Despite the recent heavy rains, the Ode to Joyce Timber Sale is rapidly advancing, roughly a half-mile south of Crescent School. The cutting of Unit-2 was completed early in December, and nearly all logs have since been hauled out.

Unit-1 cutting has commenced, starting in the northwest and proceeding southeast back towards Joyce Access Rd. The Olympic Adventure Trail was closed on November 27, to accommodate cutting of the southernmost are of Unit-1, but cutting there is delayed and likely will not start until January or even later.

Loss of trail access is just a minor annoyance, when compared to the far larger problem: inadequate mapping of wetlands. Areas of forested wetland are being ignored, and are planned to be logged, with machines set to run over and destroy the delicate soils. Wetland buffer areas are inadequate, simply because the full wetlands have not been defined.

The attached 5-page PDF is an analysis of the how and why of DNR’s failure. Here, Ode to Joyce Timber Sale provides lessons for what DNR needs to change, to protect other glacial linear wetlands in future Timber Sales. This analysis discusses wetland types, the unique glacial geology around the Joyce area, how logging has changed, and more.

Click here to view/download the pdf (5p, 3.6Mb).
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