Western Oregon Plan Revisions
P.O. BOX 2965 
Portland, OR 97208 

To Whom It May Concern,

Please accept these comments with respect to the proposed Western Oregon Plan Revisions (WOPR).

The existing Northwest Forest Plan was agreed upon by private, state and federal landowners to protect threatened old-growth while producing timber in compliance with environmental law. The WOPR would eliminate protections for BLM forests, which in turn would undermine the Northwest Forest Plan. Such action would be a clear violation of the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act.

The WOPR threatens some of Oregon's best (and few) remaining ancient forests on BLM lands. In fact, 2000 square miles of forest would be placed in "Timber Management Areas", in which clearcutting is emphasized. The WOPR would result in over 1000 miles of new logging roads and 140,000 acres of clearcutting in the first decade alone. 

The WOPR would designate over 100,000 acres of forests as OHV destinations. Most of these would be adjacent to private residences, which would threaten peace and quiet for those residents.

The WOPR would reduce important protections for clean water and Pacific salmon in over 70 Oregon communities by allowing logging near streams. The WOPR would also reduce protections for wildlife populations which currently rely upon BLM forests. Examples include elk, black bear, and threatened species such as the northern spotted owl and marbled murrelet. 

Rampant old growth clearcutting would provide short-term economic benefits to a few well-connected mill owners, but that hardly offsets the many disadvantages as listed above. Instead, I recommend protection of what little remains of Oregon's old-growth forests. I also suggest thinning small trees, which could provide more than two billion board/feet of commercially valuable timber.

Thank you for considering these comments.

Greg Lief
PO Box 2685
Salem, Oregon 97308