Tribe fights salvage
logging
An Indian tribe has
jumped into the legal fray surrounding the salvage-logging rider
signed by President Clinton last summer. The Klamath Tribes of
southern Oregon filed a lawsuit March 13 against the Forest
Service, charging that the federal government has shirked its
responsibility to preserve traditional hunting and fishing
grounds.
When the tribe relinquished some 20
million acres to the Forest Service in 1954, a treaty required the
agency to protect forest resources for the tribes. Tribal leaders
say eight salvage-logging contracts recently awarded in the Winema
and Fremont national forests will cause further declines in two
staples, mule deer and fish.
“We are forced to
file this lawsuit to preserve our traditional way of life,” says
Jeff Mitchell, chairman of the Klamath Tribes. Frank Erickson, a
spokesman for the Winema forest, says that the tribes’ real gripe
is with the U.S. Congress. “Basically, they want their land back,”
he says, “and that is not within our power.” – Bill
Taylor
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Tribe fights salvage logging.
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