Press Release: BLM Attempting to Clearcut Thurston Hills Again Despite Fire Risk to Springfield


May 18, 2020 — In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) made a final decision to move forward with the Thurston Hills timber sale today despite widespread opposition to the project. With 79th Street in Springfield on one side and newly constructed trails on the other, this BLM parcel is the closest federal public land to the Springfield-Eugene urban area and an invaluable recreation area for local residents. The timber sale would result in extensive “regeneration harvest” (all but clear-cutting) of 109 acres of middle-aged forest immediately adjacent to Willamalane’s recently opened 655-acre Thurston Hills Natural Area.

Legal Victory: Thurston Hills Timber Sale Defeated in Court


September 19, 2019 — On Wednesday, Judge Michael McShane ruled in a lawsuit filed by Cascadia Wildlands and Oregon Wild, determining that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) violated federal laws when it approved clearcutting 100 acres of public land next to the city of Springfield. The court said that BLM’s environmental review failed to consider the fact that logging would increase fire hazard for nearby residents and failed to harmonize logging and recreation by buffering trails as required by BLM’s own rules.