From:  American Lands Alliance
Date:   March 17, 2005

Siskiyou Roadless Logging Imminent

On Monday, March 7th, logging began in old-growth forest reserves in the
Babyfoot Lake/Fiddler Mountain area in the Siskiyou Wild Rivers Area, as
part of the Biscuit Logging Project on the Siskiyou National Forest in
Southwestern Oregon. This is the first time that logging of this magnitude
has occurred in old-growth forest reserves since the creation of the
Northwest Forest Plan over ten years ago.

 For photos of recent logging and what is at stake, go to:
http://www.americanlands.org/activistResources.php?subsection=Photo%20Librar
y&cat=1102008134

The Forest Service is using heavy-handed tactics to allow logging to take
place at any cost.  Nearly 50 citizens have been arrested in the past week
in an attempt to delay the logging with peaceful, non-violent road
blockades. On March 14th, 30 local women, including elders, church members
and conservationists, sat down on the a bridge over the Wild and Scenic
Illinois River on Monday morning to block logging trucks from entering
old-growth forest reserves in the Siskiyou Wild Rivers Area. The same day,
the Siskiyou National Forest closed off public access to 700 acres,
including road access, and access to popular trailheads and hiking in the
Fiddler area through July 1st.

In addition to logging in old growth reserves, the Forest Service plans to
start logging the Mike's Gulch timber sale, which is the first roadless sale
to be unleashed in the Biscuit Logging Project.  It will virtually clearcut
335 contiguous acres of roadless forest in the South Kalmiopsis Roadless
Area located near the spectacular Kalmiopis wilderness. This roadless area
also contains old growth forest reserves. The Mike's Gulch timber sale could
be auctioned within weeks.

According to the Forest Service, the Biscuit Project would degrade the
wilderness character of tens of thousands of acres of Inventoried Roadless
Areas through logging, Fuels Management Zones, artificial planting and other
deleterious management activities.  Fuels Management Zones (FMZs) would
create permanent, unnatural, linear areas of reduced canopy cover and
vegetation through roadless areas.  While some roadless forests would
decrease in size and be degraded, the Squaw Mountain Roadless Area would
essentially cease to exist should the proposed logging take place.

For a factsheet from the Siskiyou Project on roadless area threats, go to:
http://www.siskiyou.org/swrc/timbersales/Mikes_Gulch_roadless_area.cfm


Take Action Now!

With logging continuing in the old growth reserves and roadless logging
imminent, calls are needed from around the country to show wide spread
opposition.

Please call Senator Ron Wyden, Congressman Peter DeFazio and Oregon Governor
Ted Kulongoski and tell them that your are calling because you care about
the Siskiyou Wild Rivers Area, that this is a special place of national
significance and that you want their help:

1. To immediately halt the logging of old-growth reserves in the Siskiyou
and allow full judicial review.

2. To protect roadless Siskiyou forests by preventing the auction of
roadless and old growth logging sales like the Mike's Gulch timber sale.

Senator Ron Wyden
Portland: (503) 326-7525
DC: (202) 224-5244

Congressman Peter DeFazio
Oregon: 1-800-944-9603
DC: (202) 225-6416

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski
Phone: (503) 378-4582

For more details go to:
www.siskiyou.org
http://www.kswild.org
http://www.o2collective.org

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