The Bureau of Land Management plansto go ahead with salvage logging of 910 acres in areas burned by the Holiday Farm Fire last September.
Under new federal rules, the BLM can speed up the review process for what it calls salvage logging of burned trees. This alarmed conservation groups, including Cascadia Wildlands in Eugene. Wildlands Director Rebecca White said they plan to appeal the decision.
“The agency has decided to move forward without environmental review despite the significant impacts of post-fire logging,” White said.
“And now the agency and by extension the public is in the dark about potential harm to threatened Chinook, spotted owls, as well as water quality impacts to the McKenzie River.”
In its decision announced last week, the BLM said the project did not have significant impacts on human health, wildlife, or water. It plans to start timber sales this summer.
The Holiday Farm Fire started on September 7, 2020. It burned more than 173,000 acres west of McKenzie Bridge, destroying most of the town of Blue River. The BLM said aproximately 18,528 acres of land it manages was burnt in the fast-moving fire. The agency said it will log 910 acres affected by the fire in six timber sales over three years. It is required under the federal O & C Act to conduct timber harvests.
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