It is important to note that the tension is at the top of the slide. Hand work and plastic lined trenches would be required to divert moisture from the upper portion of the slide down to the road and underneath it through a culvert. None of this remedial action is being undertaken by MoF. On August 23, 2007 an MoF road contractor raised the roadbed three feet to create a berm for the toe of the slide. The next day, a logging subcontractor clearcut the lower portion of the slide face. MoF then re-opened the road, publically stating that the slide danger had been mitigated and the road was safe for use.
The following photos show the clearcutting done on the lower half of the slide face on August 24th by the local logging sub-contractor working under the MoF road contractor, contrary to all agreements and understandings between MoF and the Grabowskys. This cutting was done on the Grabowskys private property before their engineer, due to arrive the following day, had a chance to examine the slide zone and provide his recommendations. Tree removal involved far more than 'danger trees which might fall on the road'; it also included removal of ground cover down to sapling size. According the the Grabowsky's consultant, this clearcutting has made the slide zone more dangerous over the long term because the stumps will rot out and no longer help stabilize the soil. In the short term there are also a number of freshly felled trees lying on a very steep hillside which can come down onto the road. Trees up to 50 feet above the road were removed by excavator using a grapple. Heavy machinery crushed and broke apart these trees by running over them, and the pieces were hauled to a slash pile down the road. The contractor then told the Grabowskys they could salvage from this pile of fractured, useless wood which had just been cut from their private property.
