Logging

Wyden Offers Forest Plan, Hopes To Stop Bickering Over Logging

April 17, 2009
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Senator Ron Wyden’s latest attempt to find some common ground on managing Northwest forests is… no surprise here… getting mixed reviews.

As described in this Associated Press report via the Register Guard, Wyden says he wants to stop logging of old growth trees while shifting the focus to more thinning of forests.

(In my previous life as a member of the mainstream media, I had a couple of brief conversations with Wyden about forest thinning. He was adamant that thinning was the best way to reduce wildfires.)

The AP says Wyden wants to ban logging of trees based on their age. How old they have to be before being protected depends on their location in the state. It would spend $50 million on thinning projects and fast tracks projects on about 25,000 acres.

While praising Wyden for his efforts, both the forest industry and environmental groups think the plan has serious flaws.

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Enviro Groups Praise Spotted Owl Decision, May Affect Logging In Oregon

April 1, 2009
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Environmental groups are feeling more hopeful about the Northern Spotted Owl, thanks an announcement by the Interior Department.

A Northern Spotted Owl along the McKenzie River. Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

A Northern Spotted Owl along the McKenzie River. Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Interior says it won’t defend a Bush Administration plan to cut back Spotted Owl protections. The announcement came in a court filing. The feds are involved in a three way court fight with the timber industry and environmental groups over the spotted owl recovery plan.

The feds say they’re withdrawing it because Bush appointees meddled in the plan for political reasons. They’re asking the courts for another 30 days to work on a new recovery plan with the other groups involved in the lawsuit.

Earthjustice in Seattle says it applauds the decision. The group’s Todd True called it, “A victory for those who value sound government and scientific integrity.”

What’s not so clear is how this decision will affect logging in Western Oregon. If more old growth forests are protected to help the Spotted Owl, then that leaves less forest for logging.  But Michael Campbell with the Portland BLM office says the impact of the announcement is unclear.  BLM’s plan calls for major increases in timber harvests on about 2.6 million acres in Western Oregon.  Until a new spotted owl recovery program is released, Campbell says it’s impossible to know if that logging plan needs to be changed.


Enviros Sue To Block Bush Era Logging Plan For Oregon

March 17, 2009
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A coalition of environmental groups has filed a second lawsuit, aimed at stopping a Bush Administration plan to greatly increase logging in Western Oregon.

The suit claims the plan violates the Endangered Species Act and wants a federal court to strike it down.

Old growth forest near Eugene. Courtesy BLM

Old growth forest near Eugene. Courtesy BLM

The plan, known as the Western Oregon Plan Revision (WOPR), was created by the Bureau of Land Management after the timber industry complained there was too little logging in Oregon forests.  It covers about 2.6 million acres of BLM land in Oregon.  If WOPR goes into effect, logging in those forests could increase as much as 400%.

Oregon Wild leads the coalition fighting WOPR.  In a press release, the group’s Conservation Director Steve Pedery says,  “Oregonians today expect that our clean water, old-growth forests, wild salmon, and rare wildlife will be protected as a legacy for future generation.  The Bush WOPR plan needlessly endangers those values.”

The lawsuit alleges that BLM broke the law because it didn’t consult with other federal agencies on how WOPR would affect endangered species including many salmon and steelhead populations, the northern spotted owl, and the marbled murrelet.

Oregon Wild also criticizes the WOPR, saying it will allow logging on 100,000 acres of old growth forests.

In December, Governor Kulongoski wrote to the BLM, asking it to hold off on the plan until the new Obama administration had a chance to review it.  But the WOPR received final approval in the last few days of 2008.

Tuesday Read: Anti-Logging Book Gets A Makeover

March 17, 2009
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A number of papers around the state are carrying the story of an anti-logging textbook for first graders that has undergone an “extreme makeover.” The book, called “Help The Forest”, originally showed the loggers chopping down trees, littering, and blaming them driving wildlife from their homes. Not surprisingly, the logging industry and others in the community complained loudly. In the new version, the loggers are shown helping the trees and animals. From the Daily Courier via the Ashland Daily Tidings.

