Old-growth forest proposed for logging in unit 26-3. The Pickett West Timber Sale is a massive timber management project proposed by the Grants Pass BLM. The project spans across much of interior southwestern Oregon, from Galice and Graves Creek on the Rogue River, to the lower Applegate Valley, and south to the Deer Creek drainage in Selma, Oregon.  The BLM is proposing to log thousands of acres of old forest in the mountains surrounding the community of Selma, Oregon. The project proposes to convert closed-canopy, old-growth forest into open-canopied, late-seral habitat by reducing canopy cover to as little as 30%. In many places this will require the removal of the majority of dominant overstory trees and the elimination of Northern Spotted Owl habitat.  The BLM has proposed four units in section 26 at the headwaters of Camp Creek and an unnamed drainage to the south, a tributary of Haven Creek. The area supports hundreds of acres of contiguous, intact,...

The Gap Fire burned at characteristic fire severity in the subalpine forests adjacent to Condrey Mountain on the Siskiyou Crest. The area is renowned for its biodiversity and represents a vital connectivity corridor linking the major mountain ranges of the West Coast. The Klamath National Forest (KNF) has released a Draft Record of Decision for the ironically named “Horse Creek Community Protection and Forest Restoration Project.” The project is actually a clearcut, post-fire logging project cloaked in the newest euphemisms of “restoration” and “community protection.” Despite the misleading language, the real motivations become crystal clear when one actually visits the units proposed for clear-cut, post-fire logging.  The Gap Fire of 2016 burned from the banks of the Klamath River to the Siskiyou Crest near Condrey Mountain and Dry Lake Mountain. The fire burned fast and furious the first few days, burning with intensity as it ran...

This large Douglas fir tree will be logged in unit 28-4.  The Pickett West Timber Sale is so huge that it will likely be broken up into numerous timber sales when auctioned off to the highest bidder. The BLM has not even finished the comment period for the Pickett West Timber Sale, but has moved forward with timber sale marking and design in the first timber sale. The first sale proposed by the BLM is called the Pickett Hog Timber Sale and will extend from Pickett Creek on the Rogue River, downstream to Hog Creek and Hellgate Canyon.  South Fork Panther Gulch Recently, I hiked into two units in Panther Gulch, a tributary of Pickett Creek and a beautiful little canyon of oak woodland, forests of sugar pine and Douglas fir, bedrock cascades and stark serpentine openings studded with jeffery pine.  The area is diverse and relatively intact. The lower portion of Panther Gulch was roaded and logged many years ago. The upper portion of the canyon is...

A view into Ruch, Oregon from the East Applegate Ridge Trail (ART). The Applegate Trails Association (ATA) has released “Walking the Wild Applegate” to viewers online. The film documents the first thru-hike on the Jack-Ash and Applegate Ridge Trails. Together, the non-motorized trail system will connect the communities of Grants Pass and Ashland, Oregon. The trails will extend over 80 miles through the rugged foothills of the Applegate Valley, including the Dakubetede, McDonald Peak and Wellington Butte Roadless Areas. ATA has also released a link to an online petition in support of the Applegate Ridge Trail. We need a showing of support to continue building trail. We are working to gain approval through the Medford District BLM on the next section of trail. We believe BLM needs a little positive reinforcement. Please sign on in support of the trail! Please, sit back, enjoy the film and the beautiful scenery of the Siskiyou Mountains. After seeing the...

Unit 10-1 of the Pickett West Timber Sale is located on Zig-Zag Creek in beautiful old-growth forest habitat. The unit would be logged to 30% canopy cover under the BLM’s so-called “forest restoration” prescriptions. The Pickett West Timber Sale is a massive BLM timber sale proposed by the Grants Pass Resource Area. The proposed project area extends from southern Oregon’s lower Applegate River, to the forests outside Selma, and the wild tributary streams of the mighty Rogue River. The timber sale includes 69 units between 150 and 240 years old. Prescriptions in these units vary, but many would be logged to as low as 30% canopy cover; many large old trees would be removed to meet canopy cover and basal area targets. Ironically, the BLM has defined these heavy industrial logging treatments as “forest restoration,” a term now so broadly applied that it has virtually no meaning. Unfortunately, the outcome of such logging will be far from...