Forest Service plans jump start on salvage logging

The Forest Service plans to get started on salvage logging of some of the area burned in 2002 Eyerly Fire before the appeals period runs out.

Deschutes Forest Supervisor Leslie Weldon announced Monday, August 2, that she will sign an order allowing the salvage to move forward.

That decision has created controversy among opponents of the salvage plan since it is the first time in Central Oregon that the Forest Service has used provisions of the Bush administration's Healthy Forests Act to permit such activity to start during the normal 105-day appeals period.

That act allows the Forest Service to recognize an emergency for economic reasons, in addition to the previously allowed reasons of health and safety concerns.

The Eyerly Fire timber could be placed on auction as early as next week.

Loss of economic value available in the fire-killed and damaged timber was identified as the justification for the emergency action. The Forest Service also supports salvage as a way to reduce the risk of future fires, prevent major insect infestations from spreading to nearby healthy forests, promote the growth of a new forest, and create revenue for other agency projects.

In a letter to interested parties and the media late last week, Weldon announced her plans to take this action based on a decision by Pacific Northwest Regional Forester Linda Goodman. Weldon explained that the new authority prevents a salvage operation from being delayed beyond the time that fire-killed and fire-damaged timber has economic value.

Appeals on the salvage operations can continue while logging is underway.

A temporary injunction by a judge could halt operations. However, the logging could be completed before a decision is made on appeals.

While timber industry spokesman supported the decision, environmental organizations were critical, stating that it was a way to ignore public appeals.

Both supporters and opponents likely will follow this decision closely since a similar salvage project was recently proposed for 10,000 to 14,000 acres of the B&B Complex and Link fires of 2003.

(See related story).