Contact
Nick Cady, Cascadia Wildlands, (541) 434-1463
Ian Petersen, Owner Map Your Adventure and Thurston Mountain Biker
Ronna Frank, Thurston Hills Resident
Doug Heiken, Oregon Wild

Judge rules against Thurston Hills timber sale for failure to protect trails

SPRINGFIELD, OR — For the second time in three years, a logging proposal slated to clearcut over 100 acres of forest from the Thurston Hills designated recreation area on the edge of Springfield has been deemed illegal by a federal judge. The Court’s Findings and Recommendations come after years of campaigning by affected landowners and wildlands and recreation enthusiasts working alongside attorneys litigating on behalf of Cascadia Wildlands and Oregon Wild. Landowners living adjacent to Thurston Hills and citizens of Springfield and Eugene have opposed the project since its inception, due to the increased risk of wildfire and the diminished recreational value that clear-cut logging would bring to the area.

Ronna Frank, a community member living on 79th street near the project said:

“It’s been such a relief to hear that the forest I think of as my backyard won’t be destroyed by Seneca Jones Timber Company and the Bureau of Land Management. It never made sense to me why they would want to log such a small but beloved area of forest that’s so close to town when there’s so much other land in the state that isn’t so healthy and so loved. What is even more infuriating is that the public agency readily acknowledges the increased fire risk to our neighborhood associated with the clearcuts they proposed. I am so relieved this reckless project has been shot down again.”

The legal battle over Thurston Hills has centered around the heightened fire risk associated with industrial logging and tree plantation forestry, and the BLM’s failure to protect the area’s recreation values. Seneca Jones and the BLM were attempting to log directly over planned mountain bike and hiking trails that will connect with the existing mountain bike trails on Willamalane’s Thurston Hills Natural Area and the broader Rivers to Ridges recreation vision for the cities of Eugene and Springfield. The Court held for the second time that BLM and Seneca failed to preserve the trails from harvest as originally ordered by a federal judge in 2019.

Ian Petersen, owner of Map Your Adventure and a local mountain biking enthusiast said:

“I am so ready for the BLM to stop trying to clearcut Thurston Hills and just build these much-anticipated trails. This area is destined to become a world-class mountain biking location but not if the BLM clearcuts it. Hopefully the agency will now proceed with expanding the trail system and remove the clearcutting component.”

In 2019, the original timber sale proposal was also defeated in court on the grounds that the BLM failed to properly disclose information on the fire risks associated with the sale. When the sale was revived late last year, the only substantive difference was that the BLM chose to acknowledge the fire risk, without changing the proposal to mitigate the hazard. In light of the recent Holiday Farm Fire which displaced many families upriver from Springfield, this careless regard for our community is disgraceful.

Nick Cady, the Cascadia Wildlands Legal Director, said:

“The science is clear that older forests are more fire resistant than areas that get clearcut and replanted with dense, resinous saplings. That is why it was unfathomable that the BLM was proposing to clearcut the Thurston Hills. The public agency should be in the business of making our public forests more fire resilient, not increasing fire risk to our communities with reckless logging plans.”

Documents released by the BLM’s own scientists show that the logging proposal would drastically increase fire hazard risk for many years:

The fuels specialist reported that the change from a “mature” to an “early successional” stand structural stage would change the associated stand-level hazard from low to moderate/high. AR 2292. The stands would go from a timber model to a slash fuel model with higher predicted flame length, fire duration, and intensity and decreased ability to control a fire, with the greatest risk of a fire start during the first 5 years following harvest. Id.; see also AR 4178–95, 1040–53. 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. AR 2293. These potential fires would have high flame lengths, rates of spread, and intensity and would be difficult to initially attack and control. Id. Overall fire hazard would increase for 5 to 20 years following planting, then drop from high to moderate after the next treatment. Id.

Doug Heiken of Oregon Wild said:

“It’s time for BLM to give these public forests the protection they deserve — for recreation, community livability, water quality, community fire resilience, climate stability, and habitat.”

Additional resources:
Read more about the sale here. Find photographs of the sale here. Find the timber sale documents here.

Cascadia Wildlands defends and restores Cascadia’s wild ecosystems in the forests, in the courts, and in the streets.

Oregon Wild works to protect and restore Oregon’s wildlands, wildlife, and waters as an enduring legacy for future generations.

###

The post Recreation and Wildlands Enthusiasts Celebrate as Local Clearcut Proposal Defeated in Court for a Second Time first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

Contact
Nick Cady, Legal Director, Cascadia Wildlands, 314.482.3746, nick@cascwild.org
Doug Heiken, Oregon Wild, 541-344-0675, dh@oregonwild.org 

Cascadia Wildlands, Oregon Wild File Legal Challenge Against the Thurston Hills Timber Sale
Litigation comes as BLM refuses to alter timber sale despite Court rebuke for wildfire risk and logging proposed trail system

Springfield, OR | — In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rejected administrative protests and decided to move forward with the Thurston Hills timber sale despite widespread opposition to the project. Last year on September 19th 2019, Oregon’s federal District Court rejected the Thurston Hills timber sale due to BLM’s failure to disclose increased wildfire danger for nearby communities and residents, and the BLM’s failure to designate and protect trails in this newly designated recreation area. In response to the court order, BLM made no changes to the project and quickly reissued another decision, a response typical of the Trump administration which ignores the rule of law and attempts to circumvent environmental rules and public process.

