Take Action
Submit your comments before Friday, May 17 at 5pm to: odf.sfcomments@odf.oregon.gov
See example key talking points and public comment letter below you can use to craft your own.
Key Talking Points (sample letter below)
Please urge ODF to:
- Postpone timber harvests in HCAs until final approval of the HCP through the federal review process. Once the HCP is finalized, the ODF should consider alternative actions to clearcutting in these areas.
- Cancel clearcut harvests in Aquatic Anchor habitats specifically identified as vital for endangered salmonids and amphibians.
- Cancel proposed harvest in historic and currently active Northern Spotted Owl and Marbled Murrelet territories.
- Refrain from construction of new logging roads in HCAs and in Riparian Conservation Areas. These actions are inconsistent with the HCP.
- Do not move forward with proposed logging on steep slopes (in particular “high hazard upland slopes”) and/or create wide enough buffers based on the best available science to minimize impacts to aquatic habitats and water quality.
- Revise Desired Future Conditions for HCAs from “general” (or non-complex stands) to reflect outcomes that support layered complex older forest structure.
ODF continues to clearcut layered and older stands despite being far below the complex/old forest performance measures approved by the Board of Forestry and the legislature. Key Performance Measure #10 set a target for 30% of North Coast forests to be composed of complex forest habitat. Complex forest structure is currently only at 11% across the landscape. Complex forest habitats provide crucial habitat for imperiled wildlife and aquatic species and should be managed as such, not continually whittled away.
Thank you for your support to protect our state forests habitats and wildlife!
Sample Letter (please personalize)
Example subject line: 2025 Annual Operations Plans
Dear Oregon Department of Forestry,
I am concerned about the logging proposals in ODF’s proposed Annual Operations Plan for FY 25. The proposal for harvest this upcoming year includes hundreds of acres of clearcuts and miles of road building in areas like Habitat Conservation Areas, Riparian Conservation Areas, and Aquatic Anchors that have been specifically identified as critically important for endangered species management in the Habitat Conservation Plan. We appreciate that the Board of Forestry recently adopted the HCP. However, it is inappropriate to proceed with logging and road building in such areas prior to a final decision while the HCP is under federal review.
I urge ODF to, at a minimum: 1) Prohibit all timber harvest in Habitat Conservation Areas and Riparian Conservation Areas prior to a final decision on the Habitat Conservation Plan; 2) Prohibit clearcut harvests in Aquatic Anchor habitats specifically identified as vital for endangered salmonids and amphibian; 3) Retain all complex layered forest structure consistent with the ODF’s Key Performance Measures; 4) Prohibit road building and logging on steep, landslide-prone slopes that have the potential to degrade water quality and spawning habitat; 5) Cancel proposed harvest in historic and currently active Northern Spotted Owl and Marbled Murrelet territories.
Thank you for considering my comments.
Sincerely,
Your Name
