The deadline for public comment concerning changes to the Northwest Forest Plan is Monday, March 17. The plan provides management guidelines and sets policy for 17 national forests in the Northwest including the 630,00-acre Siuslaw.
The plan was adopted in 1994 to establish guidelines for managing forests in the range of the northern spotted owl in western Oregon and Washington as well as northwest California. Its primary goals were to balance the conservation of old growth forests and the species associated with them with the U.S. Forest Service’s mandate to provide an economically stable timber supply.
The Forest Service has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement that evaluates the impacts of several amendment alternatives to the forest plan. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement is available for review online. And the public can submit comments here.
Collaborating to draft the amendment was a Federal Advisory Committee tasked with integrating scientific studies, assessments and monitoring reports compiled over the last 30 years. The committee also considered climate change, fire danger, conservation of mature forests and riparian habitats, Indigenous knowledge, and the contribution of predictable supplies of timber and nontimber products to support economic sustainability in rural communities.
All comments must be received by 8:59 p.m. Monday.
