Editorial: Sellout to timber companies

Monday, June 12, 2006 | 7:23 a.m.

The U.S. Forest Service on Friday took bids from logging companies for the rights to the timber in a 350-acre parcel of roadless forest in Oregon's Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. Industry and Forest Service officials say they just want to clear out salvageable wood damaged in a 2002 fire. The Forest Service aims to make a little money on the deal to help it restore some of the damage from the fire. But environmentalists say the logging would damage an unspoiled wilderness and hurt the wildlife that is making a comeback there.

The auction marks the latest development in a long-simmering dispute over roadless forests, mostly in the West. It was a significant development because it marked the first time the Bush administration has forged ahead with plans to open a roadless area since July 2004, when Bush overturned Clinton administration rules that banned roads and development on nearly 60 million acres, roughly one-third of the national forests.

A coalition of Western governors and environmental groups has been fighting the Bush rule change. They say logging strips the forests of some of its oldest trees. "They are changing it from a wild area to more of a tree farm operation," Wilderness Society forest advocate Rich Fairbanks told The Washington Post last week. He was a Forest Service officer who led recovery efforts after the 2002 fire.

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski opposes the logging plan, which would require clearing space for helicopters to land in order to fly the wood out to roads. The government plans to spend more than $130,000 to fix those roads, according to the auction terms. Forest Service officials say the federal government will make a small profit from the auction, but watchdog groups, including Taxpayers for Common Sense, doubt that.

In short, there isn't a good reason to allow timber companies into this area. It would exploit a precious environment for a small industry profit. Perhaps most significant , it could mark the beginning of more logging operations in roadless areas under the new Bush rules. We have strongly opposed those rules, which were a gift to some of Bush's big-money special interest supporters. National forests should be protected in their pristine state for all Americans to enjoy.