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Salvage Logging Proposed For Parts Of The Chetco Bar Fire Area

The Chetco Bar Fire on August 16, 2017
INCIWEB.NWCG.GOV
The Chetco Bar Fire on August 16, 2017

The US Forest Service is proposing to log trees killed or damaged in last year’s Chetco Bar fire.

Chetco Bar was by far Oregon’s largest wildfire in 2017, burning just over 191,000 acres in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. Jessie Berner is the Chetco Bar Coordinator for the Forest.

"We are trying to capture the value of those trees to try to recoup some of the economic value of that timber in support of our local communities," she says.

Forest Service managers ruled out wilderness, roadless areas, streamside zones and other protected areas, limiting possible salvage logging to land already designated for timber harvest.

Now, a draft environmental analysis is proposing salvage on just over 4,000 acres of badly-burned forest.

Conservationists urge consideration of a more modest alternative to protect fish and water quality in the Chetco River. George Sexton is with with the Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center in Ashland.

"What we know about post-fire clearcut logging and water quality is that the more you clearcut, the more you harm the watershed," he says.

Others, including local elected officials, have pushed for larger-scale post-fire logging than the 4,090 acres the Forest Service is proposing

"A lot of folks are not happy with that," says Jessie Berner. "They feel like it’s too low and that we should be looking at a larger area."

After a 30-day comment period, the Forest Service will make a decision. Managers hope to get the project underway before the end of summer.

Copyright 2018 Jefferson Public Radio

Liam Moriarty
Liam Moriarty has been covering news in the Pacific Northwest for more than 25 years. He's reported on a wide range of topics – including politics, the environment, business, social issues and more – for newspapers, magazines, public radio and digital platforms. Liam was JPR News Director from 2002 to 2005, reporting and producing the Jefferson Daily regional news magazine. After covering the environment in Seattle, then reporting on European issues from France, he returned to JPR in 2013 to cover the stories and issues that are important to the people of Southern Oregon and Northern California. Liam was promoted to JPR News Director on May 1, 2019.