December 21, 2020 9:45 a.m.

The American Forest Resource Council has applauded the Bureau of Land Management for finalizing a new rule streamlining the process for active forest management on BLM managed lands.

A release said the new rule closes a loophole in the public engagement process that has significantly delayed, and in some cases stopped, timber harvests and fuel reduction projects on BLM forest management projects in the west. That includes on more that two million acres of O&C lands in Oregon.

AFRC President Travis Joseph said, “In particular, our communities and forests will benefit from the elimination of duplicative and unnecessary ‘paperwork protests’, that for too long have crippled the BLM’s ability to manage its lands while undermining critical work in the woods”. Joseph said the change does not eliminate public engagement or input. Instead, it aligns BLM forest management with the procedures of the Forest Service and virtually every other federal agency, according to Joseph.

Joseph said the new rule will better enable the agency to meet its obligations under the federal O&C Act. He said the BLM has a legal mandate to harvest timber under the principals of sustained yield, meaning harvesting occurs at a rate that is in balance with, and does not exceed, the growth rate of the forest. Revenues from O& C timber harvests are shared with western Oregon counties to sustain essential services.