University Bids to Salvage Reputation After Flap Over Logging Paper.

The article presents information on the criticism faced by Dean Hal Salwasser of the College of Forestry at Oregon State University (OSU) in Corvallis, Oregon, for his leadership during the controversy over research by graduate student Dan Donato and colleagues on the ecological effects of salvage logging. Salvage logging is the practice of removing timber after a major forest fire. The forest industry sees salvage logging as a good way to encourage regrowth and reduce fire risk. However, the paper found that the heavy equipment used to remove dead frees in one southern Oregon forest had killed seedlings and left woody debris that increased fire hazard. The paper attracted national attention when other OSU researchers claimed that the work was deeply flawed and asked the journal "Science," to delay its print publication. The conflagration exposed a deep divide between departments with different perspectives on forest management. Colleges of forestry, including OSU, have been historically dominated by departments that favor active management to increase harvests and spur regeneration after fires, including salvage logging. OSU derives 12% of its budget from taxes on the logging industry.