[papenfus]

Not news to those of you who know the area, but interesting to see how much support this request receives. Pretty hard to believe that what goes on up there is considered to be sustainable forestry.
http://sustainable-economy.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Plum-Creek-Inconsistent-Practices-Complaint.pdf

 

[CULVERSPEY]

Papefus,

Thanks for getting this online. I haven't read it all as yet, but am hoping it at least starts the ball rolling. I'm posting (again) a link to a thread from another forum I started on the most recent clear cutting.

It may not be the North Umpqua, but there are a lot more folks concerned about the Siletz than meets the eye. Please continue to keep those of who live out of the area up to date.

http://www.west-fly-fishing.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/735438/1.html

 

[papenfus]

Here is an image of the Upper Siletz taken from GE. The gradients on some of those harvested areas are pretty steep which might not be obvious from this image. The rivers comes into the image in the lower left hand corner. This is considered Sustainable Forestry and even gets labelled as such.

 

[CULVERSPEY]

Mostly 100% side slopes directly into the river from Moonshine up the gorge. What's almost worse is the age of the timber they've been cutting--35 years or less. Not sustainable for trees let alone for fish.

 

[freecast]

I cannot believe that Oregon has such archaic forestry laws! Only 20' buffer from a fish bearing stream and zero from non-fish bearing waters. There is no consideration for slope, high rainfall, or at risk species. You talk to most loggers and they will try to tell you that Oregon law is very strict.

 

[freecast]

By the way, Thanks for this post!! Doc

 

[Parera]

But hey, Oregon Forest Practices act is from the 1970s, totally using today's best science! Oh wait...

The Northwest Forest Plan (which is what is used for federal lands) is sort of out of date at this point as well. The lawmakers in Salem really don't care, sadly, it's all environmental posturing or trying to revive a culture of resource extraction.

 

[CULVERSPEY]

The OFPA was designed and engineered, like most regulations, by the parties that were supposed to be regulated, namely Weyerhaueser, etc. etc. And Oh, while they were writing it, back in the '70s, they were busy cutting all the timber, right down to the rivers they were supposed to be protecting. Then they sold off the land with the cut over riparian areas to companies who actually tried to do real forestry on the higher ground but with the new riparian restrictions in place, who have most recently been taken over by, guess who--Weyerhaueser, Plum Creek, etc. etc. ad infinitum.