Help Stop a Clearcut - Deadline May 17, 2024! Reblogs appreciated!
Hey, folks, got a time-sensitive request for y'all--even if you aren't a PNW resident, can you please put in a word to save the legacy/mature forest on Mothball Hill just outside Astoria, OR? Comments to NOT clearcut the forest on Mothball Hill can be sent to [email protected] and need to be received by 5pm Pacific Standard Time on May 17. Reblogs ALSO help!
As per this article:
"North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection requests your consideration and immediate action to help safeguard drinking water and residentsβ health in rural neighborhoods east of Astoria.Β Written comments are needed byΒ Friday, May 17, regarding ongoing and upcoming Oregon Department of ForestryΒ timber harvests in Clatsop County. Anybody may submit a comment to ODF; you doΒ notΒ need to be a resident of Clatsop County.Β Please see below for more details.
Currently, the NCCWP Astoria Chapter is working to notify residents whose property is in close proximity to proposed 2025Β ODF timber harvests in Clatsop County.Β OnΒ May 5, we surveyed Unit 2 of the Mothball Hill Harvest and met some of the concerned residents whose property is immediately adjacent to the timber sale. We are working with them closely.
Leading up to theΒ May 17Β deadline for commentsΒ about the ODF Annual Operations Plan (AOP), we are hoping to visit as many of these sites as possibleΒ β knocking on peopleβs doors directly adjacent to these potential timber harvests.Β Many people who live in these houses may not be aware that the forestland near their homes is scheduled to be clearcut and sprayed with a βcocktailβ of pesticides. Our goal is to notify these homeowners and provide them with appropriate resources and support so that they can get involved and comment on the AOP before the opportunity ends. These clearcuts and pesticide applications may directly affect peopleβs health, livelihoods, recreational activities, and property values. Ultimately, they will adversely affect the quality and quantity of coastal drinking water by exacerbating the climate crisis, perpetuating drought, and increasing the risk of wildfires, landslides, and the runoff of sediment and pesticides into waterways.
Hereβs a letter sent to community members, ODF, BoF, and Clatsop Co. officials from Darren Orange, a resident neighboring the Mothball Hill Harvest:Β
A request for your consideration and action,
The Oregon Department Of Forestry released their 2024 Annual Operations Plan and has selected a previously unmanaged, non-intentionally planted, natural βLegacy Forestβ for CLEARCUT AND AERIAL SPRAY. The location is in Clatsop Forest Astoria District on βMothball Hillβ east of Astoria in the John Day estuary. This proposed clearcut will impact a previously unmanaged biodiverse forest with trees, and mycorrhizal networks well over 100 years old. The geographical location is extremely steep and the boundaries for cutting would push into the Columbia River at its northernmost point. Slide potential is high, threatening the railroad, and homes both on private drive Phil Rd., Highway 30, and Deer Valley Rd.Β
Located between Astoria, (2 miles to the west) and the Twilight Eagle Sanctuary (2 miles to the east) this rich habitat and watershed is home for bald eagles, beaver, blue heron, cougar, bobcat, coyotes, and waterways for native salmon.Β The year-round streams run directly into the John Day and Columbia Rivers. The location will be seen on Highway 30, and visible from both rivers as a monstrous scab.Β
The home and hobby garden I share with my wife borders 300β² of Clatsop Forest. Neon survey markers now weigh heavily, glaring at us 20β² from our kitchen window. Trees marked for cut purposely planted by homeowners over 50 years ago as property lines now marked for harvest. We watch: protected migratory birds, marine birds, bald eagles, blue heron, osprey, and others. Weβve listened to the call of bobcats and coyotes from their resting and breeding dens. Weβve seen beavers in the estuary. Salmon and crayfish are commercially harvested here. The rich native flora and mycelium network show the health of the forest and offer many plant medicines. This is just a window of the species we see everyday.Β
The impact and damage on this ecosystem is vast. The unintended consequences of aerial spray, blowdown due to compromised forest integrity, slides, and aesthetic harm to private property value, boating/kayaking and tourism, commercial and recreational fishing are all part of the cost vs minimal $1.1 million dollar profit.
PUBLIC COMMENTS ARE ENCOURAGED, AND CLOSE VERY SOON ONΒ MAY 17TH!
Iβm asking the greater community to please write and pass along your concerns to the Oregon Department of Forestry about this clearcut timber sale in one of the oldest stands in the area. This stand has not been managed or replanted so it represents a key forest in its health and history. I ask that ODF look into alternative locations such as managed/planted forests with less impactful methods that follow the soon to be Federal Habitat Conservation Act that would preserve older stands. I ask that ODF follow their own Key Performance Measures of complex layered forest structure.Β I ask ODF NOT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS TIMBER SALE.
Sincerely,Β
Darren Orange
local resident of 25 years
business owner
property owner
Email βΒ [email protected]
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