And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: "Wild Rockies Alerts" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ACTION ALERT: ON EVE OF LEWIS AND CLARK BICENTENNIAL, CLEARWATER NATIONAL FOREST PLANS TO LOG OVER 8,000 ACRES NEAR ONLY REMAINING ROADLESS PORTION OF LEWIS AND CLARK TRAIL September, 1999: Idaho's Clearwater National Forest (CNF) just released a plan to log 75 million board-feet on 8,280 acres, within and adjacent to the North Lochsa Slope Roadless Area. This area contains the only remaining roadless portion of the historic Lewis and Clark trail as well as the proposed Lewis and Clark Wilderness Area. Lewis and Clark journeyed across the country in 1805, so the logging would be just in time for the Lewis and Clark bicentennial celebrations happening around the region. Comments are accepted on the North Lochsa Face Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) until October 8, 1999. Let the CNF know that such a massive logging project is inappropriate anytime on the fragile soils of the Clearwater National Forest, but especially during the bicentennial. The North Lochsa Face FEIS describes plans to: *Commercially log 8,280 acres of land, an estimated 75 million board-feet. The methods used will be approximately 50% skyline hauling, 25% tractor hauling, and 25% helicopter logging. *Precommercially thin an additional 1,290 acres. *Log an additional 2,250 acres under the guise of "off-site species conversion," which is clearcutting of ponderosa pine planted in the 1930's which was originally obtained from an off-site location. *Unspecified amounts of noxious weed control including manual pulling, herbicide spraying, and the release of biocontrol agents (predatory insects). *600 acres of streamside tree plantings along Pete King and Fish Creeks. *Allows motorized use in all current areas. Send comments to: Cynthia Lane, District Ranger, Lochsa Ranger District, Rt. 1, Box 398, Kooskia ID 83539, by October 8, 1999. Suggested comment points include: *This sale is massive in size. It is nearly as large as all Cove/Mallard sales combined, which was until recently the largest timber sale in the history of Region 1. It proposes to log nearly 8,000 acres of forest. The Forest Service is supposed to be in a more enlightened era when the health of watersheds comes first. If this is so, why are they proposing this abomination along the Lochsa Wild and Scenic River and scenic Highway 12 corridor, near Lewis and Clark's trail, during the Lewis and Clark bicentennial years? *The forest the sale would destroy is one of the final refuges in the entire country for wilderness-dependent carnivores such as wolverine, fisher, and possibly lynx. There have been 4 sightings of wolverine in the project area! If the Forest Service values these rare species, it will not obliterate their habitat. *Numerous other threatened, endangered, and sensitive species reside in the project area, and the extensive logging will destroy thousands of acres of their prime habitat. The species include bald eagle, black-backed woodpecker, Coeur d'Alene salamander, fisher, flammulated owl, northern goshawk, and more. *The proposed logging is on the same type of steep slopes that failed so dramatically in the landslides of 1995-1996. Of course, these slopes will carry similar landslide potential. *Fish Creek is known as one of the most important steelhead spawning grounds in the entire state of Idaho. Most of the Fish Creek watershed is proposed Wilderness, except for a small portion of its headwaters. The Forest Service plans to log 460 acres in this portion! The logging (mostly clearcuts) will cause sedimentation in Fish Creek which will damage the spawning grounds. *The Fish Creek roadless area is also famed for its elk herds. Hunters come from hours away to hunt the elk there. Elk rely on a delicate balance between forage ground and forest, and this sale will disrupt that. *Releasing nonnative insects for biocontrol is very risky. Many times this has occurred, the insects switch host plants and end up eating native vegetation, disrupting natural predator/prey relationships. This plan to release unnamed biocontrol insects in or adjacent to proposed wilderness is dangerous and is contrary to the Wilderness Act. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Friends of the Clearwater PO Box 9241 Moscow, ID 83843 (208) 882-9755 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] OR Idaho Conservation League, North Idaho Office PO Box 9783 Moscow, ID 83843 (208) 882-1010 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
