Murrelets Halt Oregon Logging
In late June, a U.S. District Court judge in Oregon issued a ruling preventing Scott Timber from clearcutting a tract of old-growth forest that was previously part of the Elliott State Forest. The court found that logging the parcel would harm and harass threatened marbled murrelets, violating the federal Endangered Species Act.
The ruling stems from a 2016 lawsuit that sought to block Scott Timber from clearcutting 49 acres of a 355-acre parcel because of potential murrelet impacts. According to news reports, murrelets were documented in the 49 acre parcel more than 200 times by activist groups and Scott Timber’s own contractors.
Marbled murrelets are listed as “threatened” under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Yet in July 2021, state wildlife officials uplisted the murrelet’s state protected status from threatened to endangered under Oregon’s Endangered Species Act. Currently, the Oregon Board of Forestry is developing rules to protect murrelet habitat on state and private timber lands.
Related Articles
Latest News
AOL Health Insurance Now Available In Oregon
Following approval from Oregon’s Division of Financial Regulation at the end of 2023, Associated Oregon Loggers is now offering logger health plans through the association. The new AOL Association Insurance Program, offered by a partnership between the AOL Health Benefits Trust and the insurance provider, Health Net of Oregon.
Equipment Innovator Paul Bell Dies At 66
Researchers in Colorado over a 10 year period have determined that forest thinning opens up canopies and benefits key tree pollinators by allowing more flower and shrub species that attract and sustain bee populations. Biologists from Colorado State and Utah State studied 15 thinned and 15 unthinned forest plots and found more species diversity and better overall forest health in the thinned tracts…
WANT MORE CONTENT?
Spanning seven decades since its inception in 1952, Timber Harvesting highlights innovative and successful logging operations across the U.S. and around the world. Timber Harvesting also emphasizes new technology and provides the best marketing vehicle for the industry’s suppliers to reach the largest number of loggers in North America and beyond.
Call Us: 800.669.5613