Defending the Northwest Forest Plan

Decades of unsustainable clearcutting and road-building radically altered forest ecosystems and watersheds, leading to the Endangered Species Act listing of old-growth-dependent species like the northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet, and many salmon populations. The Northwest Forest Plan was crafted as a compromise to protect the critical habitats these species rely upon. Spanning 24 million acres of federal forests across western Washington, Oregon, and northern California, the NWFP sought to balance logging with the protection of old-growth forest ecosystems. It established areas for restoring old forest habitat, safeguarded streamside zones to protect water quality and salmon habitat, and set high standards for restoring degraded forests and watersheds.

The NWFP’s main components included large “reserves” designated for the protection and recovery of old-growth habitat, extensive stream buffers to safeguard water quality, and a “Survey & Manage” provision requiring rare species to be identified and protected before logging. It also established “matrix” areas, where more intensive logging is allowed, outside reserves. Since its implementation, the NWFP has slowed the loss of old-growth forests, improved management across federal lands within the northern spotted owl’s range, and spurred recovery in degraded ecosystems. Water quality and salmon habitat have improved, and timber production targets are now largely met by thinning younger, previously clearcut forests instead of harvesting mature and old-growth stands.

Despite its achievements, the NWFP has significant shortcomings. Some of the last remaining older forests remain unprotected, and logging in “matrix” areas still threatens mature and old-growth habitats. Loopholes have allowed the Forest Service to log in designated reserves, while road-building and logging persist in ecologically sensitive areas, such as unroaded lands and municipal watersheds. The NWFP also places high expectations on timber production, which can conflict with its conservation goals. These challenges underscore the need for continued advocacy and stronger protections to fully restore and preserve these critical forest ecosystems.

Since its adoption, the Northwest Forest Plan’s emphasis on recovering mature and old-growth forest habitat has faced intense opposition from logging interests and some agency officials. In 2016, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) withdrew 2.6 million acres from the NWFP’s protections, reverting to aggressive timber-focused management that includes controversial mature and old-growth logging projects.

The U.S. Forest Service is now proposing amendments to the Northwest Forest Plan that could significantly reduce protections for mature and old-growth forests. In November 2024, the agency released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) outlining these changes, including four alternatives. One alternative retains current protections, while the other three weaken protections and expand logging on national forest lands. Key proposals in the Forest Service’s preferred action include:

• Allowing logging in “Late Successional Reserves” (LSRs) that are up to 120 years old (the current Northwest Forest Plan protects forests in LSRs from logging that are 80 years old or older). This would open up 824,000 acres to logging—the equivalent of nearly eight Mt. Jefferson Wilderness areas.
• Logging at least one-third of dry forest stands (e.g. ponderosa pine-dominated forests common to central Oregon as well as mixed conifer stands in southwest Oregon) over 15 years— a total of 964,000 acres.
• Doubling the amount of commercial logging in national forests. According to the DEIS, the Forest Service logged approximately 504 million board feet of timber from the 17 National Forests within the Northwest Forest Plan area in 2023. The proposed changes aim to log over twice that amount annually, over one billion board feet.

Tribes were wrongly left out of the development of the original Northwest Forest Plan. While the proposed changes include important updates around the need for Tribal inclusion, the agency has tied these changes to aggressive logging that will double timber harvests to over one billion board feet annually, impacting 2.65 million acres per decade. The DEIS also weakens protections for species and dismisses the need for species-specific conservation measures, undermining biodiversity goals and intensifying ecological harm across public lands. While Oregon Wild is supportive of changes that increase Tribal consultation and co-stewardship, these updates should not be tied to aggressive commercial logging and weakening the conservation provisions of the NWFP.

Mature and old-growth trees and forests store an incredible amount of carbon on the landscape and are essential natural climate solutions. The temperate rainforest region of the Pacific Northwest, which the NWFP encompasses much of, stores more carbon per acre than the Amazon. Protecting mature and old-growth forests from the threat of logging is one of the most regionally significant climate actions Oregon can take.

The Forest Service is justifying these changes as necessary to address changing forest conditions and improve wildfire resiliency. However, science shows that mature and old-growth forests are naturally more fire-resistant than logged, plantation-style forests. Logging older forests, especially in temperate rainforests, can increase fire risks by removing fire-resilient trees and resulting in dense, even-aged regrowth. These forests also play a critical role in climate mitigation, storing far more carbon than younger forests.

Here are the key principles we must demand from decision-makers to maintain the integrity of the NWFP:

The NWFP has safeguarded old-growth-dependent wildlife like the northern spotted owl and marbled murrelet, along with salmon that rely on clean, cold streams for the last three decades. Unfortunately, these species are still under threat, and weakening protections now would have devastating consequences for their survival. Conservation measures that prioritize habitat for these species must remain at the heart of any NWFP update.

Our remaining old-growth forests are invaluable. Not only must we protect existing old-growth stands, but we must also allow future old-growth — mature forests — to grow in order to recover the forests we have lost to logging. Logging in older forests undermines decades of progress. A credible forest plan should prioritize long-term forest recovery and recruiting more old growth, not short-term logging interests.

Northwest forests are among the most powerful carbon sinks in the world. Logging mature and old-growth forests releases stored carbon, while natural forest processes lock it away for centuries. As addressing climate change becomes ever more urgent, any update to the NWFP must prioritize carbon storage and sequestration as a cornerstone of forest management. The fight against climate change demands that we protect, not exploit, these natural climate solutions.

In short, we need a strong forest plan that addresses modern science and public values, tribal concerns, and the needs of future generations.