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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (July 14, 2004)
Biscuit Fire salvage sales await bidding awards Issuance of four Re- cords of Decision (RODs) for the Biscuit Fire Recov- ery Project, to remove 370 million board feet of fire- damaged timber, was an- nounced Thursday, July 8. Salvage operations could begin soon, as rap- idly as sales are awarded. The announcement was made by the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and Medford Dis- trict of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). BLM is issuing one ROD. The U.S. Forest Ser- vice is issuing three others, differentiated on the basis of land management objec- tives and issues. “Our decisions are an investment,” said Scott Conroy, Rogue River- Siskiyou National Forest supervisor. “We are invest- ing in growing trees, pro- tecting communities and old-growth from wildland fire, and capturing oppor- tunities to provide jobs and wood for America.” “We are pleased to begin implementation of this important work,” said Tim Reuwsaat, Medford BLM district manager. The projects in the RODs, said the agencies, “protect communities and habitats by building 300 miles of fuel management zones; reforesting 31,000 acres; restoring 700 acres of meadows; completing 70 miles of road work in- cluding closure, decom- missioning, and stabiliza- tion; and removing 370 million board feet of fire- killed wood, enough to build 24,000 homes. Helicopters will be used to minimize effects and reduce temporary road construction (5 miles). No permanent roads will be built, agencies said. On National Forest System land, Regional Forester Linda Goodman has granted an Emergency Situation Determination for salvage outside of In- ventoried Roadless Areas. This allows salvage harvest to begin immedi- ately after the sales are awarded. The first forest service sales will be sold this week at auction. BLM will offer a salvage timber sale on Aug. 5. The Biscuit Fire Re- covery RODs and FEIS are a v a i l a b l e a t www.biscuitfire.com. The BLM ROD is available at www.or.blm.gov/Medford. Copies or CDs can be re- quested by e-mail at: r6_biscuit@fs.fed.us, or by phoning (541) 471-6574. The Biscuit Fire, lo- cated in S.W. Oregon and Northern California, began on July 13, 2002 and grew to 499,965 acres. On ap- proximately half the burned acres, greater than 75 percent of the vegeta- tion was destroyed. One of Oregon’s larg- est fires in recorded his- tory, the Biscuit Fire burned most of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. Conroy supports con- sideration of 64,670 acres of lands adjacent to the Kalmiopsis Wilderness for wilderness designation, citing “their outstanding wilderness character and long-held public interest in greater protections for this unique area.” (Related stories on pages 7 and 8) ‘Buzziness’ Project places R&R on notice “As a potential bidder, Cave Junction-based on list for we feel it is important for Siskiyou Project has ad- you to know that if your Rough & Ready Selma site vised company is involved, di- Lu m b e r C o . a b o u t A memorial at crash site. (Shane Welsh photo) Young man dead after pickup leaves roadway A young, engaged-to- be-married Cave Junction man died of injuries on Wednesday, July 7 at ap- proximately 1:25 p.m. when his pickup truck crashed between Selma and Kerby. Joshua Isaac Allen, 22, a graduate of Illinois Val- ley High School, was the single occupant of a pickup that crashed on Hwy. 199 near milepost 23, in Gold Canyon at Sis’s Gap near Eight Dol- lar Mountain Road, said Oregon State Police. Allen was southbound on in a 1999 Ford F-350 pickup truck, owned by his employer, Hansen Log- ging, of Grants Pass. As he approached milepost 23.5, he veered off the road on the westbound side; went down an embankment and crashed into a tree, accord- ing to OSP. The vehicle ended up on its left side and was severely damaged. A witness, who was northbound, said that Allen appeared to be at or near the speed limit when he veered off the road. Allen was pronounced dead at the scene and was extri- cated from the vehicle by Illinois Valley Fire District (IVFD) firefighters. Assisting OSP at the crash scene were Oregon Dept. of Transportation, Josephine County Sheriff’s Office, and IVFD. Hwy. 199 was closed to a single lane for approximately three hours for recovery and investigation. An exact cause of the crash is unknown, but al- cohol or drugs do not ap- pear to be a factor, said OSP. There was speculation that Allen fell asleep at the wheel. (Obituary on page 5) I.V. Airport directors solicited The Josephine County Board of Commissioners is accepting applications from volunteers to fill va- cancies on the Illinois Val- ley Airport Advisory Board. Its purpose is to advise and assist the county com- missioners on all matters affecting aviation and air- port facilities at Illinois Valley Airport. The deadline for appli- cations is Aug. 1. Applications are avail- able in the commissioners office, Room 154, Jose- phine County Courthouse, Grants Pass. By SHANE WELSH Staff Writer “What’s the buzz?” may soon be answered at the Selma mill, under ad- ministration of Selma Community & Education Center (SCEC). Selma Wood Products has been for sale for a while now; opposite SCEC on Redwood Hwy. Re- cently, Bill Hunt, director of the center, decided to present the idea to pur- chase the mill to SCEC board members; and it was approved unanimously. SCEC is spearheading the project to purchase the mill in order to retain the historic value that Berle McTimmonds started when he bought the mill in 1955 from Lou Hammer. According to Hunt, Deer Creek Valley Asso- ciation is working on a stewardship program with Bureau