Community Event, Public Notices, Siskiyou

Northwest Forest Plan Amendment – Critical Changes and How to Comment

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

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

Remember: Official comments must be submitted through the Public Comment Portal by March 17, 2025.


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