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.