Mike's Gulch Roadless Logging: Scorned, Sold and Sued

o2, 10.06.2006 10:53

June 9 - Medford, OR - Two major victories were scored today for Mike's Gulch, a threatened forest in Oregon's largest roadless area, the South Kalmiopsis. The area's Congressman clearly stated his opposition to logging and the State's Governor announced he is filing a lawsuit in Federal Court to block the sale.

Only one week ago the Bush Administration announced they were selling timber in a roadless forest for the first time since overturning the Clinton-era rule protecting 59 million acres of roadless forests from logging. People across the country quickly moved to be heard and to convince the two public officials to take serious action in favor of wildland protections.

Forest lovers are celebrating today because it worked.

In announcing his decision to seek a temporary restraining oorder to halt logging, Governor Kulongoski said, "this timber sale, coming four years after the Biscuit Fire occurred, is unneeded and unwise. Opening this particular roadless area to salvage logging now - when we are in the process of preparing a petition to the federal government on the proper management of those areas - contradicts the assurances the Bush Administration has made that the governors' opinions on such issues will be respected."

Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR), representative for the district that includes Mike's Gulch, sent a letter this week to Mark Rey, the former timber lobbyist, now Undersecretary who runs Bush's Forest Service. The letter says in part:

"I do not believe you should be auctioning any timber sales in inventoried roadless areas until you have given Governor Kulongoski the courtesy of making a final decision on his petition, and given the courts a chance to make a decision on the merits of his case.

"You stated in a letter to the editor of the New York Times that 'we are providing interim protection to roadless areas, pending the development of state-specific rules provided for in our 2005 rulemaking.' I note, in the event that you are not aware, that you have not yet developed a state-specific rule for Oregon.

"You asked for the governor's input in managing roadless areas. Governor Kulongowski is giving you his. Given the circumstances, it is disingenuous of you to conduct this auction while giving lip service to the inclusion of the governors through the petition process and to protecting roadless areas in the interim."

Earlier this year, Oregon and three other states filed suit in federal court over the repeal of the 2001 roadless rule and the adoption of the 2005 Bush rule. Briefs have been filed and the case is slated for oral arguments in Federal District Court on August 1, 2006. A temporary restraining order to be sought by the Governor next week would preserve the status quo during the court proceedings and prevent any irreparable harm that would result from the logging.

Nonetheless, the Forest Service auctioned off the area today. The high bidder was Silver Creek Timber Company, a previous Biscuit Project front organization for Portland's Columbia Helicopters and banking mogul and timber baron Allyn Ford's private company, Roseburg Forest Products.

Additionally, Silver Creek is the same company that illegally logged in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness Area in 2004 and the Babyfoot Lake Botanical Area in 2005, both under contract for previous Biscuit Project timber sales. The Forest Service must decide next week, whether to award the sale to a company with such a record.

Mike's Gulch sold for less than half of the already ridiculously low average price for Biscuit project timber sales: $32 for a thousand board-feet or about $150 for a loaded log truck. All the tress chopped and hauled will be old-growth trees greater than 30" in diameter.

What's Next

This has been one of those weeks where thousands of people with nothing more than their phones could make a difference because they were organized and dedicated. Our influence is growing daily and now is the time to increase the pressure. We've got the ball rolling. Now we aim for a strike!

Please (please!) make at least TWO of the following calls each day this week (making all of them probably takes five to ten minutes total!):

Everyone:

First take a moment to call either Governor Ted Kulongoski [Phone: (503) 378-4582, Fax: (503) 378-6827] or Congressman Peter DeFazio [Phone: (541) 465-6732, Fax:(541) 465-6732 (in DC):(202) 225-0032 Toll free in Oregon: 1-800-944-9603] and thank one or both for the actions that they have taken. That kind of phone call is a nice change of pace and can have real impacts.

Across the country:

Call Dale Bosworth, Chief of the Forest Service [Phone: 202/205-1661; Fax: 202/205-1765].

