All sides weigh in on salvage plan

Acres of burned forest land are awaiting restoration. photo by Jim Cornelius Local activists, foresters and citizens are taking a close look at the B&B Fire Recovery proposal recently released by Sisters District Ranger Bill Anthony. In a letter mailed in late July to interested individuals and organizations, Anthony invited public involvement to identify issues and concerns with the proposed actions.

The plan proposes salvage logging of fire-killed and fire-damaged timber on from 10,000 to 14,000 acres of the total project area of 42,143 acres. That area is located within the 95,600 acres of the combined B&B Complex and Link fires of 2003.

Representatives of local environmental organizations and the forest industry have been carefully reviewing the recovery proposal.

"The Friends of the Metolius will be studying details of this proposal to see how it supports that part of the forest plan that speaks to the Metolius Basin and where it conflicts with that plan," said Gregory McClarren, president of Friends of the Metolius. "We will also be looking at what changes have occurred since the forest plan was written besides the obvious one of the B&B Complex Fire."

The group's initial reaction to the road reduction portion of the proposal is favorable, but they believe it does not go far enough.

"We're not interested in closing roads for the sake of closing roads, or keeping people from enjoying public lands, but we are concerned about the impact of the road density on other forest resources," McClarren said.

Friends of the Metolius was to hold a semi-annual meeting with District Ranger Bill Anthony on Monday, August 9. The B&B Fire Recovery Project was expected to be a major topic at that meeting.

Tim Lillebo, eastern Oregon field representative for the Oregon Natural Resources Council, also is taking a hard look at the plan.

"We do not see any ecosystem restoration in this proposal," said Lillebo. "The salvage proposal looks like a plan to get more money to the timber companies. The proposal does not protect all of the old-growth legacy trees, living and fire-killed, that provide homes for bald eagles and osprey, as well as dens for bears.

"Their proposal states that what is left is as important as what is taken from the fire area and we believe the Forest Service should follow that standard," Lillebo added.

Lillebo has looked at some of the initial salvage logging on the site and believes it already has caused excessive soil damage and compaction.

On the positive side, Lillebo supports the proposal to reduce the miles of roads to protect riparian areas.

He also likes the plan to reforest portions of the burn with trees of all species, providing shelter and food for birds while protecting riparian areas.

Chuck Burley, a Bend forestry consultant for the forest industry organization the American Forest Resource Council, views the B&B recovery proposal with mixed emotions.

"I like the direction that the Forest Service is heading with this plan, but they are taking too long to get salvage logging underway," Burley said. "It has been nearly a year since they first proposed salvage of roadside hazard trees and nothing has happened yet. With the main B&B Complex Fire area, it could be two to three years before actual salvage would get underway and that would mean less volume of usable wood from those fire-killed trees."

Burley added that he will be very interested in how much interest there will be next week if the Eyerly Fire timber salvage sale is announced. He is aware of a growing concern among prospective buyers that after two years much of the economic value of fire-killed timber has been lost to insects and disease.

Anthony expects valuable public input.

"All of these people have been very involved in the Metolius Basin and are very knowledgeable about it," Anthony said.

"From proposals for recovery of past fires, the Biscuit Fire to the Toolbox Fire, from the Eyerly Fire to the Davis Fire, we expect considerable comments on the B&B project. While there was not a huge number of people comment(ing) on these past projects, the extensiveness of their comments was overwhelming. Local environmental groups, as well as regional and national ones, have provided very complex responses in opposition to salvage."

Maret Pajutee, district ecologist for the Sisters Ranger District said, "The Sisters Ranger District has been kept busy the past few months guiding tours of the project area for congressional personnel, Oregon State Department of Forestry, researchers, and many others."

Pajutee knows that there is great interest among many individuals and organizations on what the future holds for the Metolius Basin. Full-time and part-time residents of the basin and Sisters area, recreationists, politicians at the local, state and federal levels, and many environmental and special interest groups all want a voice in decisions to be made, she explained.

Besides salvage logging while the timber still has economic value, the recovery project proposes other actions. One action is to reduce harvest slash and small trees to keep any future fires at normal levels of intensity. The proposal also calls for reforesting salvage areas, providing improved safety by removing hazard trees along roads and in areas of high use, and reducing the miles of roads to improve watershed conditions, fisheries and wildlife habitat.

Persons interested in reviewing the project proposal to comment on issues and concerns may request a copy of the proposal from the Sisters Ranger District.

In addition, several tours of the area have been scheduled for later this month (see sidebar below).

The Sisters Ranger District will accept public comments until August 20.

Public invited to tour fire recovery project area

The public is invited to tour the B&B Complex Fire Recovery project.

Two dates have been set for the tours: Saturday, August 14, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Wednesday, August 18, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Make reservations for seating on a bus by calling Maret Pajutee at 549-7727. On both days, the bus will load at the Black Butte School just west of the Camp Sherman Store. Bring water and a lunch. Wear boots and long pants since some walking will be done through the burn area.

Both proposed project work and completed salvage operations will be visited, guided by the recovery project team of foresters and other specialists.

Restoration plans call for salvage logging of fire-killed and fire-damaged timber on from 10,000 to 14,000 acres of the total project area of 42,143 acres. That area is located within the 95,600 acres of the Link and B&B fires.