Judge Halts Portion Of Oregon BLM Timber Sale

A federal judge has halted logging operations across 3,000 acres of a 6,000 acre forest health project on Bureau of Land Management timberland near Camas Valley in western Oregon. The judge agreed with three preservationist groups that had filed suit against the 42 Divide project, claiming the logging would not result in the development of owl habitat within the desired 20 years, and the area in question is not in need of “restoring.”

The judge said the BLM relied on faulty modeling that assumed that the project would result in the development of owl habitat (60% canopy cover) after 20 years, when similar treatments put habitat development at closer to 70 years. However, the judge did reject an argument from the plaintiffs that failure to consider fire issues was a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) violation. Ultimately, The judge concluded the groups would suffer “irreparable harm” from logging, and wasn’t swayed by the BLM’s argument that delaying harvest would “result in wide-reaching economic harm” to rural communities that depend on logging jobs and counties that receive revenue from federal timber harvests.