New BLM proposal would open up millions of acres of Western Oregon forests to new commercial timber production
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, Jeff Merkley, and U.S. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Val Hoyle, Andrea Salinas, Janelle Bynum and Maxine Dexter this week called on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to extend the public comment period for its revised Western Oregon Resource Management Plans (RMPs), which would open up forests in Western Oregon to new commercial timber harvest.
“We urge the BLM to take a more robust and proactive approach to public involvement to ensure all proposed plans meet the needs of the public and avoid dividing communities that have long demonstrated the ability to find common ground on challenging issues when presented the opportunity,” the members of Oregon’s congressional delegation wrote in their letter to Kim Prill, the BLM’s Oregon-Washington Acting State Director. “There is a divide between what is required legally and what is required to maintain and grow the social license to work effectively in our federal forests.”
The Western Oregon Resource Management Plan controls over 2.4 million acres of forests across 17 counties in Oregon. In February, the Trump administration announced its intent to move forward with a revised plan that would return to 1960s timber harvest levels across the landscape, more than 10 times current average harvest levels.
The Trump administration’s public comment period for the revised plan closed on March 23. During that period, the administration did not hold any public meetings on its new proposal. In their letter, the lawmakers requested the comment period be reopened for another 60 days to ensure members of the community could make their voices heard.
A comprehensive list of areas that could be opened up for new timber harvest under the revised plan is here.
The full letter to the BLM is here.
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