Timber Sale Round-Up

Rainier Timber Sale on Shasta-Trinity NF by Trinity Lake

National Forests around the country have been instructed to “get the cut out” and maximize timber production. Simultaneously, the climate emergency and the decades of science supporting the role forest ecosystems play in sustaining life on earth is no longer given consideration. All the while, every single bedrock environmental law is being slashed to pieces, and the public is being shut out of participating in decisions made on public lands.

What does this look like for the Pacific Northwest national forests on the North Coast? Forest Supervisors and District Rangers are being kept on a short leash and under intense pressure to dramatically increase “timber volume”. The Forest Service has a slew of new authorities that allow for minute environmental review and public participation. Here is a summary of a few of the timber sales moving forward:

Six Rivers National Forest

On the Mad River Ranger District, the Rattail Project, located outside of Dinsmore in the Van Duzen River watershed, includes over 600 acres of commercial logging and is expected to produce over 6 million board feet, or equal to 1,200 log truck loads. The area is within Critical Habitat for the Northern Spotted Owl (NSO) and within the Eel River Late Successional Reserve (LSR), which is supposed to be set aside for maintaining mature older forest. The most egregious part of the project was the inclusion of nearly 5 miles of “temporary” roads down steep hillsides, through old-growth oaks and a few remaining big conifers, to access just over two square miles of forest.

The South Fork Mountain Project, situated above the Wild and Scenic South Fork Trinity River and the Mad River, includes over 1,500 acres of commercial logging. It is also within the South Fork Mountain LSR and serves as a Critical Habitat. The Forest Service is planning to include a forest plan amendment to log on steep slopes.

The Willow Creek 2022 Lightning Complex Project on the Lower Trinity Ranger District is currently being planned. It spans the watersheds outside of Willow Creek, north of Salyer, nearly to the Hoopa Reservation boundary, and includes the expanse of watersheds east of Barry Summit all the way down to the Wild and Scenic South Fork Trinity River. Although not many details have been released, it does include roadside and unit logging in high-severity burn patches. It looks to target a vast expanse of plantations (aka previous clearcuts).

Shasta-Trinity National Forest

The Junction City Project, labeled as “emergency community risk reduction,” is located southwest of Junction City and the Wild and Scenic Trinity River. It includes logging and ground-based disturbance on over 6,000 acres. Cutting is proposed in green and fire-affected forests. It includes Critical Habitat, LSR, and Inventoried Roadless Areas and Riparian Reserves. Public comments are due March 9.

The Klamath and Shasta-Trinity “Prescribed Fire” Project is a wolf in sheep’s clothing and covers the entirety of both forests – nearly 4 million acres!!! While it is being paraded as an overall or programmatic prescribed fire environmental analysis, it includes unlimited logging and herbicide spraying as well as bulldozed fire-line construction. No actual on-the-ground site-specific information is currently being considered. To implement projects under this decision, limited checklists, possible surveys, and a 23-page list of fine print “project design features” are expected to be adhered to. There has been no commitment by the agency to inform the public of any projects being proposed under this decision, which is expected this summer.

The South Fork Sacramento Project, located by Lake Siskiyou, 10 miles outside of Mount Shasta, around the Castle Lake area, is one of the worst projects we have seen. Luckily, a Federal Court judge granted EPIC's preliminary injunction to halt all commercial logging until the lawsuit is heard on its merits. The extreme habitat removal, included in the 9,000 acres of logging, would “take” 12 endangered owls, including two of the only reproductive pairs on that side of the forest. These two owl pairs have been consistently reproductive for over 30 years, providing countless young owls to repopulate across Northern California and Southern Oregon.

The Big Ranch Project, currently in planning, covers nearly 40,000 acres spanning Burnt Ranch to Big Bar on the south side of the Wild and Scenic Trinity River. Commercial logging under the guise of “fuels reduction” is being considered throughout these watersheds, which is nearly entirely within the Corral LSR and Critical Habitat. It’s being considered under “emergency authorities”, as most timber sales are these days, which extremely limits public notice and participation and eliminates the ability to object to the project. A comment period was provided late last year, but it is uncertain if there will be another. District Ranger Tara Jones, did say informally that there may be a two-week public comment period when a draft environmental assessment is prepared. 

The Klamath National Forest

The Blue Springs Timber Sale contract will soon be up for bid. The project is on the eastside of the forest on the Goosenest Ranger District. It includes 10.5 million board feet or 2,500 truckloads from 1,387 acres. None of the trees or boundaries are marked with paint. The Forest Service is now widely using “designation by description,” which allows timber fallers to use their judgment in following silvicultural prescriptions and GPS maps.

The Blue Mountain Timber Sale contract will soon be up for bid. The project on the Happy Camp Ranger District is within the Walker Creek watershed just south of Seiad Valley. There was no environmental analysis for this project, affected by the Blue Fire, which is within the Critical Habitat and adjacent to the Grider Creek Roadless Area. 

The Siead Restoration Thin Project is located on the mountainside above Seiad Valley and Seiad Creek on the Happy Camp Ranger District. It includes nearly 2,000 acres of commercial logging within the wildland urban interface. Its purpose and need align with Executive Order 14225, Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production. The public comment period closes on February 25. 

See also the Klamath and Shasta-Trinity “Prescribed Fire” Project above.

The Mendocino National Forest

The Parramore Project, in planning, on the Upper Lake Ranger District, is located in the Parramore Creek watershed just south of Pillsbury Lake. It includes up to 900 acres of commercial logging within Critical Habitat. This area, affected by the 2018 Ranch Fire, represents a green island of forest stands providing fire refugia for a number of species. It is being done under a Categorical Exclusion (CE), which severely limits environmental review; however, projects done under this CE must be developed or refined through a collaborative process that includes multiple interested persons representing diverse interests. Further, its primary purpose is to meet restoration objectives or increase forest resilience. EPIC has submitted comments and intends to be involved throughout the planning process to ensure that wildlife habitat and large trees are protected.

The Elder Creek Reforestation and Resiliency, in its inception, is using the same CE as above. It is located in the South Fork of the South Fork Elder Creek watershed northwest of Paskenta on the Grindstone Ranger District. It is also proposing roughly 900 acres of ground-based commercial logging in fire-refugia. Most of the Mendocino National Forest burned in the 2020 August Complex. These remaining green forest islands harbor a host of plant and animal species, and this area is comprised of many large patches of mature forest stands. One of the primary concerns aside from cutting large trees and the construction of roads and landings includes proposed logging in Riparian Reserves (stream sides), with a meager 50-foot “no equipment zone”. Our comments have been submitted, and we plan to participate throughout planning to ensure that the project is truly focused on ecosystem restoration.