Federal officials are proposing to increase logging in Oregon with the goal of returning timber harvest rates to 1960s levels. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently announced plans to update the Western Oregon Resource Management Plans to reflect this new goal which would impact 2.5 million acres across 17 counties.
This proposal could increase timber harvests to more than ten times their current volume, targeting lands that have been protected from regular clear-cutting for decades.
Proponents, including industry trade groups, argue that expanding logging is essential for reviving local economies, enhancing national security, and reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires in overstocked areas.
Conservationists and scientists from institutions like Oregon State University (OSU) strongly oppose the plan, warning it will destroy vital carbon-storing old-growth forests and threaten vulnerable species.
Opponents also note that the administration may use the Endangered Species Act Committee to override existing environmental protections historically defended alongside the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the courts.
Submit your public comment to the BLM_OR_Revision_Scoping@blm.gov by March 23 to make your voice heard on this proposal.
