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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (June 26, 2019)
Wednesday, June 26, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon LOGS: Towering slash piles will be burned in about 15 months Continued from page 1 log decks and slash piles lay alongside Highway 20 with a cleaned-up forest surround- ing it. The log decks stacked high alongside the strategi- cally placed slash piles are now for sale and on auction commission. On Tuesday, June 25 in Bend, sealed bids were to be opened for the sale of the timber after a 10-day advertisement was run. More information on the timber sale including maps and gen- eral information regarding the wood can be found on the Forest Service government website. Reid told The Nugget that the use of the herbicide had no effect on the inner portion of the wood. <The concentration of the herbicide is in the branches and it is not in the heart- wood,= Reid said. <We are working with the Oregon Department of Agriculture in running analysis on the heartwood.= The wood in the selling process was determined to be only used for lumber 4 no chipping or mulching of the wood as that could poten- tially spread trace amounts of the herbicide back into the ground. <A warning did go out in the prospectus as to what this wood was cut down for, but given that it will mostly be used for lumber, there is no risk to humans from it,= said Reid. The money from the tim- ber sale returns back into the treasury, and some of it will be allotted to the betterment of the area that was previ- ously treated. <The money we gain back is not a 1:1 ratio in paying for the project, it will return back into various trusts and trea- sury for other treatment proj- ects and forest betterment,= Reid explained. <It does pay partially for the initial service contract on the project so it pays for parts of the project, but not directly.= Some of the first treat- ments will be noxious weed treatment. “I am really proud of the employees on their work and efficiency with this project ... — Ian Reid As for the massive slash piles placed next to each log deck, the plan is to burn them on site. There are around 10 piles, one at each set of log decks. The piles were strategically placed so they could be burned without causing too much harm to the surround- ing forest. Forest Service crews plan to burn the piles once they have been cured, after they sit where they are for about 15 months. The plan is to let them dry out over the summer and then once winter hits with enough moisture in the air and snow on the ground, to light up the massive piles. <It is likely that there is still trace amounts of the her- bicide on the branches, and as they sit there, it may seep CONCEALED CARRY PERMIT CLASS MULTI-STATE $ 80 i including n c l u d i n g O Oregon r e g o n ( (See S e e s states t a t e s o on n o our u r w website) e b s i t e ) OREGON ONLY $ 45 July 18 • 6 p.m. only Best Western Ponderosa Lodge 500 Hwy. 20 W., Sisters For more information: www.FirearmTrainingNW.com FirearmTrainingNW@gmail.com | 360-921-2071 into new seedlings but they are placed at disturbed areas anyways,= Reid said. In regards to the effect of burning the piles, the herbi- cide has no effect on humans and breathing the air is no worse than breathing nor- mal wood smoke from a pre- scribed burn or wildfire; there are no harmful effects, Reid noted. <The label on the herbi- cide states that burning is an allowable disposal method,= he said. The Forest Service plans to keep working with ODA, researchers at OSU and Purdue University on analyz- ing the effects on growth of the seedlings in the affected area. They are conducting bio-chemical analysis and are committed to finding the residual risk. <Our belief is if we keep following the precautions of the ODA that we will be able to determine the effects and further our research,= Reid said. <I am really proud of the employees on their work and efficiency with this proj- ect, and we plan to continue working on cleaning up the forest and seeing the further effects the herbicide had on the forest.= 13 Young dancers... PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK Sisters Dance Academy treated Sisters to their annual dance recital on Saturday. That’s a Cut! 152 E. Main Ave. • 541-549-8771 Summer Plumbing Too Hot To Handle? From leaky pipe repairs to new-construction installations...… WE DO IT ALL! DINING & TAKE-OUT until midnight every night Menu at SistersSaloon.net 541-549-RIBS 190 E. Cascade Ave. FAMILY OWNED. SISTERS PROUD. LOCAL. RELIABLE. PROFESSIONAL. 541-549-4349 | 260 N. Pine St., Sisters Licensed / Bonded / Insured / CCB#87587