Medford, Ore — Protests this morning outside Medford’s Bureau of Land Management office over the sale of more than 1,000 acres of forest land in the Applegate.
While there were no bidders, the BLM says it plans to go back to drawing board before putting it up for sale again.
Protesters outside the bureau of land management in Medford say they’re speaking for the plants and animals of the Applegate Valley.
“The policies of cutting old growth should have ended 20 or 30 years ago and I can’t believe it’s still happening today,” said protester Jo Ferneau.
Ferneau is one of several dozen protesting the auctioning of 1,112 acres of public forest to private companies known as the Nedsbar timber sale, saying the BLM didn’t consider a community alternative to the sale.
“What they’ve chosen to do instead is go with something that meets the timber industries needs and not the community needs,” said Ferneau.
More than half that acreage will be available for timber.
Jim Whittington with the BLM says there was extensive public input.
“They submitted a community alternative and we analyzed that and we looked at our preferred alternative and the other alternatives and we selected a combination mostly of our preferred alternative and the community alternative,” said Whittington.
While protesters disagree with the planned sale, they’re not going to stop fighting for the forest they call their own.
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