Coquille Tribe Opposes BLM Forest Plan, May 17

News release from the Coquille Indian Tribe. The Coquille Indian Tribe has vowed to protect local jobs and revenue from the devastating effects of a restrictive federal plan for forest management. In a letter to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the Tribe said the plan “fails to satisfy the fundamental trust responsibility, other legal obligations, procedural obligations and best interests of the Tribe.” The letter protests the BLM’s proposed Resource Management Plan for western Oregon’s “O&C” lands and Coos Bay Wagon Road lands. The Coquille Tribe fears that the plan will threaten the tribe’s ability to manage its own forest, which is legally distinct from BLM’s lands but linked under federal law. Without changes to the BLM’s plan, the Coquille Tribe could face immediate curtailment of timber harvest from its Coquille Tribal Forest. The Tribe could lose millions of dollars in revenue it uses for health care, education, elder care and other services for Tribal members. Additionally, reduced logging and milling of the Tribe’s timber would have devastating effects on jobs and the local economy. “The Coquille Tribe is a proud partner in our region’s timber economy,” said Brenda Meade, tribal chairperson. “We are also proud of the high level of stewardship in management of the Coquille Forest, which is Forest Stewardship Council certified. We will use every tool at our disposal to protect the local jobs and revenue we produce from our tribal forest.” Twenty years ago, Congress conveyed more than 5,000 acres of BLM land to the Coquille Tribe as part of the Tribe’s economic self-sufficiency plan. At the time, Congress required that management of the Coquille Forest be consistent with the “standards and guidelines” of adjacent federal land. When that legislation was passed, that meant commercial timber harvest would be governed by the Northwest Forest Plan. Now, the BLM’s proposed management plan would do away with the Northwest Forest Plan and call into question what “standards and guidelines” the Coquille Forest should reflect. No other tribal forest in the United States is similarly restricted by the “standards and guidelines” of nearby federal forests. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Peter DeFazio have pursued legislation for several years to decouple the Coquille Forest from the BLM’s management regime, in order to give the Coquille Tribe equal treatment with other U.S. tribes. The latest bill, H.R.2791, passed the U.S. House of Representatives in September 2015. It is pending in the Senate.