Thin Support for Wyden's Tree-Thinning Plan?

Stronger protections needed for old-growth as proposal moves forward.

Conservation groups hope Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore) doesn’t open old wounds by circulating a draft of legislation he wants to introduce in Congress on a topic near and dear to Oregon – its forests. Wyden's preliminary plan forbids logging any tree older than 120 years in Western Oregon, and 150 years in the drier forests of Eastern Oregon. But, it exempts all the timber in the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) controversial master plan, known as the WOPR.

Sean Stevens, spokesman for the group Oregon Wild, says that would allow more logging in some of the state’s oldest forests.

"2.5 million acres in Western Oregon don’t get treated the same, even though they’re old growth, in this plan. To protect old growth, you have to say, ‘We’ve got 90 percent already gone; let’s protect the rest,’ and not exempt certain areas of the state.

Sen. Wyden has been a big supporter of forest management, admits Stevens, but this plan doesn’t do enough to balance economic needs with environmental needs.

"Let’s set aside controversial stuff, like mature and old-growth forests. Let’s protect those and focus on the restoration work that can improve the forest, can provide jobs in rural localities, and really be a win-win situation."

People could be put to work improving forest health, both in Eastern and Western Oregon, says Stevens.

"On the East side, we have some places where, due to leaving fire out of the landscape and fighting all fires, we’ve created an unnatural set of forest circumstances. We can do some thinning over there to make the forest healthier and promote the growth of old-growth trees. On the West side, we can focus on areas that are previously logged. They’re plantations, and we can make them look more like a natural forest by doing some selective logging in there."

Those in the timber industry and towns that rely on it say they need the jobs that more logging would create. Stevens points out there are other ways to create those jobs, with plenty to do to keep existing forests healthy. Sen. Wyden has said he expects to file his legislation this summer.