New BLM Conservation Rule: A Step Forward for America's Wildlands and Wildlife, Yet Challenges Persist in Oregon
Hikers enjoying a trail in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, the country’s only National Monument designated for biodiversity, and maintained by the BLM. Credit: Haleigh Martin
Written by Alexi Lovechio on April 22, 2024
On April 18th, 2024, the Biden Administration announced a federal rule that will introduce a new vision for how the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) mission addresses the climate and biodiversity crises. The newly announced rule attempts to re-balance BLM’s multi-use mandate for managing public lands, which for decades has favored resource extraction over any other use.
The release of the final Conservation Rule is a major step forward in protecting America’s wildlands, wildlife, and waters. All of this work could not have been possible without your support. Thank you to everyone who raised their voice in support of our forests, climate, wildlife, watersheds, and future generations. KS Wild members have sent in over 800 comments to the BLM’s Public Lands Rule, advocating for protections for ancient forests and climate-smart management. We are grateful for your overwhelming public support, thank you!
The final rule is part of President Biden’s 2022 Executive Order 14072. The President directed the BLM and US Forest Service to identify threats to mature and old-growth forests, and to develop and implement policies to protect and restore them. The rule has three main components:
Protecting intact healthy landscapes
Restoring landscapes back to health
Ensuring decision-making is based on science and data
It recognizes the Bureau’s obligation to conserve clean water, fish and wildlife, and resource rich landscapes for generations to come. The rule creates a framework to balance multiple uses in a way that best meets the present and future needs of the American people. See the final rule here.
View from Grizzly Peak trail on southern Oregon BLM lands. Credit: John Soares
We are particularly pleased that the rule acknowledges the significance of America's mature and ancient forests as one of our most valuable natural climate and carbon solutions, along with being crucial habitat for numerous species.
Unfortunately, the safeguarding of these crucial forests in Oregon has fallen short. The Medford District BLM is currently proposing to log hundreds of acres of mature and old-growth trees in the Poor Windy, Last Chance, Rogue Gold and IVM timber sales. Currently, the BLM has hundreds of thousands of acres of logging proposed across Western Oregon that would destroy mature and old-growth forests. Almost 2.5 million acres of Western Oregon forests are administered by the BLM. These low-elevation forests in the Coast Range and Cascade Mountains have long been recognized for their important wildlife habitat values and inter-regional connectivity functions. This is not the end of our efforts to get additional protections for Western Oregon BLM forests. KS Wild is collaborating with partners in Oregon and engaging our senators to seek further guidance on how to incorporate conservation practices into western Oregon's BLM management.