Listen to our interview on State Forests and the importance of a strong Habitat Conservation Plan with Bob Rees, Executive Director of NW Guides and Anglers Association.

Oregon manages over half a million acres of state forest land.  That land is every bit as public as national forests, but historically, the state and the timber industry has treated it as just another timber plantation.

But that’s finally changing, and right now, the Oregon Board of Forestry is considering a Habitat Conservation plan which would set aside almost half of that land for long term stream and forest habitat conservation in the most critical areas of the forest.

This would be a huge win for salmon, steelhead, and other endangered species, and provide a major source of temperate rainforest carbon sequestration when we need it the most.

Unsurprisingly, the timber industry has launched an all-out misinformation campaign to stop this habitat conservation plan, even though it would still allow for logging in much of the state forest.

Read our comments on the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement for their proposed Annual Operations Plans. 

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