Northwest Forest Plan Alternatives: What You Need to Know
The Forest Service has released four alternatives in its Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Northwest Forest Plan amendment. Here’s what each alternative proposes:
Alternative A: No Action
This alternative would maintain the current Northwest Forest Plan protections established in 1994, including:
- Existing definitions of mature and old-growth forests
- Current Late-Successional Reserve protections
- Present logging restrictions and species survey requirements
- Current timber harvest levels (approximately 504 million board feet annually)
Alternative B: The Proposed Action
This is the Forest Service’s preferred alternative. Key changes include:
- Redefining “mature” forests from 80 to 120 years old
- Opening 824,000 acres of Late-Successional Reserves to logging
- Allowing logging in forests up to 120 years old in protected areas
- Targeting 964,000 acres of dry forest for logging over 15 years
- Doubling timber harvest to over 1 billion board feet annually
- Adding tribal collaboration requirements
- Permitting salvage logging along roads in protected areas
- Eliminating protections for unlogged mature forests in Late-Successional Reserves
Alternative C: Natural Process Emphasis
This alternative focuses on natural forest processes while still increasing logging:
- Emphasizes natural fire management
- Maintains some logging expansion through loosened protections
- Uses new definitions for mature and old-growth forests
- Includes similar tribal consultation components as Alternative B
- Allows increased logging in Late-Successional Reserves
Alternative D: Maximum Timber Production
This alternative provides the most logging flexibility:
- Eliminates species survey requirements in certain areas
- Maximizes “predictability of timber outputs”
- Further weakens existing protections beyond Alternative B
- Places stronger emphasis on tribal coordination
- Aims for similar timber outputs as Alternative B (over 1 billion board feet)
Submit Official Comments by March 17, 2025
How to Submit Official Comments
Deadline: March 17, 2025
- Submit via Public Comment Portal (required for official record)
- Email questions to: [email protected]
Upcoming Information Meetings
Attendance does not count as official comment
January Meetings
- Jan 21: Yreka (5-7 PM)
- Jan 22: Adin (6-8 PM)
- Jan 23: Redding (5-7 PM) – Virtual option available
- Jan 28: Roseburg (6 PM)
- Jan 29: Medford (6 PM)
- Jan 30: Klamath Falls (6-7 PM)
February Meetings
- Feb 11: Corvallis (5:30 PM)
- Feb 12: Springfield (5:30 PM)
- Feb 13: Stevenson (5:30-7 PM)
- Feb 13: Sisters (5:30 PM)
Key Resources – Review Materials Before Commenting
- Full DEIS: usfs-public.app.box.com/v/PinyonPublic/folder/293927886292
- Background Info: Northwest Forest Plan Terminology
- Talking Points: Climate, Biodiversity, Fire Management
- Tribal Sovereignty and Environmental Justice Resources
- Science Summary Documents
- Background documents on terminology and impacts
- Maps and fact sheets available at meetings
Remember: Official comments must be submitted through the Public Comment Portal by March 17, 2025.
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