Press Release-Blue Alder Timber Sale

October 3, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  

     Barry Rosenberg, Kootenai Environmental Alliance, (208) 667-9093

     Mike Petersen, The Lands Council, (509) 209-2406

THE FOREST SERVICE DECEIVES THE PUBLIC ON THE BLUE ALDER TIMBER SALE

The Kootenai Environmental Alliance claims the Idaho Panhandle National Forests intentionally deceived the public and the Coeur d’Alene Forestry Coalition about the type of logging proposed for the Blue Alder timber sale, located in the Wolf Lodge Creek Drainage on the Coeur d’Alene River Ranger District.

The Environmental Assessment for the Blue Alder timber sale stated that it will require that 40 percent of a logging unit will not have any logging activities and 60 percent of the logging unit will have limited retention of vegetation ranging from individual trees to large clumps of trees.
It is a different story on the ground.

“This is business as usual for the CdA District,” said Barry Rosenberg, executive director of the Kootenai Environmental Alliance, after visiting two proposed logging units during a Forest Service tour in August. “Neither of the units had 40% of unlogged retention areas.”
The plan for one of the units calls for cutting all trees with the exception of Douglas fir over 21” in diameter, white pine and larch.

“Most of the trees on this unit are planned to be cut since there are no white pine, very little Doug fir 21” or greater, and widely scattered larch. This 40-acre native, previously unlogged forest will be logged in a clearcut-like manner. There was no 40% retention of trees as promised by the Forest Service. To make matters worse, the unit is bordered on two sides by large 10 year old clearcuts resulting in a forest opening of 130 acres. I believe the Forest Service chose this unit because it is representative of the logging plans for many of the units on the sale,” said Rosenberg.

The Coeur d’Alene Forestry Coalition, a collaborative group composed of representatives of the timber industry, two environmental groups and concerned citizens, worked with the Forest Service for two years designing the Blue Alder timber sale on the Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District. According to some members of the group, the logging plan is a major disappointment.

Mike Petersen, executive director of The Lands Council and a member of the collaborative group said, “We thought the Environmental Assessment was promising and indicated a change in direction for the Forest Service, but we were very disappointed when we looked at the logging units on the ground."

KEA chose not to participate in the collaborative process because they had seen no indication that the IPNF is willing to change its logging methods, and because the sale is proposed in an area where the streams are already laden with sediment. 

“Another disconcerting factor is that the Forest Service reduced the acreage to be logged by over 300 acres below what was stated in the Blue Alder Environmental Assessment, yet the volume of trees to be cut increased from nine million board feet to 11,700,000 board feet. That’s because lots of very large trees are proposed to be logged,” said Rosenberg. The new total works out to be about 2,340 logging truck loads.”

“These deceptive practices perpetuate the public’s distrust of the Forest Service,” concluded Rosenberg.