Fiddler Closure Order Issued

Black Back Woodpecker, 14.03.2005 13:44

So now the Forest Service is closing the forest to everyone except those who want to destroy it.

Here is the Forest Service press release on the closure.

Get ready to cross that line for freedom!
Public lands not private proffit!

Please note that no medical attention was delayed on Saturday as is claimed, because there was no blockade on Saturday.

And the contention that the Fiddler timber sale obeys all environmental laws is rather odd given that we're waiting on two court rulings on that very issue.

And of course the Forest Service doesn't talk about the fact that 23,000 people commented against the timber sale or that Fiddler is in a late-successional old-growth reserve.

Stay strong.
BBW





Contact:
Tom Lavagnino (541) 821-1496
Patty Burel (541) 858-2211

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: March 14, 2005
ROGUE RIVER-SISKIYOU NATIONAL FOREST CLOSES FIDDLER FIRE SALVAGE TIMBER SALE ROAD TO PROTECT HEALTH AND SAFETY

MEDFORD, OR, March 14, 2005 - At noon, the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest issued a closure order effective immediately to prevent people from illegally blocking road access to the Fiddler Fire Salvage Timber Sale. This closure is effective until July 1, 2005, or unless rescinded sooner by the Forest Service.

Over the past week, protesters blocked the road four times leading into the Fiddler Salvage Timber Sale on the Illinois Valley Ranger District. The Eight Dollar Mountain road leads to the Babyfoot Lake Trailhead. On Saturday, March 12, these activities delayed two injured forestry workers in obtaining prompt medical attention. There is a also a safety hazard issue resulting from one woman suspended by a rope system from the green steel bridge crossing the Illinois River and illegally preventing road access.

Forest Supervisor Scott Conroy said, "Conflicts at this Fire Salvage Timber Sale have resulted in a public safety hazard for timber workers, visitors and protesters and this road needs to be closed to protect the health and safety of people near the area." The Forest Service is taking reasonable actions after four incidents of road blockage and a situation where there was a delay in medical attention because of the road blockage.

The Forest Service issues closure orders when activities or behavior become unsafe, violent, disruptive, or destructive. The agency has the
responsibility to address unlawful activities in the short term and can prohibit public access to specific areas to maintain safety and the rights of others.

The closure covers access to the Fiddler Fire Salvage Timber Sale with an additional safety zone of 100 feet from the center of the road. This public closure affects Forest Roads 4201.000, 4201.090 and 4201.140 at the Forest boundary in the Illinois Valley Ranger District, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.

Timber sale purchaser, Silver Creek Timber Company has indicated their
intent to operate the sale this season, and the Forest Service has a
contractual obligation to provide access for the purchaser.

The Fiddler Fire Salvage Timber Sale meets all environmental laws.

##

Special Closure - ORDER No. SIF-060 - Fiddler Salvage Timber Sale Road/Area Closure (90KB PDF)

Exhibit 1 Map - Page 1 of 2 (204KB .jpg)

Exhibit 1 Map - Page 2 of 2 (185KB .jpg)

