PEDRO -- Two timber sales in Wayne National Forest that have been suspended since July of 1997 because of danger to threatened or endangered species should resume after the public is given a chance to comment.

The Markin Fork and Bluegrass Timber Sales were approved under the Bluegrass Ridge Restoration Project Environmental Assessment in 1994.

Work was halted because the Indiana bat, a federally endangered species, was found in 1997. Since then, the American burying beetle was found in 1998 and a bald eagle was spotted in 2001.

"The last thing we want to do is help eradicate a species off of the face of the earth," Mike Baines, district ranger at the Ironton Ranger District, said. "The Biological Opinion indicates the things we should do to not harm the species. "

A supplemental Environmental Assessment and new Biological Evaluations were prepared to reflect this new information and propose a course of action.

After officials receive input from the public they will know how to proceed, he said. The comment period will end Aug. 28, thirty days from when the public notice was published in the newspaper.

According to Baines, the timber sales should be completed with only minor modifications recommended by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Some trees that are valuable to the Indiana bat have been removed from the list of trees to be cut and the harvesting will be scheduled after Sept. 15 when the bats have already flown south to hibernate, he said.

The plan in place shouldn’t affect the other two species, Baines said.

"If we find out our actions are detrimental to the bald eagle or the burying beetle, we will stop again," he said.

The amount of trees to be harvested is measured in board feet, which measures one inch thick and 12 inches by 12 inches. The modifications reduced the Markin Fork sale from 668,000 board feet to 608,000 and the Bluegrass sale from 724,000 to 596,000.

The total acreage is still well below the maximum specified in the Environmental Assessment and the companies only purchase what is cut, he said.

"I don’t think it is a major problem," he said of the reduction. "We are still going to accomplish our goals."

Baines said the main purpose of the timber sale is not to make money, but to improve the health of the forests.

All documents are available at www.fs.fed.us/r9/wayne on the Internet or can be requested at the Ironton Ranger District, Wayne National Forest, 6518 State Route 93, Pedro, Ohio 45659 or by phone at (740) 534-6500.

Comments about the new information presented can be sent to the same address. Include a name, address, phone number, the title of the document and specific concerns. Michael Caldwell/The Ironton Tribune