Oregon’s Ancient Forests Win! Logging plans withdrawn at last
As I sat down at my computer yesterday morning and looked at my overflowing email inbox, a new unread email subject line caught my eye: “Secretary Salazar to Announce Decision on Pacific Northwest Forest Management.”
The day had come! The Obama Administration would finally decide the fate of Oregon’s ancient forests, which have been under serious threat from a Bush-era plan that proposed to more than double the amount of logging on some 2.6 million acres of Bureau of Land Management forests.
A few hours later we learned that the Obama Administration would formally withdraw the Western Oregon Plan Revisions, or WOPR.
The Obama Administration had reviewed the six plans that the Bush Administration had put in place and determined that they did not adequately comply with the Endangered Species Act. The administration also asked that a Bush-era plan that would have jeopardized habitat for the imperiled northern spotted owl be vacated.
All in all, a very good day’s work!
But in fact, The Wilderness Society, in collaboration with other conservation groups, has worked for years to limit logging trucks of in these western Oregon forests, with their towering trees, rushing rivers and awesome array of wildlife. TWS, along with other conservation organizations, brought forth a major legal challenge that demonstrated the lack of science involved in the Bush decision. We also wrote numerous official comment letters addressed to the government and organized a public education campaign to bring attention to the plight of these forests.
Yesterday, our work to keep sound science, the law and good public policy at the forefront of forest management decision-making processes for American’s beloved national lands was realized.
I am joined by the entire staff here at The Wilderness Society in saying that we are pleased that the Obama administration held to its commitment of making science the foundation of its decision-making processes.
What happens next to these forests? With the withdrawal of WOPR, western Oregon forests will once again be managed under the Northwest Forest Plan, conserving them for all of us to enjoy now and in the future.
This is a huge win for the coastal forests of western Oregon. Many, many people helped make this happen, including The Wilderness Society’s WildAlert community, who helped to tip the balance by generating more than 130,000 letters in support of preserving these treasured forests.
Stay tuned as we learn about the next steps the Obama Administration will take regarding western Oregon forests and as we continue to protect American’s special public lands.
If you'd like to see more of the Oregon forests that have been affected, visit us on Flickr.
photo: Oregon old growth forest. Courtesy Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, www.kswild.org.
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About Andrea Imler
Andrea Imler joined the Pacific Northwest Regional office of The Wilderness Society in November 2007 as Communications Manager. Utilizing seven years of experience in public affairs, event management, marketing and educational outreach, Andrea... More about Andrea Imler
Legacy Comments
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Thanks to society of normal
Thanks to society of normal human beings it was possible ! I thing at the other side all of us have to do some different thing - to INFORM people what the buiseness did or will do in each small or big place on the Earth. Informed people can make for the world more that made or will make big money !
It was proper way to protect baby-seals in Canada and in Russia this winter and many people heard about the killing from the sites or blogs or from friends and signed the petitions. The reason of ending of stupid actions of administrations in each country is the noise - the noise of the MANY of people everywhеre in the world
HOORAY!!!!
HOORAY!!!!
Obama
It is good to hear that Obama is making good on some of his promises. These owls look so precious. You would think that loggers could go somewhere else and that would have never been an issue. At least the right thing was done. casino en ligne
"You'd think that loggers could go somewhere else"
I grew up loving these old growth forests. I was taught to revere them by my log truck driving father, who took every excuse he could find to bring his family to enjoy the tall trees and the clean rushing water and the free wind - gentle preferred. I don't know anybody who got up at straight up ungodly in the morning, took a deep breath of wood smoke, and said "I am going to go out and despoil my planet for the joy of killing owls and angering tree huggers."
I believe in so much of what wilderness.org supports, just back off the loggers. You can blame the corporate mentality that whe world is here to line their pockets, but don't get personal on the working man, OK?
