March 30, 2023 3:50 a.m.

On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Michael J. McShane granted summary judgement in in favor of the Bureau of Land Management and upheld a 2020 Rule eliminating the agency’s protest process.

Nick Smith of the American Forest Resource Council said that process had previously resulted in what he called “unnecessary and bureaucratic delays” to timber harvests and fuel reduction projects on BLM-managed lands. Smith said that includes more than two million acres of O&C lands in western Oregon that must be managed on a sustained-yield basis. AFRC and Douglas County, Oregon intervened in the litigation to defend the BLM’s 2020 rule.

AFRC General Counsel, Sara Ghafouri said, “We are pleased with the Judge’s decision to uphold the 2020 Rule because it complies with the public participation and objective administrative review requirements under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act”. Ghafouri said, “Even without the BLM’s process, the agency’s level of public engagement during project planning is consistent with the procedures of other agencies, like the U.S. Forest Service, and continues to provide for an administrative appeals process to the Interior Board of Land Appeals”.

The AFRC release said the BLM’s changes to its rules regarding forest management decisions actually improves public participation by allowing the public to comment on forest projects earlier in the process when public input can have the greatest impact.

The summary judgement document is linked: https://amforest.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Dkt-41-Opinion-Order-Mar.-27-2023.pdf