Alleghany residents to protest Millicoma Between clear cut in Elliott State Forest

MGx will carry an exclusive interview with Francis Eatherington of Cascadia Wildlands to discuss the Elliott State Forest proposed management plan and the legal questions raised around the Millicoma Between sale.

Coos County Residents Confront Loggers Actively Cutting Illegal Timber Sale
Adjacent to Family Farm

August 7, 2011

Alleghany, OR – On Monday Morning at 10AM, Barbara Shamet and Wolfgang Schwarz, residents of Alleghany, OR, will peacefully confront loggers actively engaged in cutting the “South Marlow Switch Area 5” timber sale along with friends, family and supporters. The group’s goal is to speak directly with workers and request that they cease operations until the legality of the timber sale is resolved. Neighbors from the West Fork and other local residents will be there in support, as well
as members of Cascadia Forest Defenders (CFD) and the Southwest Environmental Action Team (SWEAT).

Media is invited to document the confrontation. A media liaison will be available to meet members of the press at the Alleghany Store (at the intersection of Coos River Highway and West Fork Road, in Alleghany) at 9:00 AM on Monday. A caravan will continue to the logging site.

Shamet, Schwarz and their three children have lived on this 83-acre property between the Elliott State Forest and the West Fork of the Millicoma River for nearly thirty-five years. Three weeks ago, clear cut logging began one thousand feet south of their farm.

The farm owners believe this timber sale is illegal. The South Marlow Switch timber sale was sold to Swanson Brothers Logging Company in 2008. Earlier this year, however, a sale which had not yet been auctioned known as the “Millicoma Between” sale was added to South Marlow Switch as “Area 5”. This 44 acre parcel is located directly adjacent to the family farm.

Barbara Shamet said, “This process took place behind closed doors, but our land will be affected by it. Since they started cutting, we’ve watched the trees fall every morning knowing that this pristine hillside will be bare for the rest of our lives, the salmon spawning area in the river will be clogged with run-off and the land will be poisoned with herbicides.” Shamet and her family are upset about the process and have vowed to fight the ODF in court if necessary.