Contact
Sam Krop, Grassroots Organizer, Cascadia Wildlands, (727) 432-5767, sam@cascwild.org
Nick Cady, Legal Director, Cascadia Wildlands, (314) 482-3746, nick@cascwild.org

Thurston Hills Timber Sale Moves Forward in Midst of Global Health Crisis Despite Community Opposition

Springfield, OR | — In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) made a final decision to move forward with the Thurston Hills timber sale today despite widespread opposition to the project. With 79th Street in Springfield on one side and newly constructed trails on the other, this BLM parcel is the closest federal public land to the Springfield-Eugene urban area and an invaluable recreation area for local residents. The timber sale would result in extensive “regeneration harvest” (all but clear-cutting) of 109 acres of middle-aged forest immediately adjacent to Willamalane’s recently opened 655-acre Thurston Hills Natural Area.

The project is moving forward despite Cascadia Wildlands and Oregon Wild’s successful legal challenge of the sale in Court last year. BLM now admits that logging will increase fire risks and hazards to the adjoining Springfield residences, but the BLM dismisses these risks as insignificant. Not only is this project a threat to community safety, but would also have dramatic impacts on recreation. The BLM has designated areas for trails, but plans to log directly through the newly designated trail buffers, likely preventing the area from becoming the regional running and mountain biking destination that was envisioned and planned for by the cities of Springfield and Eugene.

The approval of this sale in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic is part of a broader pattern of Federal agencies taking advantage of a global crisis to remove regulations and green-light extractive projects (see the FERC approval of the proposed Jordan Cove Energy Project). Instead of halting the proposal and permitting of these projects as our nation reels from the impacts of the Corona Virus, the Trump Administration is using it as an opportunity to advance its industry-friendly agenda.

Sue Hartman, an impacted landowner, said:

It is so ugly, heartless, and tragic that the BLM and Seneca still plan on clear-cutting the Thurston Hills forest, starting at 79th Street within the Springfield city limits. If they would compromise and thin the forest instead, it could protect nearby homes from wildfires, landslides and wildlife while maintaining natural habitat, and recreation trails. If this project goes through, the scenic Mackenzie Drive may not be scenic anymore.

Nick Cady, Legal Director with Cascadia Wildlands, said:

The BLM is directly violating the court’s order by moving forward with this sale. Their out-of-hand dismissal of the fire impacts of this project to the City of Springfield and callous disregard for this designated recreation area is completely out of touch with the agency’s obligation to our community, and we will fight them every step of the way.

Doug Heiken, Conservation and Restoration Coordinator with Oregon Wild, said:

A few years ago BLM had the foresight to designate the Thurston Hills as a special recreation area for the enjoyment of Springfield/Eugene residents. Now, just a few years later, BLM’s aggressive logging agenda erases that goodwill by clearcutting over the recreation trails and increasing fire hazard for nearby residents.

Background and Resources:

The BLM first introduced plans to log Thurston Hills in June of 2018, and the plan met immediate community resistance. For the next year, Cascadia Wildlands and Oregon Wild worked with conservation partners, student groups, and Thurston area neighbors to organize public hikes, town hall meetings, and door to door canvassing. Cascadia Wildlands joined Oregon Wild in filing a legal challenge to the sale.

On September 19th 2019, Judge Michael McShane of Oregon’s district court ruled in favor of Cascadia Wildlands and co-plaintiff Oregon Wild, determining that the BLM violated federal laws when it sold off the 100 acres of public land in the Thurston Hills sale for clearcut logging. Siding with conservationists, recreationists and many Thurston Hills residents, the court ruled that clearcut logging would increase risk of wildfire for nearby communities, and that the BLM must adequately disclose those risks in their planning documents. The Court also found that the BLM violated the law when it failed to designate and protect trails in this recreation area.

Read more about the previous campaign here. Find photographs of the sale here. Read the BLM’s EA here. Find the BLM’s Final Decision here.

Cascadia Wildlands is a Eugene-based nonprofit working to defend and restore Cascadia’s wild ecosystems in the forests, in the courts, and in the streets.

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The post Press Release: BLM Attempting to Clearcut Thurston Hills Again Despite Fire Risk to Springfield first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

Contact:
Nick Cady, Cascadia Wildlands, 314-482-3746, nick@old.cascwild.org
Doug Heiken, Oregon Wild, 541-344-0675, dh@oregonwild.org

Court Rules BLM Clearcuts on the Edge of Springfield Will Increase Fire Hazard and Harm Recreation

Conservation groups and neighbors defeat BLM’s Thurston Hills timber sale

Eugene, Or. — On Wednesday, Judge Michael McShane ruled in a lawsuit filed by Cascadia Wildlands and Oregon Wild, determining that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) violated federal laws when it approved clearcutting 100 acres of public land next to the city of Springfield. The court said that BLM’s environmental review failed to consider the fact that logging would increase fire hazard for nearby residents and failed to harmonize logging and recreation by buffering trails as required by BLM’s own rules.

The Court held the BLM failed to explain or analyze “the degree or severity of fire hazard to the community and neighboring landowners” and “attempted to marginalize the effects of regeneration logging” on public safety and fire hazard. The Court went on to explain that the logging would for 5 years immediately following harvest “increase stand-level [fire] hazard from low to moderate/high” “with higher predicted flame length, fire duration, and intensity and decreased ability to control a fire.” “Over the next 10 to 40 years, stands would transition through stages associated with high stand-level fire hazard rating and go from a slash fuel to a brush fuel type, which are more volatile and susceptible to high fire-caused mortality rates. These potential fires would have high flame lengths, rates of spread, and intensity and would be difficult to initially attack and control.”

