Public Outcry Stops Sale of Redwoods in Oregon Forest

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — The supervisor of the Siskiyou National Forest, bowing to public pressure, has suspended a planned sale of redwoods.

Forest Supervisor Ron McCormick announced last week that he had deferred a timber sale for the Grapevine section of the forest that contains scattered redwoods. McCormick also said he would offer no other redwoods for sale until a plan for managing the giant trees is developed with the help of a citizens advisory committee.

“In the past few weeks, I received many letters from the public expressing concern that we are going to ‘cut the last of Oregon’s magnificent redwoods,’ ” McCormick said. “There is absolutely no truth to the allegation that the last of Oregon’s redwoods are to be cut, but I understand their concern and share their desire to see these giant redwoods protected.”

The Oregon Natural Resources Council and the Save the Redwoods League had both objected to logging redwoods scattered within the 147-acre Grapevine timber sale.

James Monteith, executive director of the Oregon Natural Resources Council, said suspending the sale “bodes well for the momentum of the ancient-forest issue. The redwoods again helped highlight national interest in these forests.”

Monteith said he hoped the Siskiyou National Forest would join national forests in California, which stopped logging redwoods years ago.