Upper Timber Sale

This photo is taken within the Upper Timber Sale soon after the commission of a logging road. The road is mostly sand and gravel and exposed sediment. Many trees are cut closest to the road.

The Roads are punched in, trees cut for landings, but logging of the units had not yet begun as of (12/17/04), but appears to have started now. The Upper Timber Sale was auctioned on March 7,2003. The high bidder was Rosboro Lumber for $600,758.50 or 90 ccf weighted average per ccf. This sale has major riparian issues – with only 30 ft buffers recommended on the abundant streams in the unit. One of the proposed temporary roads crosses a stream-bed. This sale contains beautiful native forest surrounded on several sides by the old Boyer Creek thin – a hideous example of what the whole area will look like if the Upper sale proceeds as planned.

Bark’s Concerns

While only 30 foot buffers would be placed on non-fish bearing streams, seeps, springs or wet areas great than 1 acre, cutting may begin on seeps, springs and wet areas less than 1 acre at the very edge of riparian vegetation (devils club, salmonberry, skunk cabbage etc). The no cut buffer would only include the first row of coniferous trees. One wonders what exactly their definition of mature forest ” characteristics is. Does it depend only on tree size or are healthy soil and species diversity included in the desired mix? There is fertilization of all the matrix lands – which is very worrisome as some of the land is on very steep slopes above the riparian areas. This seems a situation likely to contaminate riparian reserves with both fertilizer and erosion.”

Resources for Comment-Writing

Roads

600 ‘ to access Unit 3. 400 feet of Level One secified road to access Units 1 and 2. 500 feet of permanent road and 2300 feet of temporary road to access Units 5,6, and 7. 25 feet of road will be in the Riparian Reserve of Unit 5. Reconstruct Outside fillslope on Forest Roads 4610 and 4610150 Spot rock portions of Forest Roads 4610130, 4610150 and 4610151 to reduce sedimentation.

Habitats & Species

T&E Species: NSO 1998 Bi-Op, Red Legged Frog, Lower Columbia Steelhead, Lower Columbia Coho
Other Species: Lower Columbia Spring Chinook, Lower Columbia River Cutthroat Trout

Associated Files