Elliott State Forest, April 3

Believing in the principle behind their company’s timber business, the owners of Seneca Jones Timber Co. announced on Wednesday, April 2, its bid for land for sale within the state-owned Elliott State Forest of Southwest Oregon.  Kathy Jones, one of the co-owners, says they bid on the land, not because their mill needs lumber, but because she and her two sisters refuse to be bullied by “ecoradical” environmental groups which have threatened to bring legal action to block the state from divesting forestland potentially threatened by the existence of the protected Marbled Murrelet seabird.  Jones says it is a personal decision that needs to be brought to the public’s attention.  Like the Spotted Owl before it, the Marbled Murrelet has been used to block timber sales in order to protect the threatened bird’s habitat.  Environmental lawsuits have tied up timber sales within the 93,000 acre Elliott State Forest in the past.  State officials estimate that land management within the state forest will cost Oregon about $3 million this year.  Five bids were submitted on three parcels for sale.  A spokesperson for the Department of State Lands says no decision about the bids will be made for several days.