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The H&N view
published Oct. 30, 2003
Salvaged timber produces lumber, jobs
The Siskiyou National Forest is on course to return big dividends to the Oregon economy two years after the Biscuit Fire burned 500,000 acres of southern Oregon and northern California forest land.
Its preferred alternative in salvaging the timber is to log about 518 million board feet, a figure about five times more than those previously discussed, according to an Associated Press story.
The Biscuit Fire burned an area straddling the Oregon-California west of Grants Pass and threatened several communities during its 120-day run in the summer and fall of 2002. It burned 471,130 acres in Oregon and 28,835 in California. At its peak, more than 7,000 firefighters were in action.
The fire and its aftermath has cost about $153 million so far, and that figure continues to grow as more money is spent on planning. Salvaging timber from the burned area would partially offset that cost.
The primary reason for the increase in the logging being proposed is a federal court ruling from Wyoming that overturned a Clinton administration rule barring logging in undeveloped national forest regions. That decision is subject to appeal, so the extra logging isn't certain.
But it is a good sign from the national forest of its intent. The alternative will be one of seven alternatives in the draft environmental impact statement due out in November.
Burned timber deteriorates fast.
At the earliest, the timber won't be logged until 2004 - two years after the fire, and that's probably par for a major blaze. The Toolbox Fire, for example, which burned 49,500 acres in Lake County in 2002, is on the same schedule.
Tom Link, the project manager for the Biscuit Fire, told the Associated Press that as much as 40 percent of the burned trees could be lost to bugs and rot, depending on how long it takes to log it.
That's a lot of timber that could be used to build homes and generate income for mills and their employees.
The Siskiyou deserves credit for taking the optimistic view of what it can do.
The "H&N view" represents the opinion of the newspaper's editorial board, which consists of Publisher John Walker, Editor Tim Fought, City Editor Todd Kepple and Opinion Editor Pat Bushey.
Salvaged timber produces lumber, jobs
The Siskiyou National Forest is on course to return big dividends to the Oregon economy two years after the Biscuit Fire burned 500,000 acres of southern Oregon and northern California forest land.
Its preferred alternative in salvaging the timber is to log about 518 million board feet, a figure about five times more than those previously discussed, according to an Associated Press story.
The Biscuit Fire burned an area straddling the Oregon-California west of Grants Pass and threatened several communities during its 120-day run in the summer and fall of 2002. It burned 471,130 acres in Oregon and 28,835 in California. At its peak, more than 7,000 firefighters were in action.
The fire and its aftermath has cost about $153 million so far, and that figure continues to grow as more money is spent on planning. Salvaging timber from the burned area would partially offset that cost.
The primary reason for the increase in the logging being proposed is a federal court ruling from Wyoming that overturned a Clinton administration rule barring logging in undeveloped national forest regions. That decision is subject to appeal, so the extra logging isn't certain.
But it is a good sign from the national forest of its intent. The alternative will be one of seven alternatives in the draft environmental impact statement due out in November.
Burned timber deteriorates fast.
At the earliest, the timber won't be logged until 2004 - two years after the fire, and that's probably par for a major blaze. The Toolbox Fire, for example, which burned 49,500 acres in Lake County in 2002, is on the same schedule.
Tom Link, the project manager for the Biscuit Fire, told the Associated Press that as much as 40 percent of the burned trees could be lost to bugs and rot, depending on how long it takes to log it.
That's a lot of timber that could be used to build homes and generate income for mills and their employees.
The Siskiyou deserves credit for taking the optimistic view of what it can do.
The "H&N view" represents the opinion of the newspaper's editorial board, which consists of Publisher John Walker, Editor Tim Fought, City Editor Todd Kepple and Opinion Editor Pat Bushey.
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