AFRC, Oregon Loggers Urge More Active Management in Blue Mountains Forest Plans

Groups say new plans should give land managers more tools to address forest conditions and sustain the workforce needed to get the work done

The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) and Associated Oregon Loggers (AOL) are urging the U.S. Forest Service to adopt new forest plans that significantly improve and increase active management across 4.9 million acres of the Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa Whitman National Forests.

In separate comments submitted on the Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision Draft Environmental Impact Statement, AFRC and AOL said the final plans should improve active management and give local professional land managers the flexibility to respond to unhealthy forest conditions that increase the risks of severe wildfire.

The organizations also said the plans must support a dependable program of work that can sustain the businesses and workforce needed to carry it out. AFRC's comments are available here; AOL's comments are available here.

"Eastern Oregon is losing too many forested acres to severe wildfire, insects, and disease, and we need forest plans that allow the Forest Service to mitigate those threats," said Andy Geissler, AFRC's Director of Forest Policy and Monitoring. "The Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision is an opportunity to improve and increase active management while sustaining the mills and logging businesses needed to get that work done. The longer we wait, the harder and more expensive it will become to improve forest conditions and reduce the intensity of destructive wildfires."

The need for more and better active management is significant. Forest Service research published in 2026 found that 69 percent of forests across the three national forests are denser than conditions considered more resilient to wildfire. The study identified nearly one third of the forested landscape as potentially suitable for mechanical thinning to reduce hazardous fuels and improve forest conditions.

AFRC and AOL said professional land managers need the ability to design treatments that can achieve desired forest conditions. That includes using modern logging equipment when it meets resource protection requirements and making decisions about which trees to retain or remove based on current forest conditions instead of an arbitrary 21-inch diameter limit. Worker safety and economic feasibility should also be considered when projects are designed so treatments can actually be implemented.

"There is often more than one way to accomplish forest objectives and resource protection on the ground," said Amanda Sullivan Astor, Forest Policy Manager for Associated Oregon Loggers. "The final plans should give Forest Service staff the flexibility to utilize treatments that fit the conditions on the ground and best utilize the professional forest contractors in their community. Operational and economic feasibility must be part of the conversation because the scale of management and wildfire mitigation needed across the landscape can't depend on solutions that only work in limited circumstances. These treatments have to work in the real world if we expect to accomplish more management across these forests while uplifting the communities that rely on their responsible stewardship."

Getting more work done depends on maintaining the people and businesses capable of doing it. AOL members report that existing logging and processing capacity remains underused because dependable local timber supply is limited. Some contractors regularly leave the Blue Mountains to find enough work to keep their equipment operating and employees working.

AOL said a more dependable federal timber program could make better use of the workforce and infrastructure already in place while supporting future investment. The mix of material offered in timber sales also matters because projects dominated by small, lower value material may not be economically feasible. Where consistent with forest management objectives and resource protections, an appropriate mix of material can provide the commercial value needed to help accomplish thinning and fuels work.

The Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision will guide management of these national forests for years to come. AFRC and AOL said the final plans should support more active management and give Forest Service professionals the tools to respond to conditions on the ground. A dependable program of work can help sustain the businesses and workforce eastern Oregon will need to manage these forests in the future.