FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Conservationists: New Wyden Forest Plan Falls Short

Protection for some old-growth undermined by weakening of Northwest Forest Plan and science-based management

Conservationists express interest in working with the Senator moving forward to improve the bill before it is introduced in Congress.

Conservation groups today announced their opposition to the latest draft of US Senator Ron Wyden’s forest thinning legislation, while expressing their desire to continue working with the Senator to improve the plan.  Today’s draft comes almost a year after Senator Wyden first released an outline for forest management that offered protection for some of Oregon’s endangered mature and old-growth forests while increasing thinning. Since the initial release, several changes have been made.  Unfortunately, while some of these changes have increased protections for salmon and clean water, others have put mature and old-growth forests at greater risk.

“It is encouraging to see that Senator Wyden is working hard on this issue that matters to so many Oregonians,” said Regna Merritt, Executive Director of the conservation group Oregon Wild and a longtime advocate for old-growth forests. “Senator Wyden has the right goals—to protect old-growth forests and restore other forests through conservation thinning—but his bill is the wrong vehicle.”

“With up to 90% of our ancient forests already gone, it is crucial that the Senator’s plan protect what we have left and restore the rest,” Merritt continued. “In its current form, this bill would leave our children and grandchildren with even less old-growth than we have today. We’re eager to work with Senator Wyden to ensure that gets fixed.”

Conservation groups have long sought to re-direct the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) away from controversial logging of old-growth forests and in pristine roadless areas, and instead to focus on restoration-based thinning projects in previously logged areas.  The Siuslaw National Forest in Western Oregon offers a prime example of the success of this approach.  Since moving away from old-growth logging in the early 1990s, the Siuslaw has continued to be one of the largest timber producers in the Pacific Northwest, yet has not had a timber sale appealed in a decade.

“There is a tremendous opportunity today to end the controversy and gridlock over logging by protecting mature and old-growth stands, focusing on restoration-based thinning, and increasing jobs and economic opportunities for rural communities,” said Steve Pedery, Conservation Director with Oregon Wild.  “But it is important to find the right balance, and unfortunately this plan falls short.  We would like to work with the Senator to make it better.”

Among the most controversial provisions in the Wyden plan is language that would allow the continued logging of old-growth forests on BLM land in Western Oregon.  These lands, which were included in the original Northwest Forest Plan, were targeted for logging by the Bush administration under their “Western Oregon Plan Revisions” or WOPR.  The WOPR would drastically increase old-growth logging on 2.5 million acres of western Oregon forests managed by the BLM.  Wyden’s plan would allow for the continued logging of mature and old-growth forests—trees up to 160 years old—under the WOPR.

“Senator Wyden has been a real champion on many environmental issues over the years,” said Pedery.  “It is deeply disappointing to see that his bill supports portions of the WOPR and the Bush administration’s environmental legacy.”

Harmful provisions in the Wyden bill:

• The plan excludes protection for 100,000 acres of old-growth forests up to 160 years old on western Oregon BLM lands.
• The plan sets age limits for protections of the remainder of western Oregon forests at 120 years—excluding thousands of acres of forest that most Oregonians would consider old-growth.
• The proposal would only protect trees that currently meet these criteria. This provision has been called a “rolling brown-out,” as it would mean that as existing old-growth naturally ages and is lost to wind storms, fire, or other natural events, the protective elements of the bill would not be extended to any new trees that have grown older.  Over time this would mean our children and grandchildren inherit even less old growth than we have left today.
• The draft legislation would carve out large exemptions from one of America’s bedrock environmental laws, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  This law requires scientific analysis of the impacts of logging projects before they go forward.  The Wyden plan would allow logging projects of up to 25,000 acres to go forward under a Categorical Exclusion (CE), an exemption from normal scientific reviews.  For comparison, the largest CE carried out under the Bush administration was less than 1,000 acres.

“While we cannot support Senator Wyden’s current draft proposal, we do believe that federal legislation is needed to protect mature and old-growth forests and direct federal agencies to focus on restoration-based thinning projects,” added Merritt.

Mature and old-growth forests provide communities with clean drinking water, critical habitat for salmon and other wildlife, and are an important part of the quality of life and identity of Oregon and the entire Pacific Northwest.  A growing body of research has also found that mature and old-growth forests can also play an important role in combating global warming. In Oregon alone, forest growth, primarily on federal land, sequesters nearly 50% of the state’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.

“We look forward to working with Senator Wyden to improve this plan and follow the example set by the successful projects already in operation throughout the state,” concluded Pedery. “That means clear protections for mature and old-growth trees and an emphasis on restoration-thinning projects that all sides agree are win-win for the environment, for timber mills, and for rural communities.”

See photos of old-growth forests on BLM lands under threat by the WOPR and allowed for cut under Senator Wyden's plan.
(Photos from Ginger Creek Timber Sale, Salem District BLM, and Edson Regen Timber Sale, Coos Bay District BLM)

See the complete draft legislation here.

###