Protect our Wild Forests

On federal lands, we advocate for the protection of wilderness, roadless areas, mature and old growth forests, and robust investments in ecological protection that restores fish and wildlife habitat damaged by past logging and road building activities. In our state-owned forests, the Sierra Club is working to permanently protect special places from clearcutting and other unsustainable logging practices.

Currently, there are no significant areas on the Tillamook, Clatsop and Santiam State Forests that are managed for long-term or permanent protection to shield them from the harmful impacts of logging and roadbuilding. Sensitive 'salmon anchor habitats' are open to extensive cutting with minimal streamside protections. In 2014, over 120,000 acres of state forestland were designated as 'High Value Conservation Area' across Oregon. Now, the Board of Forestry is in the process of rewriting the plan for these forests, crucial areas for habitat, clean water, and recreation are at stake. Learn more about the Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests and read about the work of our Oregon Forest Conservation Coalition.
We achieved a major victory on the Elliott State Forest when Governor Brown and the Oregon Legislature approved $100 million in bonding to preserve the forest. Much more work remains to be done, however, and we will be staying engaged in those efforts as they move forward.

Nearly 2/3 of Oregon's forests exist east of the Cascade Crest. More remote, drier, and less well known, these forests differ from western Oregon's forests in many ways, and have been the target of extensive logging, often promoted for the purpose of improving forest health.
The Sierra Club has worked for years to protect the forested wildlands of central and eastern Oregon, including he Deschutes, Ochoco, Malheur, Umatilla, Wallowa-Whitman National Forests, which range from the eastern slopes of the Cascades to the Blue Mountains.
Currently, the Sierra Club watchdogs timber sales in central and eastern Oregon's national forests, engages in collaborative efforts aimed at restoring lands damaged from past mismanagement, works to advance strategies to protect communities from wildfire while protecting older forests, and advocates for long-term protection for roadless areas, important fish and wildlife habitat, and old growth forests across this landscape.
An important long-term effort for the Oregon Chapter is our Keep Waldo Wild campaign to add nearly 80.000 acres of wilderness and expanded protections around Waldo Lake in central Oregon. Read more here.
Learn More about Central Eastern Oregon Forest Protection Efforts