If you were paying attention to forest conservation issues at all over the past 6 years, you should remember the WOPR (Western Oregon Plan Revision). Crafted by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under the Bush administration due to a sweetheart settlement deal with the timber industry, the WOPR would have dramatically increased logging of old growth forests and allowed logging near salmon streams on 2.5 million acres of public forests in western Oregon.

In 2009, the Obama administration withdrew the decision for this plan, citing legal problems with its analysis. It didn't take long for the timber industry to sue over this withdrawal, and today in Washington D.C. a federal judge ruled that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar failed to use the proper procedures when he made the decision to withdraw the WOPR.

Read the Associated Press story on the court ruling.

This doesn't mean the controversial logging plan is reinstated.  The judge is simply saying that the Obama administration needs to provide for public participation before withdrawing the WOPR. We support the judge’s ruling to the extent it requires BLM to follow the law and involve the public.

Fortunately, Oregonians overwhelmingly support protecting clean water, and providing habitat for salmon and wildlife that live in old growth forests. The vast majority of the 30,000 comments received on the original WOPR plan echoed that sentiment and the public will similarly support a future decision by the Secretary of Interior to withdraw the WOPR and uphold those values.

This lawsuit is unfortunate in its timing. Just as the BLM, conservationists, scientists, and some in the timber industry were starting to move beyond the controversy of the WOPR and find common ground to move forward with restoration-based projects in western Oregon, the dinosaurs of the logging industry have thrown a wrench in the works.

But this litigation exposes the plaintiffs from the timber industry as only interested in turning back the clock to the cut and run old-growth logging days. That is not what Oregonians want and it’s not going to happen as long as Oregon Wild is around.

We believe the Obama administration made the right decision when it withdrew the WOPR – to protect our ancient forests, pristine rivers, and wildlife. Now they just need to follow through on those intentions with sound policy that will allow us to continue to build on the momentum of common sense restoration instead of going back to the days of the timber wars.