Tell him that Mike's Gulch should not be awarded to Silver Creek Timber Company due to past contract and legal violations.

Oregonians:

Call Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) [Phone:(503) 326-7525, Fax:(541) 431-0610 (in DC):(202) 228-2717]

Ask him to immediately fax Chief Bosworth and request the sale remain unawarded due to past contract and legal violations by Silver Creek Timber Company.

Willamette Valley residents:
Call at least one of the following Members of Congress:

Earl Blumenauer [Voice: 503-231-2300 FAX: 503-230-5413 DC Phone: 202-225-4811 DC Fax: 202-225-8941]

David Wu [Voice: 800-422-4003 FAX: 503-326-5066 DC Phone: 202-225-0855 DC Fax: 202-225-9497]

Darlene Hooley [ Voice: 503-588-9100 FAX: 503-588-5517 DC Phone 202-225-5711 DC Fax: 202-225-5699]

Ask them to support the strong positions taken by Governor Kulongoski and Representative DeFazio.

Great thanks goes to all of you who picked up a phone or otherwise got involved!

Stay tuned to http://o2collective.org for on-going updates.

e-mail:: collective@o2collective.org
Homepage:: http://o2collective.org

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Soooooo many.... 10.06.2006 - 11:57 misconceptions, mistruths and outright lies! How ignorant, uniformed and disingenuous can you be?!? Doesn't everyone know that the governors are only allowed an opinion and not a decision?? Surely, everyone knows by now that Roadless Areas only ban roadbuilding?? Don't you know that no one EVER banned logging in Roadless Areas?? The winning bidder only entered the Babyfoot Botanical Area because of a computer mapping glitch and not because they just felt like it. Don't you know that the promise made was not to develop or build more roads in these Roadless Areas, reverting to prior Roadless policies?? Don't people know that only 261 acres will be logged out of many, many thousands of roadless acres within the Biscuit Fire?? Don't people know that helicopter fuel is also way up from 3 years ago and that the bids reflect some of that increase? Don't people realize that this seemingly endless obstructionism merely serves to reduce the amount of money which will go into offsetting the costs of restoration? And, finally, don't people realize that only dead trees are being cut and that the largest and best snags are being left for wildlife, as per the project's EIS??? I personally painted several giant 70+ inch diameter trees in the biggest unit out there. Roadless Areas, in general, DON'T have much in the way of lucrative resources to extract. This is because if there had been, roads would have already been built to access those areas long ago. The few Roadless Areas that do have timber on them have always had those roadbuilding bans. I don't support building roads in any of them but, most National Forest plans DO require SOME annual timber volume to be harvested from Roadless Areas. Most Forests simply make up for that volume somewhere else. To acheive a logging ban, each individual Forest Plan will have to be altered, through a very complicated process. Now that we have some facts, maybe people can make more informed opinions, instead of blindly accepting the dogma, rhetoric, and misdirection of partisan politics, from both sides. Hotfeet> Hotfeet is wrong 11.06.2006 - 08:04 Nice try as misinfo, Hotfeet. Clever combination of trivial facts, opinion and lies. Seems like you know what you are doing. Soooooo many.... 10.06.2006 - 11:57 misconceptions, mistruths and outright lies! How ignorant, uniformed and disingenuous can you be?!? Doesn't everyone know that the governors are only allowed an opinion and not a decision?? NO, THEY ARE ALLOWED A FORMAL PETITION PROCESS WITH GUARANTEES OF INTERIM PROTECTION DUE IN THE FALL OF 2006. THAT IS THE PROMISE BUSH IS BREAKING BY SELLING ROOADLESS TIMBER NOW. Surely, everyone knows by now that Roadless Areas only ban roadbuilding?? NOPE. ROADLESS AREAS WERE PROTECTED FROM LOGGING BY THE 2001 ROADLESS CONSERVATION RULE THAT BUSH OVERTURNED IN 2005. Don't you know that no one EVER