SIZE
1,116 acres, 7.8 million board feet (part of a larger project)

CONTRACT HOLDER
Swanson-Superior Lumber Co.

MEDFORD BLM CONTACT
Ron Wenker, BLM Manager (541-618-2411)

LOCATION
Big Hog watershed. South on Highway 199, turn right on Robertson Bridge Road. After approximately 10 miles turn left on Pickett Creek Road.

STATUS
On January 12, 2004, a Federal District Court magistrate ruled in favor of KS Wild's claims against the Medford BLM regarding this timber sale. The judge agreed that the sale, which would log over 1,000 acres of roadless and old-growth forests along the Wild and Scenic Rogue River, would damage habitat for rare plant species. The case was referred to District Court Judge Hogan for final disposition and in June he confirmed that the BLM's plans to log old-growth at Pickett Snake were illegal.

BACKGROUND
The Pickett Snake Timber Sale is in the Wild Rogue River corridor and targets 2,400 acres of rare low elevation mature and old-growth mixed conifer forest. Pickett Snake is in the heart of the Siskiyou Mountains, located between the Cascades and the Kalmiopsis Wilderness.

The Pickett Creek watershed is on the northeastern flank of serpentine soils and supports amazing floral diversity. The Pickett Snake Timber Sale could impact 11 BLM "Sensitive Plant Species."

Management will include "Structural Retention" of nearly 1,000 acres of mature forest. This is the BLM's way of saying they will essentially clearcut these areas, leaving 6-10 trees per acre. The surrounding forests have already been the site of massive industrial logging. As with all BLM lands, habitat has been systematically degraded by grazing, mining and logging. Cumulative impacts of industrial activity in this watershed will certainly harm the area's ecological integrity.

The watershed is home to the Red Tree Vole, a highly specialized forest critter that lives in the canopy of mature conifer forests and eats fir needles. Due to their remote living quarters, detection rates are low. Forest activists have had great success locating RTV nests, whereas the agencies tend to ignore them. Fragmentation is detrimental to this species due to limited dispersal and geneflow. Buffers will isolate populations and threaten the long-term survival of this canopy dwelling rodent.

The endemic Del Norte salamander exists within the timber sale area. Although this is a rare inland population, the BLM and Forest Service recently relaxed buffer regulations for this species, threatening yet again the vitality of another forest dependent species.

Great Gray Owls were not surveyed in the project area, although they are known to occur in adjacent watersheds. It is known that current forestry practices may affect 75% of the Great Gray Owl's breeding range in North America. Surveys were not conducted for the Northern Goshawk or the Bald Eagle. Biological diversity is severely threatened, especially while the Bush administration attempts to weaken the Northwest Forest Plan. Other wildlife of concern in the timber sale area include mollusks, the Pacific fisher, roosting bats and salmon.

The 3,300 acre Buckhorn Mountain roadless area encompasses some of Panther Creek, Taylor Creek and Zigzag Creek drainages. The continuous fragmentation of forest habitat is threatening biodiversity throughout the Pacific Northwest. By preserving these small blocks of unroaded habitat, we can retain connectivity and provide refugia in Matrix lands.