Attorneys Say Logging Threatens Chinook

A salvage logging project on the fragile 1994 Thunderbolt fire along the Salmon River threatens perhaps Idaho’s most important spawning ground for endangered chinook salmon, attorneys for two conservation groups warn.

But the Forest Service has closely studied the proposed harvest area for potential erosion damage to the South Fork, and the money Boise Cascade Corp. will pay for the timber is needed to stabilize the watershed, federal lawyers replied Friday.

U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge heard arguments from the Idaho Conservation and The Wilderness Society.

The Thunderbolt sale involves cutting about 14 million board feet of timber on 3,000 acres, which would be pulled out by helicopter.

Stephanie Parent, an attorney for the Forest Service, said the contract with Boise Cascade would bring in about $1 million, with 25 percent of that going to the counties for payment in lieu of taxes. The balance includes money to restore the area.