Public Opposes Biscuit Fire Logging Project

WASHINGTON, DC, May 17, 2004 (ENS) - Some 95 percent of public comments received by the U.S. Forest Service oppose the Bush administration's preferred alternative for logging in the Siskiyou National Forest, according to a report released by conservation groups.

The comments came in response to a proposal made by the Bush administration last November to embark on a massive logging project in the area burned by the 2002 Biscuit Fire.

The fire ravaged some 500,000 acres in southwest Oregon 2002, much of it in the Siskiyou National Forest.

The plan is one of the largest proposed timber sales in U.S. history - it would allow the logging of 518 million board feet, including old growth trees and timber from roadless areas.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and prominent scientists have all raised concerns that the logging would harm water quality in streams, destroy habitat for endangered species, and diminish the values of old growth forests.

"The public does not want to see massive logging of the Siskiyou Wild Rivers Area," said Bill Meadows, president of The Wilderness Society, which, along with the Siskiyou Project, sponsored the review of the public comments for the timber sale.

"This area is one of the most valuable natural wonders in the United States, and we should not destroy it with a heavy-handed approach to logging," said Meadows.

The analysis found that out of 22,856 public comments, 95 percent oppose the Forest Service's preferred alternative and 90 percent support a more balanced restoration alternative with far less logging.

In addition, 82 percent of personally written letters, oppose the Forest Service's preferred alternative.

"The public opposition to this timber sale is simply overwhelming," said Don Smith, executive director of the Siskiyou Project.

The Forest Service is expected to issue a final decision in June.