Eightmile Meadow Timber Sale

Logging has begun in the Eight Mile Meadow Timber Sale. When complete, the result will be clearcuts totaling 222 acres in critical wildlife habitat and adjacent to two popular hiking trails in Mt. Hood ‘s eastern pine forests. Bark recently dismissed a lawsuit after a judge refused to stop the logging because 1) The Forest Service claims that the clearcuts are critical to create habitat for Northern spotted owls, and 2) The Forest Service released a document after the logging was planned explaining why clearcuts within 35ft. of a trail would not disturb the visual quality of the trail.Logging began on October 9, and it is unclear if it will be finished this year. If you would like to help Bark document the damage being done, please contact us at 503.331.0374 or info bark-out.org.

Bark’s Concerns

Eightmile Timber Sale area is best known for its wildlife habitat and for the trail running through it which is popular with mountain bikers. Eightmile is Categorical Exclusion timber sale (thank you Bush administration), cutting science, and the public, out of the decision making process. The result was a logging project conceived behind closed doors, with no benefit to Oregonians, the real owners of Mt. Hood. Some of the facts 1) On May 3, 2005, the Forest Service announced the Eightmile Timber Sale, explaining that it would salvage ‘ the value of lodgepole pine trees killed by pine beetles. On September 14, 2005 an internal Forest Service email revealed that just selling the dead pines for pulp would not bring in enough money to make the sale worth it. Then on March 2, 2006 the Forest Service in their final decision informed the public that half of the live western larch trees would also be logged (making the timber sale profitable).2) The Mt. Hood National Forest Management Plan requires the Forest Service to ensure ‘partial retention ‘ within 660ft of trails. The logging at Eightmile will log 90 of the trees and leave only a 75-foot buffer.3) The March final decision (the last document for the public to inspect) described the project as logging 1.2 million board feet of trees. Yet in the letter that went to timber companies planning to bid on the sale the Forest Service stated the total volume as 2.3 million board feet or twice what was originally proposed.’