Environmentalists blast timber sale in Oregon

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — To the dismay of environmentalists, the U.S. Forest Service auctioned off timber from a remote, burned-over section of a national forest Friday in the first such sale since the Bush administration eased logging restrictions.

A timber company paid $300,052 for the right to log 261 acres of standing dead timber that was burned in a 2002 fire in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.

Environmentalists warned that the sale could set a dangerous precedent by opening the door to logging on nearly 60 million acres of national forest.

The timber industry and Forest Service said logging the area would speed the regeneration of the forest, but environmental groups said leaving things to nature would produce a healthier forest.