banned logging in Roadless Areas?? IT WAS BANNED IN 58.5 MILLION ACRES AND IN FACT NONE OF THOSE ACRES HAVE BEEN LOGGED BY THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION UNTIL MIKE'S GULCH. The winning bidder only entered the Babyfoot Botanical Area because of a computer mapping glitch and not because they just felt like it. YOU ARE VERY TRUSTING OF SILVER CREEK AFTER A FEDERAL INVESTIGATION IN 2003 FOUND THAT THEY TOOK TREES ILLEGALLY AND ANOTHER FOUND THAT THEY ILLEGALLY LOGGED IN THE KALMIOPSIS WILDERNESS AT THE FLAT TOP SALE AS PART OF THE BISCUIT PROJECT. THEY DON'T SEEM LIKE PEOPLE TO TRUST TO ME. Don't you know that the promise made was not to develop or build more roads in these Roadless Areas, reverting to prior Roadless policies?? Don't people know that only 261 acres will be logged out of many, many thousands of roadless acres within the Biscuit Fire?? MIKE'S GULCH IS 261 ACRES MINIMUM PLUS ANOTHER 100 ACRES OPTIONAL TO THE BIDDER. BLACKBERRY, WHICH IS COMING IN AUGUST IS 1000 ACRES. THERE IS NO END TO HOW MANY OTHER ROADLESS AREAS BUSH WILL SELL-OFF IF THE PEOPLE LET HIM. Don't people know that helicopter fuel is also way up from 3 years ago and that the bids reflect some of that increase? THIS SALE HAS BEEN GIVEN AWAY BY THE GOVERNMENT FOR A VALUE FAR BELOW THOSE USED IN THEIR ANALYSIS JUSTIFYING THE DECISION TO LOG. Don't people realize that this seemingly endless obstructionism merely serves to reduce the amount of money which will go into offsetting the costs of restoration? THE GOVERNMENT IS LOSING MILLION OF DAOLLARS AND IS NOT RESTORING NATIVE FOREST. LET THEM PLANT IN THEIR MOOONSCAPE TREE PLANTATIONS THAT TORCHED LIKE ROMAN CANDLES. LEAVE THE NATURAL FOREST ALONE TO HEAL FASTEST NATURE'S WAY. THAT'S WHAT DECADES OF SCIENCE SHOWS ALWAYS HAPPENS. And, finally, don't people realize that only dead trees are being cut and that the largest and best snags are being left for wildlife, as per the project's EIS??? I HAVE PERSONALLY SEEN NUMEROUS GREEN TREES CUT IN OTHER SALES THAT WERE PART OF THIS PROJECT AND HAVE NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT WON'T CONTINUE HERE. I personally painted several giant 70+ inch diameter trees in the biggest unit out there. I SEE NOW. YOU GET PAID IF TIMBER SALES ON OUR PUBLIC LANDS GET LOGGED. YOUR PERSONAL FINANCIAL INTEREST MIGHT BE CLOUDING YOUR JUDGEMENT OR IT COULD BE THAT YOUR ASSOCIATES AREN'T ALWAYS GIVING YOU THE BEST INFORMATION GIVEN THEIR OWN FINANCIAL INTERESTS. Roadless Areas, in general, DON'T have much in the way of lucrative resources to extract. This is because if there had been, roads would have already been built to access those areas long ago. WRONG. ROADLESS AREAS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE FULL OF VALUABLE RESOURCES. TIMBER, MINERALS, OIL, GAS, COAL-BED METHANE. YOU NAME IT. THE REASONS THEY HAVEN'T BEEN EXPLOITED YET ARE MANY. CHIEF AMONG THEM ARE THE FACT THAT THEY GENERALLY ARE IN RUGGED AREAS WHERE ROADBUILDING IS DIFICULT AND EXPENSIVE. The few Roadless Areas that do have timber on them have always had those roadbuilding bans. NOPE. JUST PLAIN WRONG. THOSE 58.5 MILLION ACRES WERE IN MOST CASES PUT OFF LIMITS BY THE RULE BUSH OVERTURNED. I don't support building roads in any of them but, most National Forest plans DO require SOME annual timber volume to be harvested from Roadless Areas. NOPE AGAIN. SALE QUANTITIES NEVER IDENTIFY THE SPECIFIC AREAS WHERE THE TIMBER HAS TO COME FROM, JUST THE OVERALL QUANTITY PER MAJOR ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT. Most Forests simply make up for that volume somewhere else. To acheive a logging ban, each individual Forest Plan will have to be altered, through a very complicated process. BUSH IS ALTERING THE FOREST PLANS OF EVERY BLM ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT ON THE WESTSIDE. BUT HE IS NOT CREATING A BAN. HE IS WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE TIMBER INDUSTRY TO VASTLY EXPAND LOGGING ON OUR PUBLIC LANDS. THE PROCESS IS CALLED WOPR. Now that we have some facts, maybe people can make more informed opinions, instead of blindly accepting the dogma, rhetoric, and misdirection of partisan politics, from both sides. INDEED. I FULLY AGREE WITH THAT STATEMENT. FEEL FREE TO CITE SOURCES FOR ANY OF YOUR CLAIMS. THE ARTICLE ABOVE CITES THE UNDERSCERETARY, THE CONGRESSMAN AND THE GOVERNOR. I ALSO ADVISE YOU LOOK AT WOPR PLANNING DOCUMENTS, THE NATIONAL FOREST MANAGMENT ACT, THE 2001 ROADLESS CONSERVATION RULE, THE DONATO STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY AS PUBLISHED IN SCIENCE AND TRY WWW.OURFORESTS.ORG. tr> No wonder ya lose in court! 