Of Northern Spotted Owls, Marbled Murrelets, and Logging Road Pollution

Of Northern Spotted Owls, Marbled Murrelets, and Logging Road Pollution

The timber industry in Oregon continues to struggle.  The need for jobs and revenue has given timber companies the best opportunity in years to encourage state politicians to find ways to increase timber production. 

For example, “ …Oregon Congressmen Greg Walden (R-Hood River), Peter DeFazio (D-Springfield), and Kurt Schrader (D-Canby) are working on a bill that would pass control of 1.4 million acres managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to the state of Oregon. They will argue that the state can do a better job implementing sustainable forest management practices than the federal government can.” http://naturalresourcereport.com/2012/11/good-news-for-oregon-timber/

Governor Kitzhaber also convened a council “to address challenges facing O & C counties in Oregon.  The Governor asked the group to build on existing proposals and develop recommendations that help Oregon counties improve financial stability, ensure adequate sources of timber that support local mills and jobs, and meet Oregon’s water and land conservation goals. He expects the group to craft a proposal to take to the Oregon delegation and Congress in early 2013.”  The membership and focus of this committee is on jobs in the timber industry without any representation from those businesses involved in tourism, recreation, lodging and educational programs which may be negatively impacted by increased timber harvesting. http://www.oregon.gov/gov/media_room/Pages/press_releasesp2012/press_101112.aspx

Based on the membership of the O&C Council, I’m skeptical of what they might recommend.  It is not the year 2000, nor 1980, nor even 1960.  The timber industry and government officials in Oregon will be disappointed if their revenue plans fail to adequately address new businesses, environmental issues, and take a stewardship approach that encourages public collaboration and participation.   I believe that the Federal government could be doing a better job at managing the public forests but I also question any state or county ability unless the local citizens are sufficiently involved.

A number of related developments have occurred recently.

Northern Spotted Owls – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated 9.6 million acres of critical habitat for the northern spotted owl in Nov. 2012, nearly double the last designation in 2008.”  http://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/Species/Data/NorthernSpottedOwl/CriticalHabitat/default.asp

Marbled Murrelets – “A federal judge has put 11 state forest timber sales on hold while she considers a lawsuit contending they threaten the survival of the marbled murrelet, a protected seabird that nests in old-growth forests.” http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2012/11/federal_judge_halts_11_oregon.html

Logging Road Pollution – The Supreme Court was scheduled to hear the case of logging road pollution this past Monday (Dec 3^rd).  This case has been bouncing up the legal food chain for six years.  The gist of the argument is that logging companies need to improve the management of runoff from logging roads under the Clean Water Act.  The Ninth Circuit Court agreed and this is the issue that was to be heard.  However, on Nov 30^th, the EPA modified its regulations to treat the runoff from logging roads under more lax regulation.  The Supremes were not pleased with the EPA making this change just before they were ready to hear arguments on this issue.  It’s not at all clear what will happen now.  The Oregonian article on this  http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2012/12/us_supreme_court_may_punt_on_o.html

Horseshoe Timber Sale – The USFS is considering to log a portion of area called Horseshoe (which is a wedge of unprotected land surrounded on all sides by designated wilderness and other area with special protections: Mt. Hood Wilderness to the east and south, Bull Run Management Unit to the north, Wild and Scenic Sandy River and Mt. Hood Scenic Corridor to the south).  It remains to be seen whether or not USFS goes ahead with the planned sale.

Mountain Bike Park at Timberline – The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) went through a lengthy comment period and in Nov decided to go ahead and approve a mountain biking skills park on Mt. Hood.  We expect environmental organizations will appeal this decision.

Less Snow Less Revenue – Interesting article in The NY Times http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/07/warming-slopes-shriveling-revenues/