Klamath Westside salvage project

I thought this article provided a succinct overview of the state of salvage logging in California.  I was curious about what kind of a logging project the Center for Biological Diversity and local environmental groups were supporting.

Table 11 in the ROD shows that the tribal alternative they supported would harvest about 2000 acres. The selected alternative would log three times that.  Why did the Forest Service pick the latter over the former?

“As shown in Table 12 (sic), there is considerable overlap between the Karuk Alternative and the Selected Alternative;”

Did the FS miss the obvious point here?  That the magnitude of the project is the problem because it would affect water quality and salmon runs?  (Or is this what “pound sand” means?)

It was also interesting to read the earlier letter from the Karuk Tribe chairman that describes the tribal interest in prescribed fires.  I wonder if the Forest Service has considered managing the historic tribal lands for “production of acorns, wild game, medicinal plants and basketry materials,” among its multiple uses.

2 thoughts on “Klamath Westside salvage project”

  1. Kind of a typical article and response you would expect for the anti-logging sides. Maybe the Karuk are upset because Congress haven’t given them enough of their lands back yet. If they had, I am pretty sure they would be cutting away.
    Once again it is hard to imagine the size of the fire and the areas of total mortality. The Forest Service proposal is not massive. It is very conservative and covers only a small part of the area that burned.
    Most of the logging on the steeper slopes was going to be by helicopter and even then it was limited to small units that stayed out of all the draws. (Where most the best dead timber is.)
    We will have to wait and see if any of it ever gets harvested. This area is need of employment and it would of been great to see the social economic benefits, along with good forest management, that could of come from this salvage project. Now you have most of the roads in the area closed due to hazards and wash outs. The fire sure didn’t help the appeal of the area.
    Anyways you won’t have to worry about there being enough dead trees being left, there will millions of them.

    Reply
    • We always want our land back, and not so we can log it.

      If you want economic benefit and area “appeal” we should be talking dam removal and Tribal forest management.

      Reply

Leave a Comment