We're getting close to 35 years since the "threatened" listing of the northern spotted owl spurred a huge change in the management of federal forests in our region. But the debates and even the lawsuits are still very much with us.
The latest evidence is just a few days old: conservation groups put on public demonstrations and filed legal papers challenging the Bureau of Land Managment's Integrated Vegetation Management plan for the BLM Medford District. The Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, KS Wild, leads the opposition, with complaints about the footprint of the proposed timber cuts and the size of the trees proposed to be taken.
George Sexton, Conservation Director for KS Wild, adds detail to the objections.