New Bill For Oregon's Forests Needs Improvements

Last December, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) unveiled new legislation focused on the management of 8 million acres in six Oregon national forests.  While the bill has some promising restoration goals, it would lock in arbitrary annual acreage targets that could push the Forest Service towards harmful management practices, and remove the public's right to administratively appeal damaging timber sales on hundreds of thousands of acres of eastern Oregon national forests.  A congressional hearing took place on the bill on Wednesday.

Photo by John Craig, courtesty of the Bureau of Land Management

Sierra Club is suggesting modest changes that could significantly improve the legislation and better meet the needs of eastern Oregon forest job creation, old growth forest protection, and long-term ecological restoration.  In short, the Sierra Club believes that the way forward must be guided by science, and the current science tells us to protect the last remaining stands of old growth trees, to protect all remaining roadless areas, and to end the destructive practice of post-fire (salvage) logging.

Please take action and urge your senators to improve this bill and ensure that we are promoting true restoration jobs and protecting old growth forests, roadless areas, and biodiversity.