Bureau of Land Management Piles On & Shuts Down Salvage Logging Study

By Shea Andersen, 2-08-06

The news is primarily happening in Oregon, but it would be foolish to think the debate over salvage logging stops at the Snake River.

Every state with a stick of forest and the possibility of wildfire has to contend with the messy aftermath of such conflagrations. Do you log them or leave them?

So when an Oregon State University researcher found that salvage logging -- the practice of logging areas in and around burned lands -- was hurting more than it helped, it touched off its own little firestorm. The researcher's colleagues spooked, and tried to make sure the report wouldn't hurt their federal funding. The various interest groups pounced, and looked for the political ramifications.

And now, another big shoe has dropped: the Bureau of Land Management says it won't fund OSU's research any more. In other words, they don't seem to like the way the game is being played and they're taking their ball and going home.

The Oregonian has the immediate news, in the above link.

It's definitely true that, as with many studies of controversial issues, people with political axes to grind latch on to whatever angle they need. Such is the case with this study which, many point out, was a mere two-year study of a single fire in Oregon. Read the hometown paper, the Corvallis Gazette-Times, for discussion of that point.

The Eugene Register-Guard editorial board tries hard to poke through the weeds and understand the, uh, conflagration over this matter.

Don't expect this to end here. While it's stunning that the BLM played such an overtly political role as this quashing of research, it's not exactly out of step with other federal moves lately. Just ask Idaho Sen. Larry Craig about that.

Update: We have news today from the Northwest newspapers that U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, a Washington State Democrat, is looking for answers. According to the Oregonian today, Inslee has asked for an inquiry into the reasoning behind the funding yank. Word is U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, has also asked for more answers. [End of article]