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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 13, 2014)
Page A-8 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, August 13, 2014 Replant after wildfire or let nature take over? will allow loggers to haul away in the plan being drafted, but he said the goal is to balance the forest’s health with the needs of Scott Smith the local community. “We try and do our best with the science Associated Press we have,” he said. The blaze ignited on Aug. 17, 2013, when a hunter lost GROVELAND, Calif. (AP) — Nearly a year since a historic wildfire charred a huge swath of California’s High Sierra, debate control of his campfire. For two months, flames raced across rages over what to do with millions of dead trees left in its wake: 400 square miles of the Stanislaus National Forest, Yosemite National Park’s backcountry and private timber land. It ranks truck them to lumber mills or let nature to take its course? One side argues that the blackened dead trees and new as California’s third-largest wildfire and the largest in the Sierra growth beneath them already sprouting to life create vital Nevada’s recorded history. Loggers have already begun removing a small portion of habitat for dwindling birds such as spotted owls and black- backed woodpeckers. Others say time is running out on a golden dead trees along roads so motorists aren’t hurt by falling timber. opportunity to salvage timber to pay for replanting and restoring A much more aggressive logging project is under consideration, targeting nearly 50 square miles of forest land. the forest. Environmentalists said they are alarmed by the prospect of It’s a classic standoff between environmentalists and logging. supporters of the timber industry, which contends dead trees and “For us, post-fire logging is the last and worst thing you brush pose a new fire hazard. The U.S. Forest Service is expected to unveil its final should ever do in a forest,” said Chad Hanson, a forest ecologist decision in the coming weeks on how much of the land burned and founder of the John Muir Project, an environmentalist group. “The scientific community is so strongly against this.” by the wildfire, known as the Rim Fire, can be logged. Intense fires create snag forests that are three times as rare “It’s not always possible to please everybody,” said as living, old-growth forests, he said. Wood-boring beetles lay Robert Bonnie, the U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture’s eggs in the dead trees, spawning larvae that become food for Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment. He the woodpeckers. Flowering plants and shrubs sprouting on the oversees the Forest Service. Bonnie declined to say how many trees the Forest Service forest floor attract small, flying insects for bats and other animals that the spotted owl swoops in to eat, Hanson said. The Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce Bird species have come back strongly in the burned would like to thank the following areas that could be logged, Sponsers and Volunteers from the Hanson said. In a recent Siskiyou Folk & Bluegrass Festival: visit, he pointed to conifer seedlings two to three inches iV News Keith fuller tall sprouting up as a result of the fire. He worries that heavy eye Care Group Sonny Moore & boys logging tractors dragging out dead trees will destroy the first Community Credit Union Cindy Moore seedlings. fire Mountain Gems & beads Jacqie Swift Hanson questioned the Forest Service’s motives for lake Selmac resort Mary reynolds proposing logging. “When roger brandt bridgeview Winery they call it a recovery effort, Wild river brewery & Pizza iV trophy & Collectables Kerbyville inn b&b Holiday Motel Willie Witchurch trucking Howard Hill, Antique Alley Chris Smith Michelle binker laVina fonseca Cary riley lelo Kerivan bob Kerivan & Hans they’re talking a recovery of revenue, not a recovery of the forest,” he said. The national forests are not wildlife preserves, countered Steve Brink of the California Forestry Association, who represents the timber industry. National forests are set aside for many uses, including timber production, he said. Selling the trees will pay for restoring the forest, creating jobs in a region of California where logging once flourished, Brink said. Removing the burned trees will allow for the forests to be reopened more quickly for public use, he said, noting that the natural regeneration could take a century or two and, in the meantime, shrub brush would dominate. The dead trees will fall across each other on top of the shrubs, creating prime fire conditions, said Brink, taking a position that environmentalists say has no scientific foundation. The dead trees can be logged for about two years after a fire and then they disintegrate, losing value as timber, Brink said. He fears that environmentalists will file lawsuits to run out the clock if the Forest Service’s decision doesn’t suit them, he said. In July, wildlife advocates sued the Forest Service, arguing that officials have failed to protect spotted owls and black-backed woodpeckers from logging of burned trees in other parts of the Sierra. “They know if they can stall the process, the brush wins, deterioration will take over — and they win,” Brink said. Parts of Yosemite National Park backcountry that burned in the Rim Fire reopened in April with a warning that visitors should be careful of falling trees. The trees that fell across roads were removed, but logging is not allowed in the park, Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman said. Craig Pedro, the administrator of Tuolumne County, said he is worried about logging trucks flooding the roads and causing traffic hazards. But community leaders are united behind anything that brings the forest back to life sooner rather than later, Pedro said. The local economy depends on people coming to fish in the streams, hunt deer and pick mushrooms, he said, adding that much of the forest is still closed with no end in sight. Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Illinois Valley Lions 42nd Annual LABOR DAY FESTIVAL August 30, 31 & September 1, 2014 Jubilee Park, Cave Junction, Oregon Theme: Freedom & Liberty official Parade application Parade forms at Evergreen school on Monday, September 1st, at 8:30am. Parade starts at 10am sharp. Check one or more categories for your parade entry: { { { { { { { { Music (youth band) Religious Humorous Commercial Truck Classic Auto (1950 +) Horse & Rider (adult) Public Service { { { { { { { { Music (adult band) { Military Sports/Athletics { Marching Club/Organization (Youth) { Political Club/Organization (Adult) { Tuff Truck Commercial Truck { Tractor Antique Auto (Pre-1949) { Custom Auto Horse & Rider (youth) { Horse & Rider (group) Other: ________________________________________ Contact Person: ____________________________________ Phone: ________________________ Address: _____________________________________________ City: _______________________ Email Address:______________________________________________________________________ Describe entry and/or history: _________________________________________________________ Parade Chairman: Dennis Riviea Mail Entries to: PO Box 396 Cave Junction, OR 97523 APPLICATIONS CAN BE PICKED UP OR DROPPED OFF AT UMPQUA/FORMERLY STERLING BANK All parade entries are subject to LIONS approval.
