6/5/1998 378

TWO TIMBER SALES APPEALED TO PROTECT NORTHERN GOSHAWK

The Southwest Center has appealed two Arizona timber sales which threaten the northern goshawk. The Wiggins timber sale on the Mogollon Rim in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests would cut between 2.8 and 4.6 million board feet of ponderosa pine. Since losing a 1995 suit to the Southwest Center for ramping up the timber volume after signing a decision notice, the Apache-Sitgreaves has refused to acknowledge how much timber they will cut.

The Scott "Ecosystem Management Area" timber sale would log 1 million board feet of ponderosa pine on the southern boundary of Grand Canyon National Park. This is the second attempt to log the Scott Sale- in 1997 the Southwest Center successfully appealed the sale because it lacked a reasonable range of alternatives.

In both sales, the Forest Service is violating the Southwest region's goshawk guidelines which prohibit cutting of large tree when less than 40% of the timber area is in mature or old growth forests. Both sales will cut thousands of trees over 18" dbh although the surrounding area is extremely deficient in large trees.