The fight over logging in southern Oregon’s Siskiyou Mountains is burning hot—reminiscent of the 1980’s-era timber wars in the Northwest. To date, 40 protesters have been arrested for trying to prevent the US Forest Service from selling logging rights on a 19,000-acre tract of roadless old-growth reserve, Fiddler Mountain, that was scorched by the infamous Biscuit Fire in 2002. Recently, the frontlines of the battle moved from the forest to a courtroom, where the action is being keenly watched for its potential precedent setting.
Southern Oregon has been hammered by clearcut logging, losing fully 27 percent of its forests in just 3 decades. Don’t believe me? Check out Sightline’s animated time-series map of clearcutting in the region.
