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Groups File Lawsuit to Halt Salvage Logging on Santa Fe National Forest

Date
January 7, 2004
Contact
WildEarth Guardians
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Santa Fe, NM – WildEarth Guardians and Santa Fe Forest Watch filed a lawsuit in federal court on January 6th seeking to halt a salvage logging project that would harm sensitive wildlife on the Santa Fe National Forest west of Santa Fe. The money losing Lakes and BMG salvage logging project will harm the Mexican spotted owl, a species protected under the Endangered Species Act, as well as the state listed Jemez Mountains salamander and damage a natural fire recovery research site.

“The project has nothing to do with promoting forest health or protecting the public. It’s about giving away the public’s timber at fire sale prices and driving wildlife to extinction?plain and simple,” said John Horning, WildEarth Guardians’ Executive Director. “This is another example of the Bush Administration’s Holy War against New Mexico’s natural resources.”

“In its rush to sell public trees at a loss to private parties the Forest Service will encourage future arson fires. It’s a great a deal for loggers but a rotten one for the public, our wildlife and future generations of forest users,” said Greg Pollak, founder of Santa Fe Forest Watch.

The groups’ administrative appeal of the 950 acre Lakes and BMG salvage project was denied by the Forest Service last November. In its decision the Regional Forester in Albuquerque, NM incorrectly stated that Mexican spotted owls no longer occupied a “protected activity center” previously designated to the burned forest, and therefore would not harm the owl.

In fact last April a pair of owls was seen in the PAC by Forest Service biologists and last summer two, possibly three, fledglings were produced by the owl pair. The Mexican spotted owl recovery plan and Santa Fe Forest Plan prohibit salvage logging in PACs if owls occupy them.

The Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service repeatedly stated during the analysis of the project’s environmental effects that the owl PAC was “completely destroyed.” This was done because salvage logging is only allowed in PACs when they have been destroyed by fire. However, the PAC was obviously not destroyed. Owls continue to occupy the site and successfully reproduce. Researchers in New Mexico and elsewhere have repeatedly found that even high intensity fires have little short-term impact on spotted owl site fidelity and reproductive success.

“It’s wrong to assume that wildlife habitat and especially owl habitat is destroyed by fire,” said Horning. “Owl habitat could actually improve because their prey is more exposed. The real problem for owl survival is salvage logging which takes most of the large trees that owls require,” Horning added.

New Mexico Game and Fish Department opposes the salvage logging project because it will harm the Jemez mountains salamander, a rare species on New Mexico’s threatened species list. The Department requested that cutting units on the Sandoval Ridge portion of the timber sale be dropped because they would damage “essential” salamander habitat. Essential salamander habitat overlaps the owl PAC. Despite these objections, the Forest Service insisted on logging the old growth forest that is unique to Sandoval Ridge.

The proposal also calls for logging most of a research area on Lake Mesa designed to study the effects of natural fire recovery on vegetation, invasive plants and soils. Scientists from Northern Arizona University conducting the research objected to the logging proposal stating: “the area now has tremendous research value?.worth more for understanding fire effects than its puny salvage value given the diameters, wood quality and haul distances.” The Forest Service ignored these concerns.

The Lakes fire started on August 26, 2002 from an abandoned campfire south of Fenton Lake State Park. A total of 4256 acres on public and private land burned, 78 percent of which was low to moderate severity. The 500 acre BMG fire burned in June 2002 near Cuba, New Mexico. The Lakes and BMG wildlife timber salvage project plans to log 950 acres and produce 4 million board feet of timber (800 logging trucks). The Sandoval Ridge portion of the project was recently sold to Holliday Timber Products in Edgewood, New Mexico, for the minimum bid of $1 per hundred cubic feet or $1622.

The project will lose at least $35,000 in direct costs to the U.S. taxpayer.

Go here for a copy of the complaint.