The Greater Yellowstone Coalition, American Wildlands, and the Wyoming Outdoor Council have appealed a controversial "salvage" sale near Double Cabin, a prime entrance to the Washakie Wilderness and range of the Washakie Wolf pack when they aren't in the Dunoir Valley to the west.

About a quarter to a third of the trees in the area are dead, so the sale if being called "salvage," a typical Forest Service practice even though most of the trees are green.

The sale would feature fairly large clearcuts -- from 18 to 32 acres in size.  Small clearcuts can sometimes benefit wildlife, but they tend to avoid large openings.  The executive director of the Wyoming Outdoor Council, Tom Throop, said " the sale's impact on wildlife and recreation are primary concerns, as well as the cumulative effects of other timber sales and proposed oil and gas activity.

The general area of the Wiggins Fork where the sale is located has been heavily logged in the past, but has been recovering in recent years.

The forester for the Wind River District of the Shoshone National Forest said, "People think we're going in there and clear-cutting for the sake of clear-cutting, but we're just trying to improve the health of the stand and at the same time provide house logs, firewood and saw logs. It's a shame to let it all go to waste," he said.

Throop countered by saying a properly controlled fire at the right time of year would do more to benefit wildlife and control disease in the trees.

Conservationists have been particularly critical of "salvage" timber sales in recent years.  They say there is no "forest health crisis" as the timber industry has argued.  They also argue that salvage sales lose money for the taxpayer.

A decision on the appeal is expected from the regional forester's office in Denver. The sale is planned to be sold in the spring of 1999.