Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision Decision Withdrawn in Response to Objections
In an unexpected development, the US Forest Service announced on March 14th, 2019 that they have withdrawn the Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision. The objections by Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project, other environmental protection organizations, and the Tribes were essentially upheld by the USFS’s withdrawal of their Forest Plan Revision decision.
The Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision was proposed to guide management direction on approximately 5.5 million acres across the Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests for at least a decade. It would have approximately doubled logging, removed current protective Forest Plan standards for streams and water quality, scrapped the prohibition on logging large trees (those ≥21” diameter at breast height), and severely weakened environmental protections regarding livestock grazing. The plan also failed to protect many ecologically important potential Wilderness and Roadless Areas. The plan would have exacerbated many of the negative effects on forests associated with climate change, such as increased stream temperatures and loss of biodiversity.
Read more about the Forest Service’s withdrawal of their Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision HERE.
To learn about recent projects and to help stop ecologically destructive logging and livestock grazing, please click on the Get Involved! tab in the above menu. You can see our recent Action Alerts and learn about volunteer opportunities under the Get Involved! tab.
**********************************************************************************
Don’t forget to support the ecological protection work of Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project! You can click here to donate and help keep our ecological protection work going with Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project! You can also send donations to: Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project, 27803 Williams Lane, Fossil, OR 97830.
Call us at (541) 385-9167 if you want to volunteer with us by helping us field-survey proposed timber sales this summer.
Check out our 2018 annual work report by clicking here.