News for Western Oregon's BLM Lands

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Breathtaking vistas honey-combed with slotted canyons and boulder-strewn rivers and streams occupy much of Oregon and the western states, along with huge stands of forest and snow-topped mountains. It’s a

I’ve had a few near-death experiences in my life. One was near the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. Let’s just say I was “Extreme Horseback Riding” with a friend. I might not have been paying as close attention as I should have because the horse decided to quickly gallop up a steep hill right under a massive oak tree. It was the massive branch on the massive tree that got me. What happened next wasn’t pretty. Perhaps my boots were too big for the

After two years of tireless effort and thousands of volunteer hours invested by residents in the Applegate Valley, the Bureau of Land Management's Medford district chose to implement Alternative 4 in the recent Decision Record for the Nedsbar timber sale.Alternative 4 is the preferred alternative of the timber industry and is highly controversial in the Applegate due to its likely impacts on the local ecology, quality of life and recreation economy. Medford BLM also rejected the Community

The controversial Nedsbar timber sale went unsold today at an auction following a protest by opponents, threats of tree-spiking and promises of civil disobedience against whoever bought the trees for logging.No bids were entered for the first Nedsbar sale at the Bureau of Land Management auction, held at the agency's Medford office late this morning after about 75 protesters railed against the sale they believe would over-log sensitive areas in the Applegate watershed.But that doesn't kill the

APPLEGATE — Some Applegate Valley activists are vowing to appeal a new multi-unit timber sale and fire-reduction project proposed by the Bureau of Land Management, saying the BLM "gave the finger" to residents trying to collaborate with the agency on the project.The group Applegate Neighborhood Network is at odds with the BLM's Nedsbar Forest Management Project, which includes logging on O&C lands, after the agency rejected the group's community-generated alternative.The

Relations between federal land managers and residents of the Applegate Valley in southern Oregon have long been strained by disputes over the Bureau of

Monica Bond has spent the past 15 years studying spotted owls and forest fire. This week, Bond published an article summarizing existing science about what happens to spotted owls when forests burn, in the hope of averting ...

Late Friday afternoon, Aug. 5, the Bureau of Land Management announced a Record of Decision for their Resource Management Plan, adopting their Final Environmental Impact Statement.Late Friday announcements are great media timing when you don’t want the issue to get much attention. But by the time the weekend was over a great number of Oregonians were preparing for battle. In fact, the American Forest Resource Council, a timber industry group, and Earth Justice, an environmental group,

The threats of old are still the dominant drivers of current species loss, indicates an analysis of IUCN Red List data by Sean Maxwell and colleagues.

"A forest is much more than what you see," says ecologist Suzanne Simard. Her 30 years of research in Canadian forests have led to an astounding discovery -- trees talk, often and over vast distances. Learn more about the harmonious yet complicated social lives of trees and prepare to see the natural world with new eyes.

Trees grow slowly, and it sometimes appears as if forest management plans take a similar amount of time to take shape. So it is with the Nedsbar Forest

No federal agency is responsible for managing as much land as the Bureau of Land Management. And no BLM district in the country has more people working

Court showdown may force the agency to reconsider its Pacific Northwest logging goals.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires in Section 7 that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) when land use planning to ensure the Proposed Resource Management Plan (RMP) does not jeopardize the recovery of threatened and endangered species or adversely modify their critical habitats. The FWS and NMFS, collectively referred to as "the Services," participated in early coordination with the BLM to increase cooperation and avoid a potential jeopardy or adverse modification determination.

Born and raised in Cres­well, I grew up reading The Register-Guard. Based on the newspaper’s June 12, 2016, editorial, “Congress must act on O&C lands,” I misread the date as 1986. Both the paper’s news coverage and its editorial opinions in the 1970s and ’80s were unquestionably supportive of liquidating old-growth forests.

As a resident of Brookings for four decades and as a longtime fishing guide, I have seen a thrilling rise in fishing, recreation and tourism businesses. The South Coast region’s travel economy generated $388 million in 2015, supporting 5,000 jobs and representing 1.4 million trips to the area. I join many Oregonians who are thankful for the spectacular rivers that contribute so much to our livelihoods and our high quality of life.

by

                        Jes Burns








OPB/EarthFix |

April 12, 2016 12:45 p.m.
| Updated: April 12, 2016 4:06 p.m.

| Ashland, Oregon

The latest federal plan for a swath of Oregon forestland that's seen big fights over animal habitats includes more logging, more protection for sensitive species such as the Northern spotted owl and more opportunities for hikers and bicyclists.

This article is based on research from a forthcoming report about Oregon’s Patriot movement, which will be published by the Rural Organizing Project and Political Research Associates.

SALEM — Conservation and fishing groups and an Indian tribe announced Monday they have filed protests against a draft federal proposal to manage 2.5 million acres of land in western Oregon — a plan that would allow logging to increase by more than a third and for trees to be felled closer to streams.