The direction of forest management under the Bush administration is to eliminate the protections under the Northwest Forest Plan for old-growth forests and the threatened and endangered species they harbor, and to increase funding for logging. Under a sweetheart out-of-court lawsuit settlement in 2003 between the timber industry and the administration, forests managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in southern Oregon may soon lose current environmental protections when their management plans are revised. The BLM previewed some of the alternatives it might consider in an upcoming Environmental Impact Statement, which all call for increased logging. Most notably, the BLM document includes a new interpretation of the law that prioritizes logging over all other values and uses of these publicly owned forests.
The President's FY 2007 budget would have doubled logging in the Pacific Northwest and the administration has proposed weakening rules designed to protect salmon and clean water. Most recently, the BLM and Forest Service reissued plans to eliminate protection for over 600 old-growth-dependent species by eliminating the Survey and Manage requirements of the Northwest Forest Plan.
The Klamath National Forest is pushing forward this summer with the Knob logging sale, which would destroy nearly 600 acres of ancient forest that provides critical habitat for a diverse array of species, including the Northern spotted owl, Northern goshawk, fishers, martens, wild orchids, and rare salamanders. Logging would also dramatically increase the fire risk to the surrounding forest.
All legal appeals have been exhausted in our attempts to save this treasured watershed from degradation. These spectacular old-growth forests may not be standing for much longer as the Knob logging sale may be auctioned off this summer.
TAKE ACTION:
Please contact Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein and ask them to send a letter to Klamath National Forest Supervisor Peg Boland requesting that the Forest Service protect the at-risk salmon, spotted owls and old growth in the Salmon River watershed. Request that the Forest Service start restoration forestry and cancel the Knob logging sale.
You may use the template we've prepared below for Senator Boxer's website and then paste it into your email program to send a message to Senator Feinstein as well.
boxer@senate.gov
feinstein@senate.gov
