BARK puts bite in effort to monitor timber sales.(environmental organization)(Brief Article)

Facing steep harvest declines and taking stabs at friendlier forest-management techniques, war-torn Mt. Hood National Forest might be learning that groups like BARK can be nearly as strong as logging's bite.

An unconventional "ground-truthing" group launched three years ago, Portland-based BARK leafs through stacks of jargon-riddled forest service documents and leads volunteers into public forests to carefully inspect timber sales. BARK leader Greg Dyson, who claims to have stepped foot in every pending sale in Mt. Hood National Forest's 1.1 million acres, met Tuesday with representatives of the forest's Barlow District. The Business Journal was on hand to observe the interactions between BARK and the forest service.

Barlow District supervisor Paul Bryant and a five-member team of forest service workers. led Dyson through a handful of units slated for logging, as well as a sale already cut. The team is quite familiar with BARK, which has been instrumental in …