The Trump administration is proposing a major expansion of logging across millions of acres in Oregon, saying the push will reduce wildfire risks on federal lands and boost local economies.
The Bureau of Land Management announced Wednesday it will conduct an environmental impact statement to evaluate amending two land-use plans covering 2.5 million acres in 17 western Oregon counties — potentially increasing logging to “historic levels” last seen nearly four decades ago.
The BLM lands at issue include habitat for the federally protected northern spotted owl and marbled murrelet, a seabird that nests in forests. Increased logging could result in the loss of old-growth forests that have been protected for decades, said Noah Greenwald, endangered species co-director at the Center for Biological Diversity.
“Spotted owls are already in steep decline; more logging is the last thing they need,” Greenwald said.
