Vida logging plan unveiled

LEABURG: The Bureau of Land Management will host a meeting on Thursday to review possible logging near Vida. Up for discussion will be up to 2,060 acres in the McKenzie Landscape Project area.

According to BLM staffers, in 1994 the Northwest Forest Plan established adaptive management areas (AMAs) to test new methods of achieving resource and conservation goals.

The Central Cascades AMA Management Plan calls for “well-distributed late successional habitat outside reserves, retention of key structural elements in regeneration harvests, restoration and protection of riparian zones, as well as a stable supply of timber.”

One result was the creation of a site-specific management plan, the Middle McKenzie Landscape Design completed in 2001. The affected area is in Oregon and California Railroad Revested Lands (O&C Lands). Under the O&C Act of 1937, the BLM is required to manage the land as permanent forestland for “the production and harvest of a sustainable yield of timber, protect watersheds, regulate stream flow, contribute to the economic stability of local communities and industries, and provide recreation opportunities.”

At this point in time no decision has been made on which areas might be involved and whether logging would be done with clearcutting or thinning.

Alternatives now being considered include:

• A no action alternative, where no treatment would occur at this time. This alternative would serve as a baseline for comparison.

• An action alternative proposing timber harvest following the direction of the MMLD that may explore alternative riparian management strategies guided by current research.

• An action alternative proposing timber harvest utilizing the direction of the MMLD for upland areas with riparian buffers consistent with Riparian Reserve land use allocation in the Northwest Forest Plan.

• Additional alternatives will be considered where they present opportunities to address issues raised internally or externally in a meaningfully different manner while still meeting the purpose and need for action.

The meeting is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. on September 26th at McKenzie Fire & Rescue’s Leaburg station. People unable to attend can submit comments by October 17th to [email protected] Attn: Kristine Struck, or mail them to: Kristine Struck, BLM Eugene District Office, 3106 Pierce Parkway, Suite E, Springfield, OR 97477.

Image above: Potential logging sites include: Finn Again - 110 acres, Marten Ridge - 370 acres, Mid Indian - 370 acres, Rough Draw - 330 acres, Second Tom - 290 acres, View Marten - 440 acres, and Wild and Wooley - 150 acres.

McKenzie River Reflections