legislation would permanently prohibit logging and other land management activities in Oregon's roadless forests.

According to Turner, if the Cache LSR received federal wilderness designation, the McCache project would essentially come to a halt, increasing the risk of disease and wildfire, which could destroy remaining spotted owl habitat.

"Wilderness does not have any vegetation management options available," she said. "Past fire suppression activities have led to unstable conditions, and this project will reduce the risk to remaining suitable habitat, protecting it from further degradation by insects and disease and from a catastrophic event like fire."

She also confirmed that five spotted owl "activity centers" at least partially overlap the McCache site.

While logging activity may occur within the owls' home ranges, she said, "It won't be directly adjacent to any nest sites, and I can guarantee none of these five ranges are in roadless areas."

Lillebo disagrees with the Forest Service's methods. He said that spotted owl habitat near Sisters can be protected without logging.

"For areas like (McCache) you can use some prescribed-fire-type management and hand-piling of fuels," he said. "They'd be amazed what they can do.

"I really don't think they're looking at forest management from a long-term or holistic point of view," he said.

The coalition hopes to have a bill to Congress by spring 2001. Lillebo expects it could take from three to 10 additional years to become a law, which he said allows the Forest Service plenty of time to develop alternatives to logging in the Cache LSR.