1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

On February 19th, 2026, the Bureau of Land Management published a Notice of Intent to eliminate old-growth and wildlife protections across 2.5 million acres of public forest in western Oregon. The stated goal is to accelerate timber harvest to approximately one billion board feet per year, four times current levels and matching peak production from 1964, before the Endangered Species Act existed. The increased logging is planned across federal lands, Oregon is just the start. BLM is dismantling protections finalized in 2016 after four years of careful development. This is not a response to any lumber shortage. Oregon federal lands produced 267 million board feet last year and generated $66 million in timber receipts. The administration now wants to return to the era of industrial clearcutting that devastated the Pacific Northwest, threatening some of the last remaining low-elevation old-growth forests containing douglas fir and western red cedar. These forests store more carbon per acre than any terrestrial ecosystem on the planet and provide habitat for the northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet, coho salmon, and steelhead. The BLM's own prior analyses acknowledge that industrial clearcutting and plantation management increase fire risk, directly contradicting claims that increased logging will reduce wildfire danger. The proposal would shrink streamside logging buffers to as little as 25 feet, inadequate for protecting endangered fish species. Much of this timber will be exported overseas while communities lose the water filtration, carbon storage, recreation access, and habitat protection these forests provide. I urge you to demand a congressional investigation into this rushed process, hold the BLM accountable for attempting to circumvent environmental laws, and block these changes from moving forward. These public lands belong to all Americans, not just the timber industry.