The clock is ticking for Oregonians who care about what happens in their backyard forests. Residents have until March 23, 2026 to weigh in on a Bureau of Land Management proposal that would significantly expand commercial logging across millions of acres of public forest in western Oregon. The notice kicks off a multi-year overhaul of the agency’s Resource Management Plans and signals an intent to ramp timber production back toward late-20th-century levels across roughly 2.4 to 2.5 million acres. Conservation groups warn the move could put old-growth stands, salmon-bearing streams, and drinking-water sources at risk, while timber interests argue it is critical to keep mills open and rural counties afloat.
What The Feds Just Put On The Table
The Bureau of Land Management has formally opened the public scoping phase by filing a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register. The notice outlines early alternatives to increase sustained-yield timber harvest across the agency’s western Oregon O&C lands. The planning area covers about 2,460,000 acres, and comments on the scope of the analysis must be received by March 23, 2026. In a February press release, the agency framed the revision as a way to restore timber supply and bolster county revenues, and directed the public to the BLM ePlanning portal for planning documents and instructions on how to submit input.
Old-Growth Icons And Recreation Hotspots In The Crosshairs
Much of the land at issue lies in a classic checkerboard of federal and private parcels that includes areas prized by hikers, anglers, and tourism businesses. The proposal specifically calls out places like the Valley of the Giants, a 51-acre pocket of old-growth in Polk County that has been closed to public access since January 2025, as part of the scoping review, according to OPB. The BLM project page also lists Valley of the Giants among Areas of Critical Environmental Concern that stakeholders can nominate for protection during the planning process.
Loggers Cheer, Conservationists Bristle
Industry groups have welcomed the prospect of higher harvest levels, echoing the American Forest Resource Council’s argument that more timber will help keep mills running and county budgets in the black. Conservation organizations counter that the shift risks cutting into mature and old-growth forests, degrading salmon habitat, and undermining water quality, as Oregon Wild and partners have argued in recent filings. Even within the logging world, there are caveats: “forest operators and loggers are not interested in removing large trees from areas like the Valley of the Giants,” Amanda Sullivan-Astor told OPB.
How Locals Can Weigh In Before The Clock Runs Out
To be counted, comments must reference NEPA number DOI-BLM-ORWA-0000-2026-0001-RMP-EIS and arrive by March 23, 2026. The Federal Register notice provides the official NEPA details and deadlines, while the BLM press release lays out how to submit: use the BLM ePlanning “Participate Now” tool, email [email protected], or mail written comments to Attention BLM OR930, 1220 SW 3rd Ave, Portland, OR 97204. The agency is asking commenters to flag key issues, suggest alternatives, and nominate Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, ideally backing those nominations with studies, local knowledge, or other supporting information.
What Happens After You Hit Submit
The BLM’s ePlanning project page shows this scoping phase as just the opening act in a multi-step NEPA process. The current schedule lists a Draft Environmental Impact Statement on June 12, 2026, a Final EIS in November 2026, and a Record of Decision in February 2027. All of those dates are tentative and could shift depending on how many comments come in, the pace of tribal consultations, and the complexity of the technical reviews. If you have on-the-ground knowledge about a specific grove, stream, or mill, the agency is signaling that now is the time to get those details into the administrative record.
