Board seeks to set value of 'sinkers'
ATLANTA - Georgia's environmental officials clashed Wednesday over how to
price deadhead logs, the valuable lumber that sank into rivers decades ago
while being rafted to ports and sawmills during the heyday of Southern logging.
The board of the state's Department of Natural Resources decided to ask the
state's top attorney for advice on setting the price, but not before opposing
board members warned the group it was in danger of a lawsuit.
"These items are so unique. They're irreplaceable," said Tom Wheeler,
a member of the board from Duluth. "How do you price something so unique?
I'm just not comfortable when I see how much it's sold for."
The concern is that the rate the department suggests, $1.28 per board foot,
violates the state's constitution because it's priced so far below market
value. The wood from the submerged logs is revered for its tight grain
and colors
such as blond, caramel and black.
It's up to 10 times as valuable as conventional wood.
Some environmentalists also fear that the proposed rates wouldn't fund
the safeguards they say are needed to painstakingly extract the submerged
logs.
Retrieving the valuable logs from river bottoms has been illegal
in Georgia since 1998 because of legal and environmental concerns.
But earlier this year state lawmakers approved legislation allowing
underwater logging for two years on parts of the Flint and Altamaha
rivers, mostly
in south Georgia.
An estimated 3 percent to 5 percent of the millions of logs sent
down the rivers in the 19th and 20th centuries sank to the bottom
before
they reached
their
destination. These "deadheads," also known as "sinkers," remain
well-preserved on river bottoms.
Board member Warren Budd urged the board to ask Attorney General
Thurbert Baker for a written opinion on the issue, rather than
advice, but he
was told it
could take months.
He was one of three members overruled by the board's majority on
the issue.
"I don't think we need to be paranoid over this procedure. We've done
an extreme amount of due diligence," said Bob Rutland, a board member
from Decatur.
"The fact that both sides aren't pleased with the prices makes me think
we did a good job," he said.
From the Thursday, December 8, 2005 printed edition of the Augusta
Chronicle |
