O&C Legislation and Negotiations

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Blog: Old Growth Timber Grab on the North Umpqua

by Gabe Scott, In-house Counsel Lone Rock Timber and BLM, shame on you. In what looks like a classic timber grab, Lone Rock Timber has demanded rights to log a swath of huge old-growth trees on public, BLM land. Claiming they need a road to access a part of one of their active clearcuts, Lone … Read more

Suit Filed to Prevent Old-Growth Logging Near Rogue River

June 27, 2017 — Today a coalition of conservation organizations representing tens of thousands of Oregonians filed a lawsuit against the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) seeking to halt the “Lower Grave” old-growth timber sale located on the Grave Creek tributary to the Rogue River.  This illegal logging project proposes to log fire-resilient old-growth forests currently serving as a critical refuge for the northern spotted owl, Coho salmon and red tree voles.

Press Release: Logging Industry Lawsuit Thrown out by Federal Appeals Court

June 12, 2015 — A logging industry lawsuit that sought to force the Bureau of Land Management to increase logging on public lands in southwest Oregon was thrown out today by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The ruling vacates a 2013 decision that would have forced the Bureau of Land Management to sell timber even when those sales would have harmed salmon and had detrimental impacts on water quality and recreation.

Cascadia Wildlands Defeats White Castle Clearcutting in Court

March 17, 2015 — A US District Court judge has ruled in favor of conservation groups Oregon Wild and Cascadia Wildlands in their legal challenge of a controversial clearcut logging project on public lands in Douglas County. At stake in the case was the Bureau of Land Management’s “White Castle” logging project which proposed clearcutting 160 aces of 100-year old trees using a controversial methodology developed by Drs. Jerry Franklin and Norm Johnson referred to as “variable retention regeneration harvest” sometimes referred to as “eco-forestry.” In her ruling, Judge Ann Aiken found that the BLM’s environmental review fell far short of fully considering the full range of harm that could result from clearcutting.

Observations from the BLM’s Buck Rising Timber Sale Field Tour

By Rory Isbell, Cascadia Wildlands Legal Intern   Fellow intern Rance and I recently joined Cascadia Wildlands’ Conservation Director Francis Eatherington on a public tour of the Buck Rising timber sale on BLM land east of Myrtle Creek, Oregon.  The tour was organized by the BLM Roseburg District office in order to demonstrate the results … Read more

A Trip to Washington DC

By Francis Eatherington   During the week of June 16, representatives of Cascadia Wildlands, Oregon Wild, and KS Wild traveled to Washington DC to discuss two bills, one from Senator Wyden and one from Representative DeFazio. Both mandate an increase of logging on western Oregon BLM lands.   We had over 21 meetings with agency staff, senators … Read more

Wyden-style Clearcut Causes Mudslide on O&C Lands

February 27, 2014 — Earlier this week, neighboring landowners discovered a mudslide in the “experimental” Buck Rising clearcut logging project on public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management in Douglas
County.  The type of clearcutting used in the project has been the model for US Senator Ron Wyden’s plan to double logging levels on O&C lands in Western Oregon.  

Senator Wyden is Holding a Hearing on the O&C Lands Today: He Should be Hearing From You

On February 6, 2014 Oregon Senator Ron Wyden will be holding hearings on Senate Bill 1784.  Cascadia Wildlands is so concerned about elements of this bill that we sent our own Francis Eartherington and Nick Cady to Washington, DC to talk about to our elected officials about the dangers of this bill. Our concerns are laid … Read more

Roseburg BLM Clearcut Logging Plan Challenged

January 22, 2014 — Two conservation organizations filed a legal challenge today aimed at blocking a controversial plan to clearcut 100-year old trees on publicly-owned Bureau of Land Management lands in Douglas County. The White Castle logging project targets century old forest, including some trees over 150 years old, using a controversial logging method euphemistically referred to as “variable retention regeneration harvest.”

Press Release: Sen. Wyden Drops Logging Turducken* Before Holiday

November 26, 2013 — Eugene-based Cascadia Wildlands today expressed disappointment with the O&C forest legislation released by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) that affects management of over two-million acres of public forestland in western Oregon. The conservation organization believes that it is a bad deal for the environmental values that make Oregon special and is committed to working with the Senator to see it drastically improved.

Bureau of Land Management: Four December Plan Revision Meetings Scheduled for Oregon

The Bureau of Land Management in western Oregon is scheduling a series of what they are calling “Community Listening Sessions.”  The stated goal of these sessions is to: 1) update the public on the plan revision progress and 2) hear the public’s thoughts on key issues like timber production and forest management, endangered species conservation … Read more