On August 5, the Bureau of Land Management announced that it had finalized Resource Management Plans (RMPs) for lands it manages in Western Oregon. The agency believes the new RMPs balance timber harvest, recreational use, and habitat management for some of the region's at-risk fish and wildlife species. BLM provided numerous opportunities for public input during the development of the plans including 41 public meetings and forums, as well as evaluating more than 7,000 public comments.

"With this Resource Management Plan, the BLM has achieved an extraordinary balance that will create predictability and sustainability in Western Oregon," BLM Deputy Director Steve Ellis said. "We are creating timber harvest opportunities for local communities, increasing tourism and recreation, and protecting threatened and endangered species. We look forward to working with Oregonians on plan implementation."

With full implementation of the RMPs, the BLM anticipates that there will be annual timber harvests of around 278 million board feet. In addition, in response to public input there was a 20 percent increase to 491,000 acres that are designated as Recreation Management Areas (RMAs). These RMAs will be developed to improve recreational opportunity and reduce user conflict while also maintaining natural resource values. According to the BLM release, the agency estimates that "the RMPs will increase annual harvest value from $23 million to $51 million, the value of recreation will increase from $223 million to $271 million, and the contributions to jobs will increase from 7,900 to 8,500."