High Roberts Slideshow
Launch High Roberts slideshow
In the summer of 2002, a light ground fire burned through the Malheur
National Forest near the Strawberry Wilderness. In small pockets the
fire reached the tops of the trees and scorched their crowns. But for
the most part, the fire, known as High Roberts, burned through the
understory and left the old growth Ponderosa pine, Grand fir and Western
larch to live on with only a little surface damage on their base.
Nonetheless, the Forest Service decided the forest needed to be managed. So they pulled a shiny arrow from their quiver of newly-minted Healthy Forest Initiative rules. The rule the Forest Service selected allows salvage logging of dead and dying trees and categorically excludes this kind of salvage project from environmental review or meaningful citizen input. The problem with the project is that the Old growth trees at High Roberts were still live and healthy two years after the fire and they were quite unlikely to die anytime soon.
According to Forest Service whistleblower Dan Becker, the Forest Service
had marked all the "big pumpkins" to be cut. Dan Becker knew this
landscape from his 27-years in projects that involve prescribed burning.
Becker understood full well the natural role that fire plays in this
landscape and that many trees often survive wildfire. Becker questioned
the scientific validity of the Forest Service's decision and publicly
complained that the Forest Service had "published a paper without peer
review and called it science." Becker contested the validity of the
paper that was being used as part of the Healthy Forest Initiative to
log hundreds of live Old growth trees.
The Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project had also sent volunteers to document the situation on the ground and had retained CRAG to represent the conservation group in a possible legal action. CRAG retained Dr. Edwin Royce, a botanist and expert in tree mortality, to visit the site late in October. Dr. Royce systematically documented the presence of live Old growth trees at the site. Royce measured tree size and the thickness of tree bark and determined that none of these trees were going to die anytime soon.
Yet, despite public protest and a solid critique of the Forest Service's new science on tree mortality, the project moved forward. On Election Day, the Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project filed suit against this new Healthy Forest Initiative rule, and shortly thereafter filed a motion for a preliminary injunction. On Tuesday, November 23, 2004, Ralph Bloemers argued the case before Federal District Court Judge Garr King. The Forest Service agreed that these trees were not dead yet, but argued that the trees were experiencing delayed mortality. In other words, these trees were dead or dying, but the trees just did not know it yet. After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge King enjoined the Forest Service from awarding the sale or from conducting any further logging operations.
For now these live green old growth trees remain protected from their only imminent threat, death by chainsaw. The High Roberts fire was a natural part of an ecosystem that has evolved with fire. The fire killed a few smaller trees and created habitat for rare woodpecker species, yet it left many ecologically valuable Old growth trees to live on. This project provides an excellent example of why the Forest Service must not forget that Smokey the Bear's belly is full of berries that he has eaten from a clearing created by wildfire.
Related documents:
- Memo from Dan Becker (PDF 1.4MB)
- Plaintiff's Exhibit 21 - Photographs and Commentary from Dan Becker (PDF 869kb)
- Salvage logging rules face new suit -- The Oregonian, November 8, 2004 (PDF 25kb)
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