AFRC Defends BLM’s Blue and Gold Project Supporting Oregon Jobs, Communities, and Forest Health

The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) appeared in federal court today before United States District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai to defend the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Blue and Gold Project.

AFRC, along with the Association of O&C Counties, intervened in Cascadia Wildlands v. United States Bureau of Land Management to support rural Oregon jobs, timber supplies, and county revenues that depend on active forest management on O&C lands, and to uphold the agency's authority under the O&C Act to manage forests for sustained yield, forest health, and community stability.

"The Blue and Gold Project represents responsible, science-based forest management on O&C lands that Congress set aside for sustained yield and local economic benefit," said Sara Ghafouri, AFRC General Counsel. "The project provides critical timber for local mills, supports hundreds of family wage jobs, and generates revenues that fund law enforcement, fire protection, and public schools in western Oregon's O&C counties."

Located north of Roseburg, the Blue and Gold Project includes a mix of thinning and regeneration harvest on about 2,400 acres of O&C lands. Over its eight-year duration, the project is expected to produce nearly 70 million board feet of timber, enough to support more than 700 jobs, while contributing directly to the Roseburg District's Allowable Sale Quantity of 32 million board feet under BLM's 2016 Northwestern and Coastal Oregon Resource Management Plan (RMP).

The Blue and Gold Project was carefully designed by the BLM's professional public lands managers, consistent with the RMP adopted under the Obama Administration and authorized in an Environmental Assessment approved by the Biden Administration. The project incorporates extensive best management practices to protect water quality, fish habitat, and soils, and includes seasonal restrictions to avoid impacts to wildlife such as the northern spotted owl and marbled murrelet.

The Blue and Gold Project limits new road construction, retains old growth and snags for wildlife habitat, and includes post-harvest fuel treatments to mitigate fire risk near communities. Analysis by the agency showed that thinning and regeneration harvest will improve long term forest diversity, reduce stand density, and lower wildfire risk within the Wildland Urban Interface while maintaining habitat connectivity and watershed health.

"Active management through thinning and regeneration harvest is proven to make forests more resilient to drought, insects, and intense wildfire," said Andy Geissler, AFRC Federal Timber Program Director. "This project implements that approach while following all environmental laws and the BLM's RMP. That RMP set aside 80 percent of the O&C Lands in Reserves where timber management is prohibited. The Blue & Gold project is located on the remaining 20 percent where sustained yield timber management is required."

Anti-forestry groups have sued to halt the project, seeking to vacate its Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact. AFRC and AOCC were granted intervenor status in December 2024 to defend BLM's decision and the public benefits it provides.

"The Blue and Gold Project is about keeping working forests working for everyone," Ghafouri said. "Delays and litigation threaten the stability of mills, contractors, and counties that depend on predictable harvests from these lands."

AFRC will continue to stand with the BLM, O&C counties, and rural communities to ensure that sustainable forest management, and the jobs, infrastructure, and healthy forests it sustains, can continue for generations. CONTACT: Nick Smith