“There is simply no rational reason to log this area. It is already sensitive to wildfire, and it is a designated recreation area, specifically set aside for the proposed trails. The trail building is not tied to the logging in any way, the BLM should just build these trails now,” said Nick Cady, Legal Director of Cascadia Wildlands. 

“Parts of this forest have never been logged and they deserve to be protected.” said Doug Heiken of Oregon Wild. “Proceeding with the Thurston Hills project, in defiance of a court order, is an extension of the Trump administration’s contempt for the rule of law, and disregard for anyone that is not a campaign donor or political crony.”

With 79th Street in Springfield on one side and newly constructed trails on the other, this BLM parcel is among the the closest federal forest 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 forest immediately adjacent to Willamalane’s recently opened 655-acre Thurston Hills Natural Area and near numerous residences who access their homes along the same road where logging will occur. 

“As a 20-year resident of Thurston Hills, I deeply oppose the Thurston Hills timber sale primarily due to the associated wildfire dangers,” said Ronna Frank, who lives on 71st Street blocks from the proposed logging. “My friends and neighbors tried to raise these issues to the BLM, and they said it was our problem and completely dismissed us. I could not believe it. These forests have been our backyards for decades.” 

“The lack of notice is troubling,” said Amy Sherwood, a Thurston Hills resident and small business owner. “Throughout this entire process, the BLM and Seneca have shown a detached indifference for the rights and concerns of landowners and community members.”

This project will increase wildfire danger to the adjoining Springfield residences, and convert the area into a permanent commercial tree farm for repeated logging. 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 over them, 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.  

“Mountain biking trails near Eugene and Springfield are pretty limited. We were really excited to get new, natural single-track trails through mature forests in Thurston Hills, it allows us to get some really fun riding in on a weekday or weekend. ” said Ian Petersen, local mountain biker and owner of Map Your Adventure. “My business is making maps of popular, regional climbs, rides, and runs. Mature forests slow erosion during the rainy months and provide shade when it’s hot. If the area is logged, the trails will have to be graveled to stop erosion in the winter, and the sun will fry riders like a couple eggs come summer. Gravel trails are much less fun to ride than the dirt trails that are currently in Thurston. No one will be excited about more hot, gravel logging roads through stump fields, plenty of that already over in Bend.”

Many public officials have voiced their opposition to this project, including Lane County Commissioners Joe Berney, and Pete Sorenson.

“I oppose the Thurston Hills timber sale as it stands because it puts community members at increased risk of wildfire unnecessarily,” said Sorenson in a statement. “This is the closest federal land to the Eugene/Springfield area and as such should be preserved for community resilience and recreation, not cut down for timber revenue.” 

Learn about Thurston Hills timber sale here.
Read more about the previous campaign here. Find photographs of the sale here. Read the BLM’s EA here. Read the 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.

Oregon Wild works to protect and restore Oregon’s wildlands, wildlife and waters as an enduring legacy for future generations.

###
The battle to save this public land continues!
Read the legal complaint here.

The post Press Release: Legal Action Taken to Halt Thurston Hills Logging in Springfield, OR first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

The post BLM is Back at it! Help Halt Thurston Hills Timber Sale first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

Panelists involved in timber sale monitoring, wildfire science, and public lands defense will discuss issues regarding recreation, conservation, and fire safety in public forests managed by the Bureau of Land Management. You will hear different perspectives on land management practices, learn about the key concerns for our local forests, and gain insight into how you can get more involved in the process.

Download the event flyer.

Check out the Facebook event page.

The Thurston Hills timber sale, aka “Pedal Power”, is currently the closest federal public timber sale proposal to town, and is located directly adjacent to the recently opened 655-acre Thurston Hills natural area and the 79th street residential neighborhood in Springfield. The proposal involves 100 acres of clearcut-style management in middle-aged forests and a trail system that would extend through the sale area and connect with existing trails in the Thurston natural area.

On February 19th, Cascadia Wildlands and Oregon Wild jointly filed a lawsuit challenging this sale. Representatives from both groups will discuss the status of the Thurston Hills sale as well as key concerns with ongoing BLM land management practices in our local forests.

Panelists are professionals in forest management, timber sale monitoring, conservation, and fire ecology:

• Chandra LeGue, Oregon Wild
• Tim Ingalsbee, FUSEE (Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology)
• Gabe Scott, Cascadia Wildlands
• Francis Eatherington, Umpqua Regional Advisor, Cascadia Wildlands

Download the event flyer.

Check out the Facebook event page.

Panelist discussion will be followed by an extended Q & A which will provide ample time for community members to ask questions and engage in discussion about issues, ideas, and next steps regarding the management of local forests.

The post Town Hall Discussion: Local Timber Sales, Public Lands, & Wildfire Safety – April 18, 2019 first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.