FEDERATION OF WESTERN OUTDOOR CLUBS

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ANDERSON WEST LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT PROJECT

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is currently involved in planning a timber sale known as the Anderson West Landscape Management Project.  This sale is located in and around the Illinois Valley in Josephine County in southwestern Oregon.

The sale consists of 2,681 acres of a diverse mosaic of grasslands, riparian areas, and Douglas fir forests.  Some five hundred areas in the project are relatively untouched. The lands of the timber sale generally lie between the lands burned by the Biscuit fire in 2002 and the populated Illinois Valley.  These lands have become a refuge for wildlife displaced by the fire.

The BLM proposes to use helicopters to log this area, despite the fact that such logging can be environmentally damaging.  Canopies would be opened up to allow access to the trees, and roads would be opened up to accommodate this kind of logging.  The BLM states its intention to remove 60-75% of the canopy, which will set these ecosystems back a long time.  The timber sale will seriously degrade watersheds overall, and especially the Deer Creek watershed.

The lands comprising the project will be managed for timber production, not to manage ecosystems or to protect communities from fire.  The management practices outlined by the BLM will convert a naturally healthy forest into a tree plantation.

Of the several alternatives outlined for the project, the one which is biologically sound and good for the community is the "No Action" alternative,

The Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs favors the "No Action" alternative as outlined in the Environmental Impact Statement for this project.  It opposes logging in this area.


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