Court Asked to Protect Coho from Logging-Induced Landslides

FACT: Oregon Department of Forestry routinely approves clearcuts on landslide-prone slopes above coho streams.

FACT: Clearcuts on steep slopes cause landslides.

FACT: Landslides kill coho salmon.

FACT: Coho salmon are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

FACT: Oregon Department of Forestry claims it has no obligation to meet the Endangered Species Act.

These basic facts led conservation and fishing groups to file a motion for a preliminary injunction with the federal court in Portland. The motion asks the federal judge to prohibit Oregon State Forester Jim Brown from approving clearcut logging on landslide-prone slopes above coho-bearing streams.

"The evidence is so strong that coho are being harmed by logging on landslide-prone slopes that we are asking the court to put a halt to the practice even before we go to trial," says Patti Goldman, attorney with Earthjustice. "We think the court will agree that coho are entitled to protection now."

"Not all logging threatens salmon," says Mary Scurlock, senior policy analyst for the Pacific Rivers Council. "But clearcuts on landslide-prone slopes above coho streams do. The state admits the problem but has refused to act. Unfortunately, the only way to change industrial logging practices in Oregon is through the courts."

"Oregon's logging rules clearly do not meet the standards of the Endangered Species Act (ESA)," says Goldman, "and the state is not on course to correct the problem." The Oregon Department of Forestry claims it's not responsible for enforcing the ESA. "No," says Goldman, "but the state must comply with the ESA. So now we are asking a federal judge to make the Department of Forestry do what it won't do on its own."

Earthjustice filed a request for a preliminary injunction on behalf of Pacific Rivers Council, Audubon Society of Portland, Coast Range Association, Native Fish Society and Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations.

In its motion for a preliminary injunction, the conservation and fishing groups outline their case: Clearcuts increase the risk of landslides by 100% to 1,800% (Benda et al. 1991) compared to unmanaged forests. Sediment and debris from those landslides kills wild coho salmon eggs in the streams. This is a clear violation of the federal rule prohibiting "take" of threatened coho salmon.

Oregon's State Forester is the target of the preliminary injunction because:

1. He consistently and routinely authorizes clearcutting of high-risk sites.
2. Clearcutting increases the occurrence and severity of landslides.
3. Landslides originating from clearcuts on high-risk sites degrade salmon habitat.
4. When landslides reach salmon streams they kill coho and/or impair spawning, rearing and migration.

Oregon banned clearcutting on high-risk slopes that pose a threat to homes and roads after landslides from clearcuts killed five people in November 1996. "Now, when human life or property is at stake, clearcutting on landslide-prone areas is generally prohibited, as it should be," says Scurlock. "But when coho salmon are at risk, clearcutting is routinely approved. That has to change."

The request for preliminary injunction does not apply to small woodlot owners. Only ownerships greater than 5,000 acres would be affected.

"Though on many issues Oregon has taken important steps to aid salmon, it has not had the political courage to face down the industrial timber companies and make the changes in logging that are needed," says Scurlock. "Oregon has lost its leadership in progressive timber practices and now lags far behind Washington and California."

Documentation

The following documentation may be viewed by selecting the appropriate links:

• preliminary injunction motion
• preliminary injunction memorandum
• map of land ownership and coastal coho distribution along the North Oregon Coast

Additional supporting documentation primarily consists of declarations. To obtain a copy of any of the following documents, please call the Pacific Rivers Council at 503-228-3555:

• Declaration of Peter Bahls, a fisheries biologist by both training and experience.
• Declaration of Mindy Crandall, who was employed full-time as a GIS Technician for Alsea Geospatial, Inc, from October 2000 to December 2001. AGI is a private, for-profit consulting firm specializing in GIS (Geographic Information Systems), cartography, spatial analysis, and database management.
• Declaration of William E. Dietrich, Ph.D, the Chair of the Department of Earth and Planetary Science at the University of California, Berkeley; a Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Science and the Department of Geography; and a member of the Geological Science Senior Faculty, Earth Science Division, at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He has co-authored more than 100 published articles in scientific journals in the areas of geology and geomorphology, with particular emphasis on landslides and debris flows.
• Declaration of Christopher A. Frissell, a research scientist in the field of freshwater ecology and conservation, with an emphasis on salmonid fish of the western USA, including coho salmon.
• Declaration of Patti Goldman, lead counsel in the case.
• Declaration of Paul M. Kennard, a geologist with specialized expertise in hillslope geomorphology, forest hydrology, and stream condition characterization
• Declaration of David R. Montgomery, a geologist and geomorphologist with particular expertise in hillslope and fluvial geomorphology.
• Declaration of Terry Roelofs, a fisheries biologist and professor specializing in the biology and ecology of salmonids, including coastal coho salmon.
• Declaration of William Weaver, a principal partner in Pacific Watershed Associates with over 20 years professional experience working in applied geomorphology and erosion and sediment studies. He has authored numerous publications on geomorphology and have served on government advisory committees on forest practices and watershed rehabilitation.