Let’s not lose another big tree
Large Trees Logged along Phil’s Trail
The aftermath of the logging of big trees in the West Bend Project: Courtesy of Oregon Wild
Just a few weeks ago, a local community member was out along Phil’s Trail just west of Bend and noticed blue paint on several large trees, marking them for logging.
The size of these marked trees was an immediate red flag; they were the biggest ponderosas that remained in this part of the Deschutes National Forest. Some were over 125 years old and well on their way to becoming old growth in an otherwise young ponderosa forest desperately lacking in the bigger, older trees.
The environmental and scientific community widely recognizes the importance of these trees to restore the health of our forests. They are naturally resistant to wildfire, store immense amounts of carbon, provide critical wildlife habitat, and set Oregon’s renowned national forests apart.
Two weeks ago, we called on you to sign Oregon Wild’s petition to protect these trees from logging in the Forest Service’s West Bend Project.
Despite the public outcry and demands to leave these big trees standing, the 30 marked trees were logged sometime last week. Like you, we are devastated by this news.
What went wrong?
It has been difficult to figure out just what went so wrong and how these trees ended up on the chopping block in the first place. At this point, we have more questions than answers.
We are working to find those answers, demand transparency, and require accountability from the Forest Service to ensure this doesn’t ever happen again.
The Deschutes National Forest Service worked with a timber company that marked and cut the trees in question. So far, we only know of the large ponderosas cut in this area, but we know the West Bend Project extends over 26,000 acres in the Deschutes National Forest.
The aftermath of the logging along Phil’s Trail: Worthy Garden Club
Were more big trees marked? Were more big trees logged? What is happening on the thousands of acres outside of this popular trail system?
To put it simply, we shouldn’t have to rely on local trail users to discover that trees critical to the health of our forests are being erroneously marked and logged, which is how this irresponsible cutting was discovered.
We should be able to trust the Forest Service to carry out these projects without alarming error.
This was a violation of public trust from the Deschutes National Forest Service.
Why these trees?
Some wonder if these trees were logged as a part of a larger fire mitigation strategy. We know that these big trees are actually the ones that are naturally resistant to fire. Photos of the area show the trees that often contribute to fuel loads or tree crowding (the small and thin lodgepole pines) were left behind while the large ones were exclusively targeted.
Large ponderosas were marked and logged while small, thin lodgepole pines were left standing: Courtesy of Oregon Wild
What’s more, these tree stands were miles away from Bend and posed no effect on future fire safety for Central Oregonians. This type of logging represents an oppositional view of thinning for fire management. Rather than thinning small, dense tree stands close to and within neighborhoods and communities, this project targeted fire-resistant old growth in the backcountry.
But we don’t have to wonder why these trees were marked. That much is clear. In digging into the West Bend management documents to see what criteria bound this project, this part of the project targets the larger trees for commercial value, not restoration.
Moving forward for healthy forests
We have learned two hard lessons as a community from the logging along Phil’s Trail.
First, this is further evidence that we need a clear metric for protecting big trees. We need to ensure there isn’t any gray area for what qualifies as old growth.
This is why we support the 21-inch rule as a clear measurement; if ponderosas in our national forests are larger than 21-inches in diameter, those trees should be protected from logging. We are fighting for this protection in eastern Oregon’s National Forests, and we also hope Deschutes National Forest listens to the science and keeps these trees standing.
Second, the Deschutes National Forest Service needs to be certain that checks are in place to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
With a slate of large projects proposed for surrounding areas, including the Green Ridge Project, we will be paying close attention to what goes on across the Deschutes National Forest to ensure mismanagement doesn’t lead to the irresponsible logging of our most critical trees.
Take action
Many people have reached out and asked what they can do.
Join us in demanding accountability and transparency. Please contact Deschutes Forest Supervisor Holly Jewkes at holly.jewkes@usda.gov and ask for a thorough and complete explanation of what happened. The public has a right to know what went wrong.
From there, we can move forward and make sure the felling of the largest ponderosas in the Deschutes National Forest never happens again. Our national forests aren’t for sale.
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