Governor Kulongoski Will Try to Halt Federal Timber Sale

Earlier this year, Oregon and three other states filed suit in federal court over the repeal of the 2001 roadless rule and the adoption of the 2005 rule. Briefs have been filed and the case is slated for oral arguments in the Federal District Court on August 1st.

The Siskiyou National Forest Photo Courtesy: rogueimc.org

(SALEM) - Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski says he will file for a temporary restraining order in the Federal District Court in San Francisco to stop the federal government from proceeding with the sale of timber in the South Kalmiopsis Roadless Area of the Siskiyou National Forest.

Citing the need to protect roadless areas in the region of the 2002 Biscuit fire, Governor Kulongoski said that today`s federal timber auction would foreclose his ability to influence the management of Oregon`s unroaded national forests when he petitions the federal government later this year.

The U.S. Forest Service is moving forward with the timber sale despite the Governor`s March 9th letter requesting the agency not do so.

"This timber sale, coming four years after the Biscuit Fire occurred, is unneeded and unwise," said Governor Kulongoski. "Opening this particular roadless area to salvage logging now � when we are in the process of preparing a petition to the federal government on the proper management of those areas- contradicts the assurances the Bush Administration has made that the governors` opinions on such issues will be respected."

A temporary restraining order would preserve the status quo during the court proceedings and prevent any irreparable harm that would result from the logging.

"Allowing this sale to go forward would result in irreversible harm that this lawsuit seeks to avoid," the Governor said. "He also questioned the value of the trees that could be harvested from the area of the Biscuit Fire."

The Governor has asked Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers to file for a temporary restraining order when it became clear that the timber auction had produced a potential buyer for the area known as Mike`s Gulch, which encompasses about 400 acres of forest.

If the sale proceeds, it will be the first time that the federal government has logged in roadless areas since a new rule regarding such lands was adopted by the Bush Administration in 2005.

The rule allows for an 18 month period in which governors can petition for continued protection of unroaded forestlands previously protected by the 2001 Roadless Rule that was repealed in 2005. Governor Kulongoski opposed repeal of the 2001 Rule and expressed serious concerns about the rule that replaced it. He has also consistently supported placing Oregon`s 1.9 million acres of roadless areas back into protected status.

"I am not against salvage logging and restoration; in the right time and in the right place," said Governor Kulongoski. "But salvage logging in the Biscuit now is not the right time and not the right place."