EAST TROUT SLOPE TIMBER SALE UPDATE

At long last (8/00) the East Trout Slope Timber Sale Final Environmental Impact Statement has been released (see LYNX or HUPC Review, 10/98, 12/98, 2/99, 4/99, 8/99, 10/99). And while it has its typical problems it is a sale that has shifted its identity to one that is approachable and reflective. The credit, of course, goes to the Ashley National Forest Supervisor and his staff who have worked long and hard on this timber sale and have listened to and implemented at least some of what we and many of you have said for years.

The final decision harvests no green trees, leaves adequate snags, harvests no trees in the West Fork, meets the Canada Lynx Conservation Assessment and Strategy by not thinning younger stands of timber, uses only existing system roads, builds n o roads and allows no clearcutting.

There are still procedural issues dealing with actual implementation and monitoring of the three year project, but on balance this represents a significant shift in Ashley timber planning and seems to represent a true effort at listening to a broad public voice.

Dick Carter