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Logging on slopes up for vote
From The Oregonian, Jan. 24, 2003, p B4 (Metro)
Logging on slopes up for vote Environmentalists protest as Oregon weighs whether to stop requiring approval when landslides are a risk By MICHAEL MILSTEIN, The Oregonian The Oregon Board of Forestry on Monday will consider eliminating the requirement that the state forester must approve logging on steep slopes where landslides are a hazard. The move comes in response to a federal court ruling in December that said the state must ensure that private logging it approves under the state Forest Practices Act complies with the tougher federal Endangered Species Act. State forestry officials charaterized the proposed rule change as a shift in process that would not lower the environmental standards outlined by the state act, which all logging operations must follow. Conservation groups called it an end run around wildlife protections. The groups filed the lawsuit that led to the December ruling. Their suit alleged that the state regularly approves logging projects on steep slopes and along rivers that harm coho salmon protected under the Endangered Species Act. "Instead of trying to address the problem, they're trying to avoid it altogether," said Mary Scurlock of the Pacific Rivers Council. An outline of the proposed rule drafted by the Oregon Department of Forestry says the conservation groups are using the lawsuit "to reform the policy judgments" of the Board of Forestry and the state Legislature. It says the "ultimate goal" of the case is to make state forestry officials enforce the federal endangered species act. Loggers now must obtain state approval before they cut on steep slopes prone to landslides, a safeguard meant to avoid cutting that could accelerate erosion and trigger slides. The proposed rule would eliminate that mandate without changing the basic logging standards for such areas. The change would break any "causal connection" between the state forester's approval and alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act, the department's outline says. Loggers would have to make sure they comply with the law. At a special meeting Monday in Salem, the Board of Forestry will hold a closed session with attorneys and then consider the proposed rule. No public comment will be permitted onthe proposal. State law allows temporary rules to be enacted without public comment. If approved, the rule would apply for six months. On Monday, the board also will consider beginning the process for permanently changing the rule. In addition, board members will discuss hiring a state forester to replace Jim Brown, who is resigning to become Gov. Ted Kulongoski's natural resources adviser. The public part of the meeting will begin at 2:30 p.m. at the Cornerstone Place, 2809 Market St. N.E., in Salem. Posted as a courtesy by Daniel B. Wheeler www.oregonwhitetruffles.com |
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