Logging and Road Construction Halts in Oregon's Umatilla National Forest
11/17/98
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Logging and Road Construction Halts in Oregon's Umatilla National
Forest
Source: American Lands
Status: Distribute freely with proper credit to source
Date: 11/17/98
FOREST FOCUS, the bulletin of American Lands, November 17, 1998
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REMINDER: Nov. 18 Call-In Day Opposing the Multilateral Agreement on
Investment (MAI). Please call John Podesta, White House Chief of Staff:
202-456-1414, Charlene Barshefsky, United States Trade Representative:
202-395-6890.
BIG VICTORY ON BIG TOWER: All logging and road construction must be
halted within much of the North Fork John Day Ranger District of the
Umatilla National Forest in Oregon, according to a recent court decision.
An emergency injunction was issued halting all ground disturbing
activities within the Big Tower Fire Salvage sale area, as well as several
other timber sales sites planned in the same district. Much of the
logging would have been on sensitive steep slopes that had previously
burned. Congratulations to Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project!
LAKES STUDY: The National Recreation Lakes Study Commission is studying
possible improvements at some 1,700 federally-managed lakes in 47 states
to increase recreational use, reports the Environmental News Network.
Some environmentalists say more motorboats could ruin pristine lakes. The
study panel is backed by American Recreation Coalition and the National
Marine Manufacturers Association. For more information, contact Scott
Silver, Wild Wilderness, 541/385-5261, ssilver@wildwilderness.org
OVERGRAZING SUIT: The Southwest Center for Biological Diversity will file
suit against the Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and
the National Park Service to protect 3.4 million acres of public lands
from overgrazing. The lands in southern California, northwestern Arizona,
southern Nevada, and southwestern Utah are critical habitat for the
endangered desert tortoise. The agencies have refused to implement
mandatory plans to mitigate the habitat loss by cattle. For more
information please contact Kieran Suckling, Southwest Center, at
520/623-5252 or ksuckling@sw-center.org
LICENSE SUSPENDED: The California Department of Forestry recently revoked
Pacific Lumber Company's license to log because of repeated serious
violations of the California Forest Practice Rules. Pacific Lumber's
violations include criminal misdemeanors, destroying domestic water
sources, and violating the Endangered Species Act. "I believe that the
revocation of Pacific Lumber's logging license is the final nail in the
coffin for the Habitat Conservation Plan," said Paul Mason of the
Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC). "If the agencies try
to say that they can trust PL with a 50 year permit to kill endangered
species, they can expect to see us in court."
NEGOTIATION PULL-OUT: In a recent editorial, David Jennings, Black Hills
Audubon Society, explained that Audubon has removed themselves from
Washington State's Timber-Fish-Wildlife forestry negotiations because they
are tired of industry stalling a credible proposal to manage riparian
buffer areas. Forest ecologists support 250 foot buffers, with no logging
along waterways to meet the needs for salmon protection and 900 feet for
terrestrial species. The timber industry is proposing a 150 foot buffer,
with logging and clear-cutting 50% of riparian areas for smaller streams.
"Seems like logging companies have already clear-cut so many of our
hillsides and waterways that they could slow down, be protective of what
we have left and help restore what we have lost rather than being so
recalcitrant," said Jennings.
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