A lasting solution for old-growth forests

Old-Growth Campaign Coordinator Jonathan Jelen welcomes Senator Wyden's new plan to protect ancient forests and makes a few suggestions for improvements.

It is an exciting time to be a tree in Oregon. In the past weeks, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio have been working hard behind the scenes on proposals to permanently protect and restore old-growth forests on public lands.

Oregon Wild knows a bit about protecting and restoring our ancient forests. For years, we have been part of the pioneering collaborative group working on the Siuslaw National Forest in the Coast Range, helping to design projects that restore previously clearcut areas. We are also a member of the Clackamas Stewardship Partners in the Mount Hood National Forest, a group that recently won an award form the U.S. Forest Service for our excellent conservation work.

These partnerships have created forest jobs for local communities and restored areas damaged by past mismanagement of the land. They represent successful cooperation in action.

Given our recent interest and expertise in successful restoration work and our long history of advocacy for the natural forest heritage across the Northwest, we are excited to work with Senator Wyden and Representative DeFazio to make sure their old-growth legislation is as good as it can be.

Senator Wyden recently released the details of his proposal. After a careful look, here are a few suggestions to make the Oregon Forest Restoration and Old Growth Protection Act even better:

1. Wyden's proposal calls for numerous large-scale projects to be fast-tracked, without carrying out important environmental review and public oversight. Typically, only very small projects with minimal impacts are allowed to bypass environmental review. In fact, the largest project the Bush administration tried to advance in this fashion was only 70 acres. Wyden is proposing several 50,000-acre chunks. To avoid making 50,000-acre mistakes, we need to make sure the best science is guiding these restoration projects.

2. When the Northwest Forest Plan was written in the early 1990s, great consideration was given to the role forests play in protecting important salmon habitat in rivers and streams. The resulting Aquatic Conservation Strategy is universally recognized as a great success in managing forests to protect dwindling salmon runs. Wyden's proposal includes a plan to protect rivers and streams, but it lacks the necessary details that have made the ACS so successful. Any plan to protect our forests must include comprehensive language that recognizes the important role forests play in recovering wild salmon.

3. Public forests in Oregon have been chainsawed, bulldozed, starved of fire and degraded by decades of industrial logging and mismanagement. On the west side of the Cascades, some areas now sit as dense, single-species tree plantations. On the east side, ponderosa pine forests suffer from fire suppression and drought stress. These areas need scientifically based conservation thinning.

Conversely, some special areas have been spared from development and mismanagement. Wyden's proposal should be clear that westside forests over 80 years old that have escaped the harmful effects of modern logging remain pristine and that eastside forests receive the restoration they need to protect fire-resistant old growth over 120 years old.

The old battles over the fate of Oregon's cherished ancient forests could soon be at an end. With leadership from our elected officials and the potential of a new environmental ethic in the White House, the time is now to protect the little old growth we have left. We must be sure that our final solution for these publicly owned lands is scientifically driven, far-reaching and lasting.

We have a responsibility to future generations of Oregon families to provide a natural legacy they can be proud of. We can do that by saving the old growth, once and for all.