Protesters block loggers from Willamette Forest timber sale

MCKENZIE BRIDGE, Ore. (AP) – Environmental activists are blocking loggers from accessing a timber sale in the Willamette National Forest.
 
The Register Guard reports that protesters from the Eugene-based Cascadia Forest Defenders blocked the road Tuesday with a car, a pickup truck and a refrigerator.
 
They have also rigged up a platform 80 feet above ground.
 
The group wants to keep loggers out of the Goose Project timber sale near the unincorporated community of McKenzie Bridge.
 
The 2,400-acre sale has been debated for more than five years and activists have staged sit-ins in the forest before.
 
The U.S. Forest Service says the logging will increase the health and diversity of the forest while providing jobs and lumber for a local sawmill.
 
Activists believe the logging will create pollution in watersheds and lead to erosion.
 
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Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com