Hunters and anglers can now comment on the Blue Mountains National Forest Plan Revision

The U.S. Forest Service is revising the forest plan that guides management across the Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests. This plan will shape wildlife habitat management, public access, grazing leases, timber harvest, and some of Oregon and Washington’s most valuable hunting and fishing opportunities on more than 5 million acres of public lands for the next 20 years or more. As the Oregon field representative for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, I am no stranger to days spent chasing elk across the ridges and valleys of the Blue Mountains. I’ve shared these forests with the unforgettable smiles of first-time hunters harvesting wild turkeys, and I watched my young pup lock up on his very first blue grouse in a late summer meadow in the Blues.

These memories and experiences are why hunters and anglers should weigh in and ask the USFS to revise the forest plan in a manner that balances quality fish and wildlife habitat, hunting and fishing opportunities, and local economies that depend on these public lands.

The Forest Service is accepting public comments until October 6 on their proposal to revise the Blue Mountains Nation Forest Plan. Hunters and anglers can make a difference by supporting intact habitats, strong local economies, and lasting outdoor traditions. We have provided a sample comment for your convenience below.

Comment Now

Sample Comment:

The Blue Mountains are nationally recognized for their importance to hunters and anglers, and many rural communities are economically tied to the resources they provide. I ask the U.S. Forest Service to include in the Draft Plan a balanced management approach to sustain quality fish and wildlife habitat, hunting and fishing opportunities, and local economies that depend on these public lands.

To achieve this, please consider analyzing and including a management alternative that includes the following:

1. Elk habitat and security goals for each watershed to ensure elk remain on public lands during the hunting season and beyond.
2. Active management projects to improve fish and wildlife habitat. These projects can include timber harvest, thinning, prescribed fire, invasive weed management, and riparian restoration so long as they provide ecological benefits.
3. Desired conditions and guidelines that provide for improved elk habitat security while ensuring continued adequate road access for hunters, anglers, landowners, private companies, and agency staff. This balance will ensure active management and needed access for firefighting activities while improving elk security based on the best available science to maintain quality hiding cover that is at least ½ mile from open roads during key periods of the year.

A draft plan that analyzes and incorporates elk security, increases active management, and thoughtfully manages the needs of access will sustain hunting opportunities, reduce private-land conflicts, and help this landscape continue to deliver for Oregon’s sportsmen, Tribes, and rural communities. The need is clear to revise this forest plan that is over 30 years old to better address changes in economic, social, and ecological conditions. Thank you for taking steps forward to revise the plan.

Access Matters. So Does Habitat Management for Big Game

Roads are essential for recreation, active management, firefighting, and ranching and logging operations. That’s why land management plans like this are so important to ensure local economies can continue to thrive and crucial active management can occur while providing times and places where big game can rest and feed with less disturbance, particularly during hunting seasons.

When security is missing from public lands, elk move to private lands. This simple act reduces hunting opportunities on public lands and increases conflicts between big game and landowners. The Blue Mountains support one of the largest elk herds in the West, and hunters and anglers should work with the Forest Service to help shape a new forest plan that manages habitat to ensure quality elk habitat, including elk security. Hunters, anglers, public land managers, and landowners all benefit when elk remain distributed on public lands.

The Blue Mountains are also home to the Starkey Experimental Forest and Range, the only research station in the country dedicated to studying how forest management affects big game use and their habitat. For over three decades, the nation’s leading wildlife biologists have been studying elk habitat and behavior at Starkey. Two core findings are (1) forests need active management in many areas to provide adequate forage, and (2) those investments pay the greatest dividends when access management is carefully considered to ensure elk use this improved habitat and remain on public lands.

Starkey research shows that elk seek hiding cover that is at least ½ mile from open roads, especially during hunting season. If roads are too dense, elk will avoid quality habitat altogether.

Let the USFS know you think they should update management of the Blue Mountains for intact habitat, strong local economies, and lasting outdoor traditions.