11.06.2006 - 09:25 Dogma, rhetoric AND ignorance?!?! Clinton was VERY careful NOT to exclude logging from his Roadless Rule, although he DID tighten the restrictions. Truthfully, I was alright with every one of the old rules. Bush's latest plan DOES scare me, though. Luckily, the Forest Service DOES have the final say, and salvage is probably the only way any logging will occur in a Roadless Area. Yes, the local Forest HAS made a few bad boo-boos with the Biscuit Fire. Forests WILL recover and life goes on. Yes, a few green trees DO get cut on the edges of the helicopter landings, for safety. Occasionally, a tree with a green branch will mistakenly get cut, as well. But, no wholesale logging of green trees can occur out there. I have NO financial interest in the logging of the Biscuit. I'm only concerned with forest restoration, and doing the least amount of damage on the least amount of ground. while I don't know too much about the BLM, I DO know all about the Forest Service. I've been all over many cutting units in the Biscuit projects and I know what I'm talking about. Obviously, you trust the newspapers and eco-groups who do NOT know what they're talking about. Try reading the actual text from the Roadless Rules and raise yourself up from the ignorance. BTW, are we going to base nationwide salvage policy on a mere 16 plot junk science study?? Now, THAT'S just plain stupidity. Check out the pics I've posted and you'll see that one size does NOT fit all!! Hotfeet> in addition.... 11.06.2006 - 11:51 I doubt that tr has any idea of road building costs, that is just a recite of the rhetoric spun previously. What about the roads already built in the "roadless" areas? Does anyone else see any irony in the definition of "roadless". Personally, I don't see any value in the current harvest, but that is due to the current decay. But earlier there was a montage of how the trees provide oxygen, shade, etc., how much O2 is being provided by the Biscuit? how many years, under mother natures regime will it take to re-establish the productive carbon sink? I'll just wait for the next cycle of fire to come ripping thru the area and into the adjacent communities, probably within the next 15 years and by then the preservationist's rhetoric will have only the need for one more nail in their coffin. Coralate the Silver Fire size with the Biscuit, and then expand that for the next round. You may want to, but you cannot ignore the primary reason the Biscuit grew as it did, it has nothing to do with private plantations, private and "managed" public land is where the fire was stopped. You folks speak out of both sides of your face and for what? You are damning our public lands to a state of destruction far worse than that of present day land management. Keep up the victories, we'll kep up pointing out the truth, the final say is at the ballot box and in case you haven't noticed, you didn't fair too well the last go round, nor the time before. Personally, I'd like to see another Carter for 4 years and then that would cinch a decent administration for at least 16. Chane Sau> Hotfeet is an Idiot 19.06.2006 - 10:43 Uh, hotfeet, you sound pretty stupid. You say logging was never prohibited in roadless areas? Look at the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, section 294.13 titled "Prohibition on timber cutting, sale, or removal in inventoried roadless areas." Do your homework, loser. Idiot-buster> Johnny can't read?!? 