Laserfiche WebLink
<br />RESOLUTION NO. 4928 <br /> <br />A RESOLUTION OPPOSING THE BUREAU OF LAND <br />MANAGEMENT'S PROPOSED WESTERN OREGON PLAN REVISION <br />BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EUGENE. <br /> <br />The City Council of the City of Eugene finds that: <br /> <br />A. The 2.5 million acres of federal forests administered mainly by the Bureau of <br />Land Management (BLM) in western Oregon are currently managed under the 1994 Northwest <br />Forest Plan. These forests provide recreational opportunities, generate employment in the wood <br />products industry, safeguard drinking water sources for Eugene and other communities, offer <br />habitat for a mYriad of species, provide carbon storage for a livable climate, and allow for a <br />quality of life that attracts new businesses and skilled workers. <br /> <br />B. The City Council believes that the federal forests in western Oregon should be <br />managed for the greatest good for the greatest number of people over the longest time. <br /> <br />C. For decades before the Northwest Forest Plan, the BLM had clear-cut older <br />forests and built extensive logging road systems in these public lands of western Oregon, <br />degrading recreational opportunities, water quality and fish and wildlife habitat. <br /> <br />D. For more than a decade, county revenue has been decoupled from timber sale <br />receipts and instead Congress has appropriated payments. <br /> <br />E. It is in the public interest to protect remaining older forests and restore degraded <br />lands to enhance water quality, restore habitat, store carbon, and generate new economic <br />opportunities. <br /> <br />F. Two-and-one-half million acres of BLM forestlands are currently the subject of a <br />proposed management revision based on an out-of-court settlement agreement between the <br />timber industry and the Bush administration called the Western Oregon Plan Revision (WOPR). <br /> <br />G. The WOPR's preferred alternative (Alternative 2) would divorce BLM from the <br />conservation strategy of the Northwest Forest Plan, reduce protection for wildlife and streamside <br />reserves, increase old-growth clear-cutting by 700oA>, and build 1,000 miles of new logging road <br />over the plan's first 10 years. <br /> <br />H. This proposal is not in the interest of Eugene residents, and in order to preserve <br />and enhance their quality of life, the City Council desires to take steps necessary to protect <br />remaining older forests on public lands in western Oregon. <br /> <br />NOW, THEREFORE, <br /> <br />BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EUGENE, a <br />Municipal Corporation of the State of Oregon, as follows: <br /> <br />Resolution - Page 1 of 2 <br />4928.DOC <br />