January 11, 2008 Bureau of Land Management Western Oregon Plan Revisions Office 333 SW 1st. Avenue Portland, OR 97208 Re: BLM Western Oregon Plan Revisions Dear BLM: I am writing this letter as a comment on the WOPR. As a resident of rural Douglas County, the land that I call home is bordered by O&C lands that fall under jurisdiction of the plan. The Western Oregon Plan Revisions would negatively affect my livelihood, as well as the livelihood of many rural Oregonians, and other species that call these forests home. The seasonal creek that runs through my home (an unnamed creek that is a tributary to East Fork Billy Creek) has its headwaters in O&C lands. Under the Northwest Forest Plan, the riparian trees have not been cut, but all other mature timber has. This is some of the last primary forest left in my small watershed. Other neighboring parcels, owned by private timber or managed under the Northwest Forest Plan, have been clearcut and replanted in the last 50 years, with the most recent replanting about 10 years ago. As an organic farmer with no water rights to the creeks on the property, my livelihood depends on the groundwater in this area. Most seasons our well dries up to the point that we need to truck in water from nearby Drain. As the young stands of trees in the watershed have begun to mature, we have seen a decrease in this need. Ten years of observation have shown a direct correlation between tree maturity and ground water availability -- as the trees have grown taller, we have had less need to import water for irrigation as the ground water levels have risen. In the past two years, while we have had water shortages, we have not had to bring in outside water. This is directly related to the presence of older and bigger trees, which have been shown to raise water tables. If the WOPR is approved in its current form, the O&C lands that surround my property will certainly be harvested. This is of concern to me for several reasons, in addition to our water supply. Herbicides that are sprayed after logging can drift to our vegetable crops. Steep terrain in this area could become unstable in periods of heavy rain after clearcutting, which could place our fields in danger. Also, we harvest many species of edible mushrooms, including chanterelles from this forest, and would be unable to do so for decades if the trees upon which these mycorrhizal fungi depend were removed. According to a December 21, 2007 report on NPR http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17332316, the carbon sequestration of mature and primary forests is only beginning to be understood. The WOPR does not take into account the value of this activity, increasingly important in the face of global climate change. Furthermore, the release of carbon dioxide as a result of decomposition from logging on the scale proposed in the WOPR would surely contribute to global climate change. Implementation of the WOPR would negatively affect global climate change not only by removing a significant portion of temperate rainforest carbon sink, but this would be compounded by the release of sequestered carbon from the forest floor and through burning debris. Oregon's primary forests are worth more standing than harvested. Though we can easily quantify the worth of a tree in board feet, we cannot at this time measure the value of clean water, air, or stable hillsides. Please take the Western Oregon Plan Revision back to the drawing board, and consider an alternative that that does not cut nearly fifty percent of Oregon's primary forest in the next ten years. Focus the plan revisions on thinning dense young forests instead. Better yet, consider removing O&C lands from BLM management and placing them under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service, so they can continue to be managed under the Northwest Forest Plan. Thank you, Sarah Kleeger 4743 Hayhurst Road Yoncalla, OR 97499