Late Mungers Protest at Grants Pass Courthouse

Join the Williams Community Forest Project and allies on Saturday June 25th at 12:00 pm in Grants Pass at the courthouse to PROTEST the local BLM’s decision to log old growth and mature trees in the Williams Creek watershed.

It’s time to let our friends and neighbors and our larger community know that we have very important reasons for opposing the decision regarding their recent proposal to log in the “protected “ Mungers Late Successional Reserve. This so-called “ reserve” was established by the Bureau of Land Management and is about to be abolished by the use of a bureaucratic sleight of hand known as a DNA, Determination of NEPA Adequacy. (NEPA is National Environmental Policy Act) Basically the BLM is saying they’ve analyzed the area and now find it will allow them to sell some very big trees, 3 feet  in circumference and over 80 years old that, under some definitions, qualify as old growth. Furthermore they have closed the book on any public input regarding planning the logging in specific sensitive areas by the use of the DNA trick.

The President has declared by executive order that government agencies must assess mature and old growth trees under their jurisdiction. And yet our local BLM does not believe this applies to their decisions and is going ahead with the sale of these trees. Of course this means many miles of new roads, degradation of water ways and destruction of important habitats for legally protected animals.

To make matters worse, our elected County Commissioners have formally declared their support of the BLM’s plans to log old growth in the Williams Creek watershed. What are we going to leave for the next generations, logged mountains and compromised water supplies to say nothing of the negative climatic effects?

Ours is not a futile effort to stop another bad decision of the BLM. In fact, there has already been one successful effort to halt a logging proposal related to the executive order and more are in process of preparation including here in Oregon:

“An appeal filed by WildEarth Guardians and Carson Forest Watch has reversed the decision for logging with inexcusable impacts on old growth and water quality on the Carson National Forest in northern New Mexico. On September 24, the Forest Supervisor concurred with the conservation group’s objections and sent the Upper Bitter Creek timber sale back to government planners. For now, wildlife and clean water will have a reprieve from the logging boosters.”

We must stand our ground HERE. Come to the protest June 25 and learn more about the specific issues, sign a letter to the BLM and let’s make some NOISE.