March 27, 2013 — United States District Court Judge Anne Aiken has found that the United States Forest Service broke the law in seeking to carry out the
controversial Goose logging sale near McKenzie Bridge, Oregon, without a detailed analysis of potential environmental damage. This logging sale has drawn intense opposition from local residents and landowners concerned about harm to wildlife and nearby streams. Represented by the Western Environmental Law Center, the conservation organizations Oregon Wild and Cascadia Wildlands filed a legal challenge against the planned logging in 2012.
Press Release: Congress Feels the Love for Oregon’s Natural Treasures
February 14, 2013 — A coalition of Oregon conservation organizations is applauding efforts by Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley to re-introduce a package of protections for several natural areas in Oregon. Protection for the Molalla River, Oregon Caves, and other areas have been strongly supported by a broad spectrum of Oregonians for years, from local elected officials to fishing guides to rafting companies.
Press Release: Conservationists Challenge Controversial BLM Clear-Cutting Pilot Project
January 30, 2013 — Conservation groups today filed an administrative challenge to the proposed clearcutting of more than 100 acres of mature forests and spotted owl critical habitat on public lands near Canyonville. The White Castle Timber sale is part of the Roseburg Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Secretarial Pilot project, promoted by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar as a way of restoring the forest and increasing timber harvest on federal forest lands.
Press Release: Conservation Groups Challenge Crater Lake-Area Logging
January 2, 2013 — Conservationists today filed a Notice of Intent to challenge an old-growth logging sale on the doorstep of iconic Crater Lake National Park. The Umpqua National Forest is offering the sale as part of a massive proposal to log forests bordering the park, including some of the state’s most popular recreation areas around Lemolo and Diamond Lakes. Conservationists are expressing concern the Forest Service is violating laws designed to protect rare and vulnerable wildlife which also call the area home.
Press Release: Oregon Suspends Clearcutting in the Elliott State Forest
November 14, 2012 — After a lawsuit by conservation groups, the State of Oregon has suspended logging of 914 acres of old-growth forest on the Elliott State Forest that is habitat for the threatened marbled murrelet. Previously, ten timber sales were suspended in response to the lawsuit filed in July by Cascadia Wildlands, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Audubon Society of Portland. The suit asserts that the state is harming the rare seabird by logging its nesting habitat in violation of the Endangered Species Act.
BLM Resource Management Plan
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in western Oregon manages 2.5 million acres of public forests in western Oregon (history of BLM’s ownership and O&C lands is found here). In 2012 the BLM announced they wanted to revise the Resource Management Plans (RMPs) that govern these lands. The RMPs determine how many forests will be … Continue reading BLM Resource Management Plan
O&C Legislation and Negotiations
The 1937 O&C act devised a payment strategy, since modified, so that 50% of gross timber receipts of BLM O&C lands are given to the counties in lieu of property taxes. For a history of BLM O&C lands, go here. By the 1990's, the counties had become rich off of the lucrative clearcutting of old … Continue reading O&C Legislation and Negotiations
BLM Pilot Projects
Under Construction
Western Oregon BLM Lands
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages 2.5 million acres of public forests in western Oregon. Unlike the Forest Service, the BLM managed lands are in a checkerboard ownership pattern, every other square mile switches between privately owned and publicly owned forests. These low-elevation forests are generally in the Coast Range and Klamath Mountains, as … Continue reading Western Oregon BLM Lands