Deep in the Willamette National Forest, several miles south of Oakridge, 6,800 acres of prime Douglas fir and mixed conifer stands have been identified for logging and habitat restoration in a new proposal by the U.S. Forest Service.
Several environmental groups, including Oregon Wild, are leery about the proposal to log and sell more than 45-million board feet from the region, while the Forest Service and Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative (SWFC) say the logging could help restore some of the native habitat.
Seneca Timber owns most of the forestland bordering the proposed logging region.
The Forest Service and the SWFC say this particular patch of forest in the Youngs Rock Rigdon region hasn’t seen a serious forest fire in more than 100 years because the Forest Service puts them out.