Background

Biscuit Salvage Logging

Regrowth of burn area in Biscuit fire area, Siskiyou National Forest

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The Siskiyou Wild Rivers area in southwest Oregon and extreme northern California has the largest concentration of intact, roadless forest and watersheds on the Pacific Coast of the contiguous United States. Several wild, unspoiled rivers thunder through the mountainous landscape. The unusual soils and biological diversity in these wild lands -- including 281 species of plants found nowhere else on earth, rare orchids, the insect-eating cobra plant, some of the last healthy wild runs of salmon in the continental United States, bald eagles, northern spotted owls, and mountain lions -- has led the World Wildlife Fund to name it as a "globally outstanding ecoregion requiring immediate protection or restoration." This area was considered for national monument designation in 2000.

In July of 2002, a fire sparked by lightning raged through this area, mostly through the Siskiyou National Forest. Known as the Biscuit Fire, it burned for 120 days. It was the largest and most expensive fire in Oregon's history, burning in a mosaic pattern across an area that encompasses 500,000 acres, much in designated wilderness areas. Much of the area within the fire perimeter didn't burn at all.

The Forest Service at first planned to log around 100 million board feet of timber but later boosted this to over 500 million before meeting a firestorm of criticism and eventually setting their sites on some 380 million board feet, still making it one of the biggest timber sales on record.  Some of this timber would be logged in roadless areas with habitat reserved for salmon, spotted owls, and other species associated with old growth forests. Other timber would come from large stands of ancient forest which also provide unique habitat.

The stated rationale was that income from the timber sales would help the local economy and that the logging would not cause additional harm.  There are two fundamental problems with that argument.

There is considerable scientific evidence that salvage logging may do more ecological harm than good. In the area of the Biscuit Fire, logging on the steep hillsides would lead to erosion and send choking silt into streams that support important salmon runs. Even other federal agencies have come out against the proposed logging plan. The EPA, for example, warned that the logging plan would harm the Siskiyou's wild and scenic rivers and wilderness, noting the choking silt will cause potentially lethal spikes in temperature to the cold mountain streams the salmon need. Construction and use of logging roads would also hasten the spread of Phytophthora lateralis, a disease that is decimating the graceful Port Orford cedar. The Fish and Wildlife Service warned of the threat salvage logging in roadless areas poses to important habitat for endangered species in the region.

There is also considerable debate regarding the value of post-fire logging as a method of restoration of the forest. Burned logs provide attractive habitat and nesting sites for many species of insects and birds. Post-fire logging can actually increase fire danger, by removing older, well-established trees and encouraging less-fire-resistant growth. Logging also produces "slash" (tree tops, limbs, and needles) which is extremely flammable when dry. Slash can inhibit plant growth necessary to stabilize the soils after a fire.

The environmental impact of salvage logging in the Biscuit Fire area will be severe, but the economic impact of the proposed logging scheme will only add to the pain.

A recent report by ECONorthwest, an independent consulting firm, reveals that not only will the proposed timber sale not provide the revenue projected by the Forest Service, but will force the American taxpayer to subsidize the sale to the tune of millions of dollars -- essentially making the Biscuit Fire even costlier, long after the flames have gone out.

According to this report, the Forest Service ignores the economic effect of flooding the marketplace with timber, assumes that the value of burned timber is the same as "green" timber, consistently low-balls the estimate of overhead costs, and downplays the administrative and clean up costs associated for the sale.

Earthjustice sued on behalf of conservation groups to challenge the logging in the roadless and late successional reserves.  This effort is currently on appeal before the 9th Circuit.

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The logging, erosion, regeneration and beautiful forest clips were shot in mid-May, 2004 inside the burn perimeter by crews hired by conservation groups to document the condition of the area. The fire mosaic shots were taken in spring 2004.
Mosaic burn pattern in Biscuit fire area, Siskiyou National Forest	Wildland fires always burn in a mosaic pattern. Within the burn boundary there are large areas that are only moderately or lightly burned and other areas that were not even touched by flames. Only about 16 percent of the affected landscape in the Biscuit Fire burned at a high intensity.
Regrowth of burn area in Biscuit fire area, Siskiyou National Forest	Recovery has already begun. Some plants sprout from the roots that survived the fire. Logging actually disrupts that natural recovery by disturbing the soil, promoting erosion and killing the seedlings that have already sprouted in the burned areas.
Trillium blooming in Siskiyou National Forest	The Siskiyou Wild Rivers Area is a rugged, mountainous landscape in southwest Oregon known for its rushing rivers, wild salmon runs and large tracts of unspoiled wilderness. It is also one of the most biologically rich areas in North America, if not the world.
Fishing in Biscuit fire area, Siskiyou National Forest	Five of the Siskiyou's Rivers have National Wild and Scenic status. Its rivers are also world renowned for fishing, kayaking and rafting.
Erosion caused by logging in Biscuit fire area, Siskiyou National Forest	Logging promotes erosion because logs are dragged over the ground ripping out plants that anchor the soil. The Siskiyou Wild Rivers Area is especially vulnerable to erosion because of heavy rainfall and very steep ground.