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Bigotry 14.03.2005 - 14:36 Just because KS Wild says something is illegal, that doesn't mean that it's illegal. It's up to the courts to decide whether or not something is illegal ... and the courts have so far denied all challenges to the legality of the Biscuit restoration project. Shame on those who have participated in blocking the road to Fiddler. You seem to think that everyone should adhere to a strict interpretation of the law, except of course for yourselves. Shame on you for putting your own ideals above those of others. You're nothing but a bunch of well-funded bigots. Also, just because certain special interest groups (KS Wild, Greenpeace, etc.) have the funding to mobilize huge PR campaigns (as is the case with Biscuit), and can get 23,000 people to sign their name to a postcard, doesn't mean they know what's best for our forests. The NEPA process isn't intended to be an election. Moon Muffin> shame on who? 14.03.2005 - 14:53 "Shame on you for putting your own ideals above those of others" says Moon muffin. Humm... when 90% of the citizens of the US believe that old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest are protected under the Northwest Forest Plan, and 75% agree with that decision, it seems perhaps it is you who is putting your ideals above others. Certainly it is up to the courts to decide, so why are the logging companies moving in before the court has decided? If everyone is so sure the logging is legal, why not get an official verdict and avoid all these security expenses? With less than 3% of the original forests left intact in this country, why is Moon Muffin so worked up? Why not just head back out to the thousands of acres of plantations that exist and go about your merry day logging away at the mono-crop. No one will block your road or challenge your decision. You can literally have yourself a "field day". Kudos to the people blocking the road and cheers to the court system that prioritizes healthy ecosystems and supports folks who defend this abundant life system. In Solidarity, fairydust fairydust> No need to engage Moony 14.03.2005 - 15:26 Just check out Joan's comments. Or Dr. Franklin's. Moon knows that Silver Creek Logging Co. is the latest version of the same timber front group that declared bankrupcy not so very long ago. Moon probably even knows that Silver Creek Logging Co. felled trees in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness last year, and that one of the Biscuit auctions had to be haulted do to John West's collusion during the auction. And Moon know doubt knows that Judge Hogan did indeed enjoin the Biscuit logging for a while because the Forest Service wanted to let Silver Creek choose which trees should be logged and which should be left. Everyone, even Moony, knows that the 9th is going to stop the illegal logging of late-successional old-growth reserves at some point. Thats why John West told the press that he wants to get as many trees on the ground as possible "to moot the case." So don't take the bait. Moon just wants to get your goat. Stand tall, be strong, love life. BBW BBW> *&% the law anyway 14.03.2005 - 15:54 Screw the law. this isn't about the law.(though we'll use it to our advantage if we have to, our toolbox is diverse) This is about what's right. This forest is protected because it SHOULD BE protected. There is no longer any excuse for logging areas like this, especially when it's spotted owl habitat. Shame on you for suggesting we can't fight to spread the truth on issues like this! Kalanu> Does the closue effect the Green Bridge? 14.03.2005 - 16:52 Does the closure extend to the Green Bridge itself? ~~> please 14.03.2005 - 18:16 Like I said, you are right and I'm a complete idiot for expressing disagreement with your Supreme Truth. First, the Northwest Forest Plant DOES protect old-growth. It does so while acknowledging that old-growth forests result from a number of dynamic processes. Trees grow. Trees die. You can't freeze forests in time. Deal with it. You would like the contractors to wait for your latest and greatest lawsuit to be heard, wouldn't you? But then, the legal system has never been about finding the truth for you, has it? It's all about delay, delay, delay. Every day that the contractors aren't able to work is another day for the burned trees to depriciate in value. Regardless of whether your case has any merits at all, you consider it a victory if you can cost the Forest Service and their contractors (and thus society as a whole) time and money. 3% of original forests left? Laughable. Just because you put it on a bumper-sticker, doesn't make it true. The idea that KS Wild, ONRC and the like have no interest in challenging thinning projects is just as laughable. Actions speak louder than words. KS Wild seems to be opposed to any project that cuts merchantable trees. I base that statement on the fact that KS Wild is always pushing for rediculously small diameter limits on these sales, in spite of the fact that there is no ecological basis for such limits. Kalanu, are you implying that the snag fields of the Biscuit burn are currently providing habitat for spotted owls? Well they aren't, and they won't unless we speed up the recovery process through active management. And finally ... no, I don't know jack !