When most people think of public forest lands, they picture the Forest Service. But in Oregon, 2.4 million acres of forests are managed by a different agency: the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Many of these BLM “backyard forests” are found at lower elevations, scattered across the landscape in a checkerboard pattern alongside private industrial logging lands. These forests serve as vital refuges for fish and wildlife whose habitats have been devastated by clearcutting.
Last month, a collaborative investigation by Oregon Public Broadcasting and ProPublica examined logging practices on BLM lands. The report revealed a troubling trend: the average annual acreage of older forests logged has surpassed any two-year span since at least 2013. In other words, while scientific research increasingly underscores the critical role of mature and old-growth forests in combating climate change and safeguarding wildlife habitat, the BLM is ramping up efforts to cut them down.
BLM Forests – Before and After
One example: the Bureau of Land Management’s Nails Creek logging project.
Challenging the paradigm
Oregon Wild has filed multiple legal challenges in recent years to combat the BLM’s logging practices, one of which was highlighted in the OPB-ProPublica report. Partnering with Cascadia Wildlands, KS Wild, Crag Law Center, and others, we’ve taken the agency to court for threatening endangered species habitat, drinking water, forest health, and community safety. And we’ve won.
Unfortunately, the BLM persists in proposing destructive logging projects. Just days after the investigative report was published, we filed a new lawsuit challenging the “Last Chance” logging sale in southwest Oregon. The agency is emboldened, in part, by its departure from the guardrails of the Northwest Forest Plan—a framework that, for decades, kept BLM logging in check.
Now, the Forest Service is following suit, attempting to loosen its own conservation safeguards under the Northwest Forest Plan. The agency’s latest proposal revises the definitions of mature and old-growth forests and introduces loopholes that would allow logging in reserves previously set aside for fish and wildlife. Extending BLM-style logging to Forest Service lands would be devastating!
You can learn more about these concerning developments, how we’re pushing back, and how you can help, by checking out our recent webcast: How to Save the Northwest Forest Plan.
In the meantime, thanks to steadfast champions like you, Oregon Wild will continue fighting to protect our forests!