20.06.2006 - 05:16 While it DOES exclude conventional logging for green sawlogs, it doesn't ban the logging of "small diameter trees". I didn't see a diameter limit in there. For example, they could fly in a feller-buncher and cut smaller trees, then fly them out, if it would "maintain or improve the roadless characteristics". Go back to school, LOSER! Luckily, that's a moot point now, peoples. Deal with it! Hotfeet> Johnny can't read?!?! 20.06.2006 - 05:21 It states that "the cutting, sale and removal of small diameter trees" can be used to "maintain or improve roadless characteristics". Sounds like logging to me! Read it and weep, LOSER! Luckily, that's a moot point right now! Hotfeet> Hotfeet can't take the truth 20.06.2006 - 22:29 thanks to tr for consicely - and point by point - providing accurate and verifyable information that well refutes the foolishness and twisted justifications spewed forth by hotfeet, chane sau and company. So Hotfeet, me thinks thou doth protest too much! Also, I frequently notice the time frame that these losers (sorry, ya just cannot escape such a fitting label) make their posts, and it's oft office hour time... and you're not suppose to use federal computers on worktime for such foolishness, so maybe someone will ask for an investigation, yuck yuck yuck. Finally, while it takes this country awhile to wake up, clustered and cluttered as most folks are with all their material stuff, obligations, and distractions, still, people are stumblin forth from the misty Bush induced slumber -- myriad signs of this are vastly evident. Even mainstream americans can no longer ignore melting permafrost, calving glaciers, increased U.S. hurricane severity due in large part to WARMER gulf waters, not to mention crowded parks, rising land prices, etc. So the timber beasts oughtta just give it up, and find decent occupation that won't compel you all to lie to youselves and everybody else so much. You'll feel better. Don't doubt the increasing strength of the the light shining on our last remaining and long abused public lands. You're just not going to get away with shit anymore, and I think you know it. a raven> No wonder... 21.06.2006 - 05:10 you lose in court!! A lie won't fly in court. All ou people have is obstructionism and that will be going away sooner than you think. Yep, we went to school and learned this thing we call "science". What did you all learn in school?!? You accuse me of posting on a government computer on work time?!?! Well, it's currently 5:07 AM and I have several personal computers and my own Internet Service Provider. Get a frickin' clue!! The crux of this battle is: Will cutting dead trees harm the forest of benefit it, for everyone, for the long run?? I feel confident that we can prove our contentions in court using science. Bring it on! Hotfeet> In adddition 21.06.2006 - 20:22 Funny that ya'll can't seem to understand a "calender", either. Ummmm, two of my other postings were, ummmm, ON THE WEEKEND! Yes, although I do have a pathetic social life, I can't imagine how bad some of yours is, with all that cluelessness. Maybe it's all that Internet porn I noticed on this site's Statistics Page where a few viewers check it out before "cumming" here, to this site.....ROFL Methinks some doth blathereth too much here Hotfeet> Hey look at the time 22.06.2006 - 15:30 It's 3:15pm and for some of us the day is over, 10 hours in and the rest to relax. This is made possible by a wage unobtainable to federal employees. Maybe we should all crawl in our hole and hide from the global warming, but hey before we go maybe raven could tell us all how the last ice age ended. Explain how the loggers caused the extinction of the great beasts of yesteryear and melted the glaciers of California. I know it was probably all the exhaust from the saws we used back in 1000 B.C. It's pretty pathetic when you spout rhetoric that doesn't even hold water in your own media. Maybe you should check in on the recent extinction of frogs from bacteria, study up and investigate. Find out where