 Logging plans inside the Toolbox Complex fire area on the Winema National Forest have received little public attention, and the Forest Service would like to keep it that way... Besides winning the bid, Crown Pacific may also get to log during the formally troublesome 45 day appeal period because regional forester Linda Goodman has granted an "emergency status exemption". Emergency Status Exemption is part of the bag of tricks in the "Healthy Forest Restoration Act". It allows public lands managers to declare an "economic emergency" to circumvent the appeals process (normally 45 day for the sales based on fear of economic loss if the burned trees are not logged before they decay. A preliminary injunction has been filed to challenge Goodman's decision to allow immediate logging of the area. The plaintiffs are: Northwest Environmental Defense Center (NEDC), Oregon Natural Resources Council (ONRC), and the Klamath Forest Alliance. I have not heard if there has been a decision on the injunction yet and I imagine those same groups are suing on the sale. I'll post again when I know more.
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