BY CAMILLA MORTENSEN
Forest Stewardship
Is the BLM’s WOPR just
T
he Bureau of Land Management’s
Western Oregon Plan Revisions
(WOPR) has been the using up a lot of
the time and effort of environmentalists from
Eugene and around Oregon. Some local forest
activists think it’s a distraction from a more ne-
farious plan — logging under the guise of for-
est stewardship.
The WOPR’s preferred alternative
(Alternative 2) proposes a 700 percent increase
in logging in Oregon’s old-growth forests. The
public comment period on the plan ends Jan.
11, and many environmentalists believe the
plan will end up going into litigation.
Tim Hermach, executive director of the
Native Forest Council (NFC), says the WOPR
is a “totally bogus plan” and the BLM is using
“military tactics, designed not to win but to re-
focus.” With all the focus on the WOPR, he
says, environmentalists are not paying atten-
tion to stewardship contracting.
“Stewardship end result contracting” was
created under the Clinton administration, says
Forest Service Employees for Environmental
Ethics Executive Director Andy Stahl. It’s a
plan in which land managers barter trees for
“good works in the woods” — improvements
to the land or watershed. For example, a con-
tractor would thin trees from forestland and in
exchange would maintain trails on that land or
get rid of trails to restore water quality.
While Stahl agrees that there are problems
with stewardship projects, he says, “There is
no possible way that the WOPR is a scheme to
troversy about stewardship
arises.
“Commercial thinning has
a distraction?
the environmental community
split,” says Stahl. He divides
distract from stewardship contracting.”
the split into “jobs in the
Stewardship contracting was origi-
woods” people who see “so-
nally limited to Forest Service lands, but
cial merit in having a logging
in 2003, it was expanded under the Bush
industry and having commu-
administration to the BLM as well. The
nities like Sweet Home re-
stewardship authority was expanded until
main on the map” versus “zero
2013 and contracts can last as long as 10
cut” who don’t want to see any
years, says Bill Barton, director of field
logging at all. “Compounding
operations for the NFC.
the split,” he says, “are Wyden
There is no limit to the amount of land
‘There is no possible way that the WOPR
and DeFazio who have de-
under a stewardship contract, says Barton.
clared themselves ‘Thinning
He cites the 3.3 million acre Beaverhead-
is a scheme to distract from stewardship
R Us.’”
Deerlodge National Forest of Montana,
Andy Stahl,
Stahl, FSEEE
FSEEE
contracting.’ — — Andy
Sen. Wyden made a call
which has been proposed as a stewardship
back in December to increase
area by a coalition of forest industry and
on public lands, and
green groups. This gives them “complete
‘The stewardship authority is “vague” thinning
Rep. DeFazio told the News-
control of a national forest,” he says. If the
with “a lot of room for mischief.”’ Review in Roseburg in
WOPR goes through, BLM lands in
Bill Barton,
Barton, Native
Native Forest
Forest Council
Council
December that he was trying
Oregon could still become stewardship
— — Bill
to “garner support” for “an al-
lands, he says, “and not one cent to the
ternative approach based on
counties if stewardship goes through.”
thinning” and is working on legislation to get
trees are not scaled (measured) Barton is con-
Unlike timber sale money on O&C lands,
O&C counties 75 percent, rather than 50 per-
cerned that there is no way of knowing if larger
which gives 50 percent of gross timber rev-
cent of timber receipts.
trees are being taken out, in addition to the
enues to O&C counties, any money earned
Once the BLM has assessed public com-
smaller thinned trees.
under stewardship contracting goes back into
ments on the WOPR, it will release a
Finally, Barton contends that although
the project or other stewardship projects.
“Proposed Resource Management Plan” and a
stewardship contracts “give the illusion of pub-
Another of Barton’s criticisms of steward-
final Environmental Impact Statement in
lic involvement,” the final say lies not in the
ship contracting is that the stewardship author-
September 2008. This will be followed by a
community, but with regional agency directors.
ity is “vague,” with “a lot of room for mis-
30-day “protest period.”
Oregon currently has 26 Forest Service and
chief.”
Bill Barton and Tim Hermach will be
four BLM stewardship projects, most of which
Barton also says that there is “no accurate
speaking at the Eugene City Club at 11:50 am
involve some degree of thinning for fuels re-
measure of the amount of wood taken from a
Friday, Jan. 11, in a talk entitled “Logging and
duction to prevent forest fires or as an attempt
forest under stewardship contracting,” and
Taxes: How Are We Affected?”
to grow larger trees. Thinning is where the con-
“they don’t scale the trees as they come out.” If
ew
JANUARY 10, 2008 13