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The contents of the on-line edition of The Nugget represent a selection among the stories that appear in the weekly print edition.

Forester quashes Metolius appeal
By Jim Cornelius

Pacific Northwest Regional Forester Linda Goodman has quashed an appeal by the Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project that sought to stop parts of an extensive project in the Metolius Basin designed to reduce fire danger and improve forest health.

Karen Coulter, director of Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project, had sought a reduction in the diameter of trees to be thinned in the project. Coulter had asked the Forest Service to separate what she considers commercial logging aspects of the project from what she considers legitimate fuel reduction efforts.

Coulter plans to take the issue to court.

Goodman upheld the original Forest Service plan in its entirety.

In her decision, she wrote that "the project is in compliance with all laws, orders and agency policies. The project record adequately supports all of the issues brought up in your appeal."

In reviewing the appeal, Regional Natural Resources Director Calvin N. Joyner wrote that "the selected alternative (in the project plan) meets the purpose and need to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire and insect (infestation) and disease; to provide for safety of people and protect property, tribal and natural resources; to restore late-successional forest conditions; and to protect and restore watershed conditions."

Coulter, executive director of Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project, said her group plans to move forward with litigation.

She said she was not surprised that the Forest Service plan was upheld on review, because she sees the review process as a "rubber stamp."

She said she believes she has a good case to argue in U.S. Circuit Court , despite the review.

No suit has yet been filed.

In previous interviews with The Nugget, Coulter had argued that the project plan exceeds standards for soil compaction. The Forest Service plans to mitigate those impacts. Coulter believes that the project plan violates National Environmental Policy Act regulations.

"You're not allowed to have a finding of 'no significant impact' based on mitigation," Coulter said.

Coulter also argued for reducing the diameter of trees cut in the project, a move Sisters District Ranger Bill Anthony resisted, arguing that reducing diameters to 12 inches would leave 94 percent of the project area at risk of moderate to high intensity fire.

"You get a greater reduction in fire intensity with thinning even up to 16 inches," he said in a negotiation meeting with Coulter earlier this month.

Reducing small tree thinning diameters to eight or nine inches, "you're still leaving stands at a higher density than they can sustain," Anthony argued.

The Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project is a nonprofit group, funded through donations, Coulter told The Nugget.

Coulter draws a small salary and relies on trained volunteers to survey proposed Forest Service projects.

Coulter said much of the legal work done on behalf of the organization is conducted on a pro bono or contingency basis.

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