“Historic” Deal Reached For Eastern Oregon Forests

Senator Wyden Will Introduce Legislation

A few years from now, we may be looking back and realize this was the day “peace” was declared in the Eastern Oregon timber wars.

After some 18-months of negotiations, environmental groups and the timber industry have reached a deal on logging some 8-million acres of federal forests in the eastern part of the state. Senator Ron Wyden’s office played a key role and today all parties announced the deal will be introduced as legislation. Should it become law, it will offer unprecedented protection for old growth forests.

The bill is called the Oregon Eastside Forest Restoration, Old Growth Protection and Jobs Act. Here are some highlights:

Restoration Instead of Logging: The big change means putting an end to timber sales. Instead, the Forest Service will develop large scale restoration plans designed to protect old growth forests and watersheds. There will be times when logging is needed to support those goals. Senator Wyden’s office estimates that during the first year of the bill, some 80-thousand acres will be logged.

Old Growth: The bill puts into law protections for trees that are more than 21 inches in diameter. The current protections only exist as administrative rules, which are easier to overturn.

Roads: The act stops any new road building and calls for the decommissioning of some existing forest roads.

Science: It creates a special science advisory panel to guide the restoration plans.

What’s in here for the various groups?

For the Eastern Oregon timber industry, it holds out the promise of providing a steady supply of timber from federally managed lands. The decades long fight over logging, plus the recession, has badly damaged the business. Only a handful of mills in the area are left standing. Wyden’s office says the bill opens the door for an increased amount of sustainable logging.

For environmentalists, it means a change in how the Forest Service does business. Sean Stevens is with Oregon Wild, one of the groups that negotiated the deal. His group supports it because of the new emphasis on restoring forests, and the protections that will be written into law.

A century of logging, grazing and fire suppression left Eastern Oregon forests “out of whack,” says Stevens. Lumber mills will still be able to get wood products, but under a “whole different way of thinking.”

“It feels historic today,” he adds. “There haven’t been a lot of times in the past 20-years that AFRC (American Forests Resource Council) and Oregon Wild have been able to stand next to the same podium. We feel good about it.”