Salvage logging, the practice of harvesting trees partly burned in forest fires, is not the unqualified economic boon that its supporters claim, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office. In fact, the report says, salvage logging on the Biscuit Burn fire, on public land in Oregon, was actually a money loser, costing the federal government some $2-million more than it received from the timber industry. The report was released by Sen. Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat.

The validity of salvage logging was a central issue in an academic dispute this year at Oregon State University, where pro-industry members of the forestry school’s faculty briefly attempted to prevent a graduate student from publishing a paper in Science that questioned the wisdom of salvage logging. The paper was eventually published, but only after the question of academic freedom at Oregon State received a complete airing (The Chronicle, April 21).