Umpqua Watershed: Pigout and Peanuts Timber Sale

updated 09/01/03

Pigout and Peanut
Timber Sales
Sold in 1997 and 1998. Cut in 2003 and ?

Peanuts. Cut summer of 2003 by DR Johnson Lumber

Pigout: To be cut anytime by Roseburg Forest Products

Above: Peanuts timber sale, unit 15.
Right: Pigout timber sale, unit 44. Western white pine on left and Douglas fir on right, both with blue paint telling the loggers to cut them.

Above: Though some "retention" trees were supposed to remain uncut, the loggers damaged every one of them so badly they won't survive.
Right: Trees in foreground marked with blue paint to be cut. Tree in background marked with orange paint for "retention" -- to be killed anyway by the logging operation.

Above: Old growth that stood for hundreds of years as a forest, ready for the truck.
Right: A huge, 5' diameter, Western hemlock tree -- very old, with the blue paint of death.

Winter 1997: Umpqua National Forest approves the logging of Pigout and Peanuts, 10 million board feet (about 2,000 logging trucks of old-growth) over 400 acres. Both are between Toketee Lake and Lemolo Lake, north of Elephant Mountain. We appealed these sales and lost.

1998: About 2.6 mmbf on 100 acres was given to Lone Rock Timber and Roseburg Forest Products as "alternative timber" to trade for old Siuslaw National Forest sales pursuant to Section 2001 (k)(3) of the Rescission Act (PL 104-19). It was clearcut right away.

The remaining 300 acres were not logged for years, likely due to the low market value. Finally, contract time ran out for Peanuts. Pigout will soon follow.

2003: Peanuts logging begins. In mid-summer, operations are shut down due to fire hazard. There are about three units left standing as of 9/1/03. The rest is laying on the ground, waiting to be yarded.

Logging has not yet started in Pigout. Pigout is 145 acres of beautiful, diverse, old growth forests that do not deserve to be converted to a little tree plantation, enslaved to produce only for the timber industry, never to become an old-growth forest again. It could be clearcut at anytime.

Roseburg Forest Products (541- 679-3311) bought the contract to log Pigout.

Roseburg Forest Products could ask the Umpqua National Forest to buy the contract back. It's the only hope.

Left: Western hemlock and Douglas fir.
Bottom: Douglas fir andPacific silver fir.

Peanuts timber sale builds almost 3 miles of new permanent roads, most in the Loafer Creek watershed, even though the Umpqua National Forest's own watershed analysis recommended no additional roads be built here. Peanuts also does 'regeneration harvests' in high elevation Mountain hemlock forests, against the recommendations of the watershed analysis.

We lost our appeal. After all, they were only non-binding recommendations.
Pigout: Some of the units are across from the Umpqua Hot Springs, some along the canals of the Hydro project. In 1996 a massive landslide rolled down a steep mountain and demolished a portion of a canal and caused extensive erosion. It tore through the middle of the proposed Pigout unit 4. The solution? Make unit 4 into two units and continue with plans to log. This unit can be seen from Watson Falls parking lot.

Much of Pigout is classic old-growth, lower elevation than Peanuts, with Douglas fir, Western hemlock, True firs (White, Red and Silver), and 5 needle pines (Western white and Sugar pine). Rhododendron and vine maple grace the forest floors under the towering old-growth.

These special forests should remain public and not sold off for the timber industry to convert them to their tree farms. Its time to stop logging publically owned old-growth forests.

Peanuts. Cut summer of 2003 by DR Johnson Lumber	Pigout: To be cut anytime by Roseburg Forest Products
Above: Peanuts timber sale, unit 15. Right: Pigout timber sale, unit 44. Western white pine on left and Douglas fir on right, both with blue paint telling the loggers to cut them.
Above: Though some "retention" trees were supposed to remain uncut, the loggers damaged every one of them so badly they won't survive. Right: Trees in foreground marked with blue paint to be cut. Tree in background marked with orange paint for "retention" -- to be killed anyway by the logging operation.
Above: Old growth that stood for hundreds of years as a forest, ready for the truck. Right: A huge, 5' diameter, Western hemlock tree -- very old, with the blue paint of death.

Winter 1997: Umpqua National Forest approves the logging of Pigout and Peanuts, 10 million board feet (about 2,000 logging trucks of old-growth) over 400 acres. Both are between Toketee Lake and Lemolo Lake, north of Elephant Mountain. We appealed these sales and lost. 1998: About 2.6 mmbf on 100 acres was given to Lone Rock Timber and Roseburg Forest Products as "alternative timber" to trade for old Siuslaw National Forest sales pursuant to Section 2001 (k)(3) of the Rescission Act (PL 104-19). It was clearcut right away. The remaining 300 acres were not logged for years, likely due to the low market value. Finally, contract time ran out for Peanuts. Pigout will soon follow. 2003: Peanuts logging begins. In mid-summer, operations are shut down due to fire hazard. There are about three units left standing as of 9/1/03. The rest is laying on the ground, waiting to be yarded. Logging has not yet started in Pigout. Pigout is 145 acres of beautiful, diverse, old growth forests that do not deserve to be converted to a little tree plantation, enslaved to produce only for the timber industry, never to become an old-growth forest again. It could be clearcut at anytime. Roseburg Forest Products (541- 679-3311) bought the contract to log Pigout. Roseburg Forest Products could ask the Umpqua National Forest to buy the contract back. It's the only hope.	Left: Western hemlock and Douglas fir. Bottom: Douglas fir andPacific silver fir.
Peanuts timber sale builds almost 3 miles of new permanent roads, most in the Loafer Creek watershed, even though the Umpqua National Forest's own watershed analysis recommended no additional roads be built here. Peanuts also does 'regeneration harvests' in high elevation Mountain hemlock forests, against the recommendations of the watershed analysis. We lost our appeal. After all, they were only non-binding recommendations.	Pigout: Some of the units are across from the Umpqua Hot Springs, some along the canals of the Hydro project. In 1996 a massive landslide rolled down a steep mountain and demolished a portion of a canal and caused extensive erosion. It tore through the middle of the proposed Pigout unit 4. The solution? Make unit 4 into two units and continue with plans to log. This unit can be seen from Watson Falls parking lot. Much of Pigout is classic old-growth, lower elevation than Peanuts, with Douglas fir, Western hemlock, True firs (White, Red and Silver), and 5 needle pines (Western white and Sugar pine). Rhododendron and vine maple grace the forest floors under the towering old-growth.