First Came Arson, Next Comes Salvage Logging?!

After a dangerous arson fire the Forest Service plans clear-cutting at Horse Creek.

The Siskiyou Crest is a stunning mountain range along the California-Oregon border. It is a key area for wildlife and provides cool water from snowmelt that feeds critical salmon streams. It is no place for salvage logging on the heels of a dangerous arson fire.

In the bone-dry heat of the summer of 2016, an arson fire was set in the Klamath National Forest near Horse Creek, a tributary to the Klamath River in Northern California. Tragically, the fire burned several homes as it ripped up this remote canyon. As the weather cooled, the fire continued to burn in a natural mosaic pattern. 

In response, the Klamath National Forest wants to throw out the rulebook in the Horse Creek timber sale. They are planning to clearcut high elevation native forests on the Siskiyou Crest near the Pacific Crest Trail, converting the fire-adapted forest into more flammable tree plantations.  Please take time to send in your comments to the Klamath National Forest.

Perhaps worst of all, the Forest Service is claiming that their project will reduce future fire danger. We can't let what happened on the Westside salvage sale nearby happen at Horse Creek. The Forest Service is calling their plan "community protection," but the truth is they are targeting wild, backcountry Shasta Red Fir forests that are far from any homes or communities. 

You can help us ask our public land managers to live up to their word and focus on community protection. The Karuk Tribe has offered an alternative based on traditional ecological knowledge that would focus on fire restoration and community protection. The tribe has thousands of years of experience working with fire on the landscape. KS Wild supports the Karuk alternative. The Forest Service should listen too. 

Please take a moment to voice your support for the spectacular recreation, wildlife, and watershed values of the Siskiyou Crest. 

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