and how then you can work it back to the loggers and use it in your next protest. While you're at it figure out how much oxygen production you will allow to be destroyed this summer, and how much the smoke from "natural fires" will contribute to the global warming. Try doing it before the day is half over and you still haven't had your first cup of coffee. As for the population seeing the light, well I'd say your right, and how did the last elections go for the liberals? Chane Sau> loser is too mild 26.06.2006 - 21:44 chane sau, hotfeet and all your other alter ego's, (you are probably all the same person) you are such a fool. I am betting the person who called you on your worktime submissions was refering (in whole) to an observation made over time, you can not dodge it, you idiot loser. voice of reason> More personal attacks?? 27.06.2006 - 05:07 Ahhhh, again the last resort of someone who cannot debate the issues. Go ahead and look back at my posting history! Ummmmm, I don't even HAVE an office!!! I'm out in the woods everyday, serving the public. The stuff I do here is also a public service I do gladly for free. Enlightenment can come from many sources and don't discount my knowledge and intentions. I'm all about forest health. In the distant past, well before I came here, I posted under my real name. I was even reported to the Chief of the Forest Service for using a government unternet service. I learned from that, although nothing ever came down from the Chief. Ironically, that was the same week he sent out a memo about lies and misinformation being spread on the Internet by activists, so I certainly felt vindicated. The truth is that I post using my own computer, my own ISP and my own time. DEAL WITH IT!!.....Prove me wrong....My experience and knowledge about what is right for our forests should be listened to. Otherwise, you're choosing to remain ignorant. BTW, look at my pictures posted in another thread. Learn something! Hotfeet> So sorry 28.06.2006 - 18:28 Well for the upteenth time I get accused of either being Hotfeet, Moon muffin, or some other obviously educated individual. To set the record straight I work for the private sector in several areas, all related to natural resources. I also have the honor of serving as a public official, hence the opportunity to listen to both sides on a regular basis. One thing is for certain, when a wacko can't debate on the facts, they resort to rhetoric and then to name calling, and ranting. An intelligent person can debate and at worst agree to disagree when the facts don't prove out. There are those on here with intelligence, Luna, Pogo, Student, Hotfeet and a few others, that can admit when they are wrong, or just tell you they don't agree and move on. These folks are often at odds with myself and each other, that's where the exchange of information begins. Then there are those like Mr. Ayers, Voice of reason, and what ever other name they want to use, who have an issue of mirroring, hence the name calling, and apparently can't debate their way out of a wet paper bag, and I love you guys - really, you serve the side of pro-management and general conservatives more than Rush himself, and actually more to the extreme. A quick read of your posts shows to all that you are uninformed and lack the ability to be a "voice of reason". But please don't take this wrong, continue on your mission, we will all benefit in the long run. Chane Sau> Oops 28.06.2006 - 18:39 Almost forgot - the submissions and the times, go back and check out the times, go back 12-18 months in the archives, if your really swift check out the locations they are sent from, then go ahead and report me to my boss...Oh ya that would be me, unless you are one of the people who voted me into office, then I guess you can cut my public office salary...oops, I forgot, I do it for the pure pleasure and no compensation. Well I guess as a final option you can just continue to whine when the facts don't fit story line your still trying to tell. And how about them Beavers!!!!!!!!! Chane Sau>