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 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]