Western Oregon Plan Revisions Withdrawn

BREAKING NEWS!!

The Obama Administration announced its decision to withdraw the WOPR on July 16.  Read more

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) currently manages almost 2.6 million acres in western Oregon under the Northwest Forest Plan (NW Forest Plan). The NW Forest Plan was developed through an unparalleled effort to integrate the best available scientific knowledge. It has proven over ten years to be an effective strategy to continue cutting timber while conserving rivers, fish and wildlife. The NW Forest Plan conserves forested aquatic ecosystems through the Aquatic Conservation Strategy, which establishes riparian buffers where timber harvest is prohibited, provides extra protection to key watersheds, limits activities both streamside and upland that interfere with aquatic health objectives, emphasizes watershed restoration, and requires scientific analysis for some individual watersheds.

But now, the BLM has eliminated many of the protections provided by the NW Forest Plan on BLM lands in western Oregon - and its new plans are a recipe for dirty water and dead fish.

BLM announced in 2005 its intent to revise the Resource Management Plans for the almost 2.6 million acres of lands the agency manages in western Oregon. The impetus to change its plans was a push by the timber industry to increase logging on these lands.  The BLM released the final plans on December 31, 2008.   Click here to learn more about PRC's efforts to stop this plan, including our recently filed lawsuit.