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COQUILLE -- The Bureau of Indian Affairs has agreed to pay $40,000 for environmental restoration near Remote after restored salmon protection put a tribal harvest on the wrong side of the law.
A timber harvest last year by the Coquille Indian Tribe landed the BIA in hot water after environmentalists claimed the harvest should not have continued after Dec. 14.
"Our goal was to keep the whole thing out of court and to do some good restoration in the Big Creek Watershed (about 10 miles north of Remote)," said Ron Kortlever, superintendent for the Siletz Field Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. "There was no determination that anyone was guilty of wrongdoing."
Environmental groups, including Roseburg-based Umpqua Watersheds, declared the out-of-court settlement a victory against "future illegal logging." Discussions on restoration projects began Monday with Coquille Indian Tribe officials, the Bureau of Land Management and environmentalists.
Environmentalists say the Coquille Tribe's 102-acre Chu-aw Clau-she timber harvest should have stopped Dec. 15, 2001, after the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary order to reinstate coho salmon protections that had been lifted by a legal challenge on Sept. 10.
Lone Rock Timber Co. of Roseburg was on contract to the Coquille Tribe to complete the harvest. The tribe harvested and transported more than 3.3 million board feet of timber off nearly 12 acres -- according to tribe documents cited by environmental representatives -- from Dec. 15 to Jan. 3 when a temporary restraining order was issued.
Coquille Indian Tribe representatives were not available to comment on the settlement.
Francis Eatherington, forest monitor for the Roseburg-based conservation group Umpqua Watersheds, said the tribe was notified of the change in law when logging was observed still in progress on Dec. 19 and 31.
"We can't put these big trees back, they are gone forever," she said. "But the money for restoration work can help undo some of the environmental harm."
The issue of environmental harm remains in question, however, as endangered species protections for coho salmon continue to be re-evaluated by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The coho's threatened status under the Endangered Species Act was lifted in September 2001 by U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan in Eugene. Hogan's ruling allowed timber companies to resume work at a number of logging sites for more than three months.
National Marine Fisheries Service has reviewed new policies on coho salmon protection that now must include analysis of contributions made by hatchery salmon. The new policy proposal is under review by state and tribal agencies. Protection of coastal coho salmon in some areas may be lifted as a result.
The tangle of legal issues is no excuse for tribal harvesting after Dec. 14, environmentalists argue.
"The BIA should pay some money for letting that logging occur after they were notified that coho were once again protected," said Kristen Boyles, an attorney with Earthjustice, the Seattle-based nonprofit law firm representing environmental groups. "They proceeded with logging anyway."
-- You can reach reporter Jeff Willis at 957-4218 or by e-mail at jwillis@newsreview.info.
A timber harvest last year by the Coquille Indian Tribe landed the BIA in hot water after environmentalists claimed the harvest should not have continued after Dec. 14.
"Our goal was to keep the whole thing out of court and to do some good restoration in the Big Creek Watershed (about 10 miles north of Remote)," said Ron Kortlever, superintendent for the Siletz Field Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. "There was no determination that anyone was guilty of wrongdoing."
Environmental groups, including Roseburg-based Umpqua Watersheds, declared the out-of-court settlement a victory against "future illegal logging." Discussions on restoration projects began Monday with Coquille Indian Tribe officials, the Bureau of Land Management and environmentalists.
Environmentalists say the Coquille Tribe's 102-acre Chu-aw Clau-she timber harvest should have stopped Dec. 15, 2001, after the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary order to reinstate coho salmon protections that had been lifted by a legal challenge on Sept. 10.
Lone Rock Timber Co. of Roseburg was on contract to the Coquille Tribe to complete the harvest. The tribe harvested and transported more than 3.3 million board feet of timber off nearly 12 acres -- according to tribe documents cited by environmental representatives -- from Dec. 15 to Jan. 3 when a temporary restraining order was issued.
Coquille Indian Tribe representatives were not available to comment on the settlement.
Francis Eatherington, forest monitor for the Roseburg-based conservation group Umpqua Watersheds, said the tribe was notified of the change in law when logging was observed still in progress on Dec. 19 and 31.
"We can't put these big trees back, they are gone forever," she said. "But the money for restoration work can help undo some of the environmental harm."
The issue of environmental harm remains in question, however, as endangered species protections for coho salmon continue to be re-evaluated by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The coho's threatened status under the Endangered Species Act was lifted in September 2001 by U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan in Eugene. Hogan's ruling allowed timber companies to resume work at a number of logging sites for more than three months.
National Marine Fisheries Service has reviewed new policies on coho salmon protection that now must include analysis of contributions made by hatchery salmon. The new policy proposal is under review by state and tribal agencies. Protection of coastal coho salmon in some areas may be lifted as a result.
The tangle of legal issues is no excuse for tribal harvesting after Dec. 14, environmentalists argue.
"The BIA should pay some money for letting that logging occur after they were notified that coho were once again protected," said Kristen Boyles, an attorney with Earthjustice, the Seattle-based nonprofit law firm representing environmental groups. "They proceeded with logging anyway."
-- You can reach reporter Jeff Willis at 957-4218 or by e-mail at jwillis@newsreview.info.
