Conservation groups in Southern Oregon are celebrating a win. A judge has approved a previous ruling against the Bureau of Land Management's plans for the region that would allow illegal logging in old-growth forests, according to Jefferson Public Radio.
The Integrated Vegetation Management Plan proposed logging up to 4,000 acres of mature and old-growth forests per year. As KS Wild noted, conservation groups argued that the IVM project would also cut the public out of the planning process for where tree removal would take place and the sale of the timber.
Old-growth forests offer a number of benefits to ecosystems. They're one of the few places where topsoil is created and not destroyed. They also retain carbon and nitrogen, improving air and water quality. The nonprofit KS Wild was one group fighting against the IVM project with community support since 2020.
In April 2022, former President Joe Biden signed an executive order calling for an inventory of mature and old-growth forests across the United States to support reforestation efforts. The Bureau of Land Management surveyed more than 600,000 old-growth forests and more than 1 million mature forests in Oregon alone.
In June 2022, a group of conservation coalitions in Southern Oregon, led by KS Wild, notified the Bureau of Land Management that they intended to sue over the IVM project. Concerned neighbors submitted more than 800 comments to the BLM. Conservationists got their day in court in April 2024 when a magistrate judge ruled in their favor against the BLM.
The ruling was approved in early April by a U.S. District Court judge. KS Wild conservation director George Sexton spoke to Jefferson Public Radio about the ruling, saying the BLM should focus less on timber production.
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"You can do small diameter fuels treatments," Sexton said. "You can do restoration thinning, but you can't go in there and just do clear cuts that are primarily designed to produce timber volume."
KS Wild announced its win on Facebook. One user commented on the post that she's proud to support the organization.
"Thank you for your vigilance, intelligence and talent in getting so much accomplished," she posted. KS Wild responded, thanking her for her support.
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