Teamwork makes the dream work

Judge Hallman of the District of Oregon found that a Trump-era rollback — the Forest Service’s elimination of the “21-inch rule” that protected large trees – was unlawful, and recommended that the Forest Service’s decision be vacated. In other words, the Trump-era Amendment should be abandoned, and the protection of large, old trees should once again be the guiding standard on six national forests and over 8 million acres east of the Cascade crest. While we are currently waiting for another judge to rule on whether that decision will stand, our clients are at the forefront of the fight to hold the line against mature and old-growth logging. 

We rely on forests and particularly large and old trees, as important sources of carbon storage, wildlife habitat, and Indigenous gathering practices. Photo by Ralph Bloemers.

We are at a pivotal moment. We rely on forests and particularly large and old trees, as important sources of carbon storage, wildlife habitat, and Indigenous gathering practices. And yet, across the country, federal agencies have been rushing to cut down our forests, without full and adequate environmental reviews. Although nationally, the Biden Administration’s 2022 Executive Order and follow-up proposed rule instructed federal agencies to prioritize protection of old growth trees, here in Oregon, the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are continuing to plan and approve projects that clearcut and heavily log mature and old forests. 

That’s why in southern Oregon, we are suing the Bureau of Land Management for a project proposing to log trees up to 36 inches in Late Successional Reserve forests (areas specifically set aside for old growth and wildlife habitat). And in the Ochoco National Forest in Central Oregon, we are closely monitoring the Forest Service plans to cut large trees even in the face of Judge Hallman’s order, and have submitted comments opposed to it.