MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — A timber sale in southern Oregon near Butte Falls is drawing widespread praise, including environmentalists.
The Mail Tribune reports that conservationists have joined the timber industry to say the thinning project in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest will boost forest health and add jobs.
The 58-million-board-foot Rustler timber sale is in an area with a buildup of dense vegetation from decades of fire suppression, and thinning will also help reduce the risk of a major wildfire.
Located in the upper Rogue River watershed, the sale covers a little more than 8,700 acres. The plan doesn’t call for building any new logging roads and most of the larger mature trees will be left standing.