A man can work at a job that
A man can work at a job that makes the world a better place or he can work at a job that makes the world a worse place. And "tree huggers" is a derogatory term. We are people who realize that corporate America is willing to despoil anyplace to make a buck.
Great News
Thank you, Mr. Obama, thank you, Mr. Salazar, and everyone who worked to make this happen. I weep tears of joy and gratitude that one more beautiful piece of our precious planet, our only home, is safe again - at least for now. We are very fortunate to have such committed conservation groups like the Wilderness Society. Let us all continue to do everything we can to preserve this jewel, our sacred Mother Earth!
I'm an Iowan who has only
I'm an Iowan who has only been to Oregon once, but I will never forget how beautiful it was - especially the coastal area. I'm so glad things are looking better for the natural beauty of the state.
This is exciting news. I am
This is exciting news. I am from the beautiful state of Oregon and the old growth forests are essential to its natural beauty and for the oxygen they provide for the planet. What a wonderful win! Thanks Obama!!
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YAY!! AWESOME NEWS! It's wonderful to know that we have a President that sees the big picture. Ancient Forest or any Forest for that matter are crucial
to our and Mother Earths survival. Thank You Obama administration for taking a stand to protect this ancient forest in Oregon. Please don't stop here, keep up the good work! God Bless~
Good news!
After so many years of nothing but bad news and desperate petitions to preserve wildlands and natural resources, it is wonderful to hear some *good* news!
NW Forests
Great news!!! I have enjoyed these beautiful forests while living on the coast of Northern Oregon and it hits me hard to see how the Bush Administration was able to destroy so much in so little time. Kudo's to the Obama Administration for being wise, listening to truth and stopping the rape of our only Mother Earth.
-Orchid
Bush was a monster. His
Bush was a monster. His disregard for our wild lands and our environment was sickening and depressing. It's about time we have someone in office who understands nature the way Teddy Roosevelt understood it.
Great news, if we don't take
Great news, if we don't take care of these forests, who will. Thanks to President Obama's administration and to all those who made their voice heard, we are making a difference.
Robert Moeller
This is absolutely some of
This is absolutely some of the best news we've received in a long, long time.
Thank you President Obama !!
Lisa & Scott Jordan
Bend, Oregon
Yeah!
I am filled with gratitude and happiness. With everyone's hard work and taking action, Oregon's National Forest can now continue to do what it does naturally – be an awe inspiring vision of magnificence and a living, breathing organism of nature.
progress!
130,000 letters is amazing! Forward issue alerts that are important to you to friends and family and urge them to sign/send. Remind people to speak up!
In a time when all seems to
In a time when all seems to be bad news, there are some silver linings if we just stop and look. Most sincere thanks to the Obama administration for taking leaps to protect our environment. Everyone, keep at it and by the grace of God...we can make strides to save the beautiful planet we have been given.
Great news!
As someone who lives in the coast range in Oregon, just feet from a national forest, I'm very happy to hear this news!
hurray for the forests!!
this is such awesome news! we really must thank the Obama Administration so they know their efforts are greatly appreciated!!
The woods!!!
This is wonderful news Mother Nature finally won a battle to stay whole it is about time!!!
Thanks, and it would be great to thank the Obama admin
I think that while it is helpful to let members know that we were successful, it is equally important to let the Obama admin know that we are grateful and applaud their efforts.
Judy
protect out forest
Finally someone cares!!!!!! lets protect our wildlife
IT WOULD BE NICE TO THANK THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION
protecing the forest
It brought tears to my eyes! Finally someone is listening. Thank you President O'bama.
thanks
it would be nice if a couple of the above comments were sent to President Obama to show how much his actions were appreciated by members of TWS and what it has meant to us.
Thank-you President Obama and
Thank-you President Obama and all those involved.
Thank you so much for caring
Thank you so much for caring about the environment for our generation and those to come. Maybe with continued vigilance there is still hope of undoing some of the damage of the Bush administration. Thanks for caring, Tammie Brousseau