One of the most painful times in the Epuyén valley occurred in the midst of a celebration with friends, Chiappe said. After five years of struggle against strong financial and political interests, they had
finally blocked a hydroelectric dam that would have flooded the entire valley under 115 feet of water. Just then, they learned that logging interests had obtained logging rights for nearly two square miles of "the most fantastic native virgin forest on the southern slope of Cerro ('Mount') Pirque," he said.
Chiappe noted his frustration: "Behind me a crew with their chainsaws work eight hours a day, destroying one of the last virgin forests of Cerro Pirque. One by one, my best friends are felled. The huge venerable grandfathers accused of being excessively mature are at the top of the list. Next, it is the young cypresses' turn, which will be reduced to two-meter posts. And finally will come the clearing cutting of all undergrowth in an act destruction of that incomparable treasure of species classified as useless by the timber industry. Ñirres (antarctic beech), radales, lauras and maitenes and even in some cases coihues (southern beech) more than 400 years old, all of which will perish, giving way to a systematization of the forest that allows only one main species for easier management – a destruction and death that does not take into consideration a more integral view of the ecosystem. Nor does it stop to consider the disappearance of numberless plants, some of whose medicinal properties are still unknown."
Cutting at the foot of Cerro Pirque (above) where a steep 45-degree slope meets the Epuyén River, caused rapid and severe erosion.
The first rains threatened to trigger landslides and to damage the river with run-off from the thin, top layer of fertile soil. To make matters worse, a devastating fire (right) followed.
Several months later, after 1,500 trees had been cut, the government responded to pressure and an exhaustive investigation by Project Lemu. It cancelled the logging rights and began to review Project Lemu's request to preserve the area. Finally, in June of 1993, the Chubut Province Forest Department authorized the creation of Cerro Pirque Provincial Park, the first provincial park in northwest Patagonia. "We are trying hard to expand it to the entire area surrounding Lake Epuyén," Chiappe said. Although plans to expand the park were approved three years ago, the area remains the "Epuyén Forest Reserve," pending a change in law that gives it the status of a natural protected area.