Courtesy Morris Grover, Depoe Bay Whale Watching Center

Courtesy Morris Grover, Depoe Bay Whale Watching Center

While many of us (including Natural Oregon) were all excited about a rare sea otter on the Oregon Coast, some wildlife officials were sort of wishing the whole thing was kept quiet. According to an article in the Register Guard, wildlife biologist Roy Lowe says the last thing the otters need is paparazzi-style attention from the public. He’s also worried the otters could be targeted by sea urchin harvesters. Urchins are a major source of food for sea otters. But humans harvest about 300,000 to 500,000 pounds a year.

Saving The Forest For The Trees

February 26, 2009
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The humble Poplar is finally getting some respect.

Not long ago, this fast growing softwood was usually turned into paper and pulp.  Recently, it’s become a source for biomass fuel.  Near Boardman, a new saw mill is under construction that will help poplar find its way into doors, windows and cabinets.

But Oregon State University Professor wood science professor Fred Kamke sees even more potential in poplar.  He says it can be made stronger than old growth Douglas Fir.

Kamke has developed a process using steam and hydraulic pressure that increases the density of poplar.  If done properly, the wood becomes four times stiffer and four times stronger.

He says that means poplar can be used in structural construction products, like the the I-beams that are installed as floor and ceiling joists.  It could also be used in a new kind of hardwood flooring, replacing fir and oak.

And that has environmental benefits, according to Kamke.  By making poplar stronger, he thinks it could reduce the demand for old growth timber.

He’s also a believer in the future of tree plantations.

Poplar can be grown and harvested in a 10-12 year cycle, which means poplar plantations are more like farms, than forests.  Kamke says growing our wood this way could reduce the demand for logging.  “We can produce all the wood products we need on a relatively small landmass, as long as we dedicate it to growing trees.”

Kamke says by using current technology, and applying it to plantation forestry, we could fill domestic demand for wood products, “on a landmass smaller than the state of West Virginia.

Logging Plan On Hold For Now

November 8, 2008
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Conservation groups got the break they wanted from the Bureau Of Land Management (BLM).

This week, BLM agreed to a 30-day period for more public comment on the new logging plan for western Oregon. Oregon Wild, Earthjustice and a handful of other groups sued the agency when it appeared BLM was going to implement the plan without another comment period.

There’s a hitch to this. BLM is calling this a “Public Protest Period” which puts limits on what issues can be raised at this late stage of the game. You can protest decisions made on issues that were already considered in the planning process, but you can’t bring up new complaints.

The new logging plan, formally known as the Western Oregon Plan Revisions (WOPR) opens up 2.6 million acres of federal forests to more logging. The amount of timber harvested under WOPR could double.

BLM is facing a year end deadline to put a new plan into place. The Clinton administration scaled back logging in western Oregon when it created the Northwest Forest Plan in 1994. But the timber industry sued. It reached a settlement with BLM that the new plan would be completed by December 2008.

Green Groups In Court To Block Timber Plan

October 29, 2008
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The ink is barely dry on the Bureau Of Land Management’s (BLM) updated timber plan and it’s already being challenged in court.

Oregon Wild and five other conservation groups are filing a lawsuit to stop BLM from carrying out the plan until it allows a 30-day public comment period. The groups say federal law requires one, but accuses BLM of trying to avoid it. They also argue that the updated plan is very different from the original and that the public deserves the right to comment on the changes.

BLM issued the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the timber plan earlier this month. The plan, also known as the Western Oregon Plan Revisions (WOPR), doubles the amount of logging allowed on 2.6 million acres of public lands, mostly in southwest Oregon. BLM says it would create 1200 timber related jobs and send badly needed timber revenues to counties.

The conservation groups say it allows too much clear cutting, too much harvesting of old growth forests, and doesn’t go far enough to protect streams and fish habitat.

To learn more about the WOPR visit:
BLM: Western Oregon Plan Revisions