of Land Manage- ment to help manage 7,400 acres of forestland within Illinois Valley, which in- cludes wildland fire pre- vention management. “We have a lot of property, private and pub- lic, that needs to have some fire thinning and small woods forestry work done; this is the only mill close enough to do it,” said Hunt. “Another thing we need in Selma is jobs,” he said. “By purchasing the mill, not only could we create work, but we could help increase tourism in this area by giving people a historic place to stop and visit,” Hunt said. The large mill is still in operation. The intention of SCEC is to use that fa- cility to demonstrate mill- ing specialty wood such as molding or flooring. “We would basically make it an interpretive mu- seum dealing with the his- tory of logging and mill- work in Illinois Valley,” said Hunt. “We also intend to use alternate sources of energy such as solar power to operate the mill.” According to Hunt, a (Continued on page 3) “education” that could oc- cur because of its potential involvement in Biscuit Fire timber salvage. In a July 6 letter to the Cave Junction lumber company, Siskiyou Pro- ject’s Rolf Skar wrote: rectly or indirectly, with the proposed timber sales in the Biscuit Fire area, that citizens and organiza- tions will educate the pub- lic, media and your cus- tomers of your involve- (Continued on page 9) Weapons, drugs seized Fully loaded weapons, including a machine gun, were seized in a drug raid in rural Cave Junction that netted an operational methamphetamine lab, 6 pounds of processed psilo- cybin mushrooms, and 200 growing, mature marijuana plants. Josephine Interagency Narcotics Team (JOINT) also said that three people were arrested. They were identified as David J. Camarato, 29; Merissa L. Biggs, 22; and Thaleda L. Prater, 45. JOINT said it is con- tinuing to investigate leads indicating that Camarato, an Oregon Medical Mari- juana card holder, is an affiliate of an outlaw mo- torcycle gang. It may be trying to re-establish itself in Josephine County and S.W. Oregon, said JOINT. It added that investiga- tors also are working on leads “which suggest that others in the Illinois Valley area were involved in this illegal drug operation.” The search warrant service at 2910 Caves Hwy. occurred at 9:44 a.m. on Thursday, July 8. There was a report that at least seven patrol cars con- verged on the scene. JOINT said that Camarato fled out a back door, but was subdued af- ter fighting with officers. Biggs also fled and eluded officers in woods, but later was captured. Prater and a man iden- tified as Jerry Owens also were in the house, said JOINT. Owens was not charged. Camarato was charged with manufacturing, deliv- ery and possession of con- trolled substances: methamphetamine, mari- juana and psilocybin mushrooms. He also was charged with three counts of being a felon in posses- sion of a firearm; resisting arrest; second-degree es- cape; and first-degree theft involving a firearm. JOINT said that al- though he is unemployed he had nearly $1,500 cash and was able to bail him- self and Biggs out of county jail in Grants Pass. David J. Camarato Biggs was charged with manufacturing, pos- session and delivery of marijuana. Prater was charged with probation violation on an original charge of pos- session of meth. Addi- tional charges are pending, said JOINT. Besides the meth lab, marijuana plants and hallu- cinatory mushrooms, offi- cers found several quanti- ties of meth precursor sub- stances and lab-grade glassware. In addition, they iden- tified the weapons they found as a World War II fully automatic machine gun known as a “grease gun;” a loaded 12-gauge pump shotgun; and a loaded SKS assault rifle that was reported as stolen. “These weapons were operational and were ac- companied by several loaded and ready-to-use ammunition magazines,” said JOINT. (Related photo page 13) I.V., RR fight For LL rights After the third of five games Monday, July 12, I.V.’s Little League team was ahead 2-1 overall against Rogue River. I.V. swept Saturday’s district double-header 13- 12, 7-11 in Cave Junc- tion’s Jubilee Park. But it lost 17-10 on Monday. (Photos on page 16) Suit filed to prevent logging in reserves By MICHELLE BINKER Staff Writer As anticipated, envi- ronmental groups have taken issue with the Bis- cuit Fire salvage sales -- in the courts and in the woods. On Monday, July 12, several groups, including Cave Junction-based Siski- you Regional Education Project (SREP), and the Pacific Rivers Council, filed suit in federal court in Medford to bring a halt to what they call unlawful violation of old-growth reserves and an urgent ap- peal to stop logging pro- jects in the Fiddler and Berry sales, two areas slated to be sold at auction Wednesday, July 14. The forest service re- ceived some 23,000 com- ments on the salvage pro- posal. The vast majority strongly opposed violating areas set aside in the Northwest Forest Plan (NFP), enacted during the Clinton Administration. Don Smith, SREP ex- ecutive director, is heading its “Save Our Wild Siski- yous” campaign. He said that this sale is precedent- setting for several reasons. “This will be the larg- est timber sale on public land on record,” he said. Besides the project’s scale, the plan proposes to go into roadless areas, “so there is potential there for a national precedent re- (Continued on page 7) Cave Junction Wednesday, July 14 Low clouds, then sun High--91, Low--56. Thursday, July 15 Sunny, partly cloudy High--93, Low--57. Friday, July 16 Cloudy, then sunny High--90, Low--57. Saturday, July 17 Partly sunny High--91. Low--58. Sunday, July 18 Sunny High--94. Low--56. Monday, July 19 Sunny & warm High--86. Low--47. Tuesday, July 20 Sunshine High--95. Low--55.