Local residents had repeatedly raised wildfire safety concerns to the BLM, and the BLM had assured these neighbors that the issue would be addressed. The Court concluded that not only was this issue not addressed, but that BLM removed from public review its 18-page fuels specialist (fire) report and “deprived the public of its only opportunity to comment.”

Many of these neighbors spoke out when the timber sale was finalized: “I am concerned that the Bureau of Land Management chose to ignore the increased risk of wildfire that would result from their clearcut proposal, and am worried that the Thurston Hills timber sale will not only be a local eyesore, but will also threaten the safety of my home and community,” said Sue Hartman, a local resident who lives off of 69^th Street in Springfield, close to the proposed logging.

The area to be logged is located directly adjacent to Willamalane’s recently opened 665-acre Thurston Hills Natural Area. BLM’s recently adopted new resource management plan (RMP) for western Oregon and in collaboration with Willamalane, specifically designated this small area for recreation in order to complement the Thurston Hills Natural Area’s recreation opportunities, specifically high-quality mountain biking and hiking.

“Through this legal challenge, it became clear that the BLM was getting clear commands to ramp up the cut from higher up,” said Nick Cady, legal director of Cascadia Wildlands. “The ruling is a big win for community safety and recreation in our backyard forests.”

BLM now must reconsider its logging plans, and if they decide to proceed with logging, BLM must buffer and protect the trails and conduct a more in-depth analysis of fire hazard caused by logging. This case highlights the fact that mature trees with thick bark and high canopies are more resistant and resilient to fire compared to the dense under-growth that develops after clearcutting. Dozens of nearby homes could be threatened if a fire starts, and BLM admits that its proposed logging will substantially increase wildfire hazard for the Springfield community for 40-50 years after logging.

“We hope this decision dispels BLM’s notion that logging trumps everything else even in a designated recreation area,” says Doug Heiken with Oregon Wild. “BLM needs to listen to the public and come up with a plan to provide high quality recreation and one that protects the community from fire.”

In June 2018, Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) wrote the BLM regarding this timber sale and told them, “If the BLM proceeds with this project, it will inflict lasting damage to its reputation and will garner ill will from the community for decades. The agency will lose any trust or goodwill that has been built over the years by previous district managers.”

Plaintiffs were represented by attorneys Jennifer Schwartz and Nick Cady, legal director with Cascadia Wildlands.

A copy of the Court’s Order and Opinion can be found here.

The post Legal Victory: Thurston Hills Timber Sale Defeated in Court first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 19, 2019

Contact:
Nick Cady, Cascadia Wildlands, 314-482-3746
Doug Heiken, Oregon Wild, 541-344-0675

Lawsuit Says BLM Clearcuts on the Edge of Springfield Will Increase Fire Hazard and Harm Recreation
Conservation groups and neighbors challenge the Pedal Power timber sale in the Thurston Hills

Eugene — Today, Cascadia Wildlands and Oregon Wild filed a lawsuit challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) plans to clearcut 100 acres of public forest on the edge of Springfield and directly adjacent to Willamalane’s recently opened 665-acre Thurston Hills Natural Area. In their complaint, the conservation organizations and residents who live adjacent to the proposed clearcutting cite increased fire hazards and threats to recreation from the logging.

“I am concerned that the Bureau of Land Management chose to ignore the increased risk of wildfire that would result from their clearcut proposal, and am worried that the Thurston Hills timber sale will not only be a local eyesore, but will also threaten the safety of my home and community,” says Sue Hartman, a local resident who lives off of 69th Street in Springfield, close to the proposed logging.

The area to be logged was specifically designated as a recreation area in BLM’s 2016 Resource Management Plan (RMP). The recreation area designation is meant to complement the recreation and natural area goals on Willamalane’s Thurston Hills Natural Area which borders the BLM property. BLM has plans to build several miles of new non-motorized hiking and biking trails in the area after logging is complete. The new RMP calls on BLM to manage the area for high quality recreation experiences. The lawsuit says clearcutting violates this requirement, and the agency should have considered thinning instead of clearcutting to better harmonize timber and recreation goals.

“No one wants to go hiking or biking in a clearcut,” says Nick Cady of Cascadia Wildlands. “The BLM, true to form, is putting logging ahead of recreation, even in an area specifically designated for the public’s enjoyment.”

The lawsuit also points out that clearcutting will increase fire hazard posing a threat to dozens of nearby homes. Clearcutting removes fire-resistant trees with thick bark and high canopies. After logging, tree planting creates dense conifer plantations that have dense interlocking branches close to the ground. Fire experts recognize this as a very hazardous fuel condition. Nearby residents raised serious concerns about fire hazard during the public comment period, and BLM admits that logging will increase fire hazard for 40 years after logging. However, BLM refused to consider alternatives to clearcutting, such as thinning, that would likely reduce fire hazard.

“With the climate getting steadily warmer, it is simply irresponsible for BLM to put Springfield residents at increased risk of fire for the next 40 years,” said Kebrhea Cuellar, a local resident who lives in Springfield, close to the proposed logging. “It is baffling why the agency chose to conduct clearcutting instead of thinning in this recreation area so close to Springfield.

The timber sale has drawn ire not only from conservation and recreation interests, but also neighbors and elected officials like Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), whose Congressional District includes this area. In June 2018, the Congressman wrote the BLM and told them, “If the BLM proceeds with this project, it will inflict lasting damage to its reputation and will garner ill will from the community for decades. The agency will lose any trust or goodwill that has been built over the years by previous district managers.” Shortly thereafter, the BLM made minor changes to the timber sale, but moved forward with the majority of the proposed logging.

More information on the project here.

Maps of the project area are below:

The post Thurston Hills Timber Sale Challenged! first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.