#&$ about Silver Creek. Why would I? Who cares? What does it have to do with anything? Is your hatred for Jon West the best reason you have to be opposed to the Biscuit restoration? Get a clue. Moon Muffin> Does this ruling apply? 14.03.2005 - 18:18 Is this closure possibly illegal?: JUDGE CALLS FOREST SERVICE CLOSURE UNCONSTITUTIONAL FALL CREEK, Oregon, February 23, 2001 (ENS) - A federal judge has declared that a U.S. Forest Service (USFS) decision to close a timber sale site to activists and journalists was an unconstitutional restriction of First Amendment free speech rights. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Coffin issued an opinion declaring that the Forest Service Closure Order for the Clark timber sale in the Willamette National Forest was unlawful. The defendants argued that the closure order, which had been in place since June of 1999, was unconstitutional because it was overly broad and did not serve a significant government interest. Since 1998, Cascadia Forest Defenders activists have built tree settlements within the proposed logging sales and have been occupying the trees in protest of the logging plans. The closure order made it illegal to be present on the forest road system within the sale areas. Attorney Lauren Regan filed Motions to Dismiss on behalf of three defendants charged in federal court for "being on a road," asking that all charges be dismissed. In his written order, Judge Coffin stated, "The Clark Timber Sale has generated protest activity, which is subject to First Amendment protection. The roads are public fora, and, like the streets and sidewalks of a city, provide the type of setting where demonstrations and expressive activity occur.... Accordingly, the defendants' motion to dismiss is granted." "We are very pleased with Judge Coffin's ruling," said Regan. "This order creates excellent legal precedent to address future closure orders issued by the Forest Service. We are hopeful the USFS will stop abusing their authority in issuing this type of unconstitutional and unwarranted closure order, which make it illegal for citizens to use their public lands, or to protest the unsustainable logging practices of this agency. We hope this decision will be a wake up call to the U.S. Forest Service." Anon> Excuse me a moment... 14.03.2005 - 18:44 ...but I wonder, Moon Muffin, where you might get this thoroughly deluded and exceedingly shallow idea that a burned forest cannot recover unless it is "actively managed." The Forest did not miraculously appear in 2002 to be burned and later "saved" by the timber industry. Indeed, it has managed quite well, no doubt through fire, for hundreds of years. The whole basis of your argument is laughable and your limited insight, terribly sad. ~WH~> "i laugh in thy general direction, infidel" 14.03.2005 - 20:45 Once again, you are right. The only purpose of my posts is to provide you with comic relief. It would be silly of me to sincerely question your supior wisdom. Please, let me help you convert the remainder of the infedels! Together we will walk the path of rightiousness. Seriously though, I NEVER said that burned landscapes can't recover. Hell, you could drop an atom-bomb on a forest and it would recover eventually. Might take a few million years, but it would most likely recover. I don't think it's a matter of the forest recovering vs. not recovering. I think it's matter of what we want the desired outcome to be, and how long we can wait to attain that desired outcome. If the desire is to have a late-successional forest that is capable of providing habitat for threatened & endangered species that depend on large live trees and intact canopies, then we should manage. Moon Muffin> Pants on Fire 14.03.2005 - 22:43 The Forest Service is lying to the media: "Over the past week, protesters blocked the road four times leading into the Fiddler Salvage Timber Sale on the Illinois Valley Ranger District. The Eight Dollar Mountain road leads to the Babyfoot Lake Trailhead. On Saturday, March 12, these activities delayed two injured forestry workers in obtaining prompt medical attention. There is a also a safety hazard issue resulting from one woman suspended by a rope system from the green steel bridge crossing the Illinois River and illegally preventing road access." When questioned off-camera, away from reporters, Pam Bode acknowledged that there were no protests on Saturday, and that the car which broke down in the road temporarily was not linked to the protestors. She also added that the injuries were extremely minor: one man twisted his ankle but kept working. The other's face was hit with a branch. The Forest Service is lying and calling for an unconstitutional closure of public lands! tree lover> Given 15.03.2005 - 17:32 the likelihood of plaintiffs not succeeding on the merits of their case, Judge Hogan today denied the requested TRO, allowing harvest of dead trees at Biscuit to continue. Curious> Hogan NEVER gets reversed 28.03.2005 - 10:04 Hogan as a measure of an environmental complaint's merits. That's funny. let it burn> TRO ruling 31.03.2005 - 18:56 Actually Hogan ruled the complaint did have merit, he denied the TRO only on economic hardship. ~ Local Local>