Notice2026-03290
Notice of Intent To Revise Resource Management Plans for Northwestern and Coastal Oregon and Southwestern Oregon in Oregon/Washington and Prepare an Associated Environmental Impact Statement
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Published
February 19, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentLand Management Bureau
Abstract
In support of the Oregon and California Revested Railroad Lands Act of 1937 (O&C Act), in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Oregon/Washington (OR/WA) State Office intends to prepare a revision of the Northwestern and Coastal Oregon Resource Management Plan and Southwestern Oregon Resource Management Plan (hereafter, the RMPs) with an associated environmental analysis. The magnitude of unprecedented and destructive wildfires and other threats to forest health over the last decade, approaches to management (including the barred owl management), and severely reduced timber production compared to historically higher levels (and its resulting adverse economic consequences) merit consideration in an RMP revision. This notice announces the beginning of the scoping period to solicit public comments and identify issues, provide planning criteria for public review, and seek comment on current and future land use designations in the planning areas. The RMP revisions would replace the existing RMPs.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 33 (Thursday, February 19, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 33 (Thursday, February 19, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8017-8020]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03290]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[A2407-014-004-065516, #O2509-014-004-125222]
Notice of Intent To Revise Resource Management Plans for
Northwestern and Coastal Oregon and Southwestern Oregon in Oregon/
Washington and Prepare an Associated Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: In support of the Oregon and California Revested Railroad
Lands Act of 1937 (O&C Act), in compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) Oregon/Washington (OR/WA) State Office intends to
prepare a revision of the Northwestern and Coastal Oregon Resource
Management Plan and Southwestern Oregon Resource Management Plan
(hereafter, the RMPs) with an associated environmental analysis. The
magnitude of unprecedented and destructive wildfires and other threats
to forest health over the last decade, approaches to management
(including the barred owl management), and severely reduced timber
production compared to historically higher levels (and its resulting
adverse economic consequences) merit consideration in an RMP revision.
This notice announces the beginning of the scoping period to solicit
public comments and identify issues, provide planning criteria for
public review, and seek comment on current and future land use
designations in the planning areas. The RMP revisions would replace the
existing RMPs.
DATES: To be considered, comments concerning the scope of the analysis,
potential alternatives and identification of relevant information,
studies, and ACEC nominations must be received by March 23, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You must submit comments on issues and planning criteria
related
[[Page 8018]]
to this planning effort by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Website: <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov">https://eplanning.blm.gov</a>, Project Number DOI-
BLM-ORWA-0000-2026-0001-RMP-EIS.
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#490b050416061b161b2c3f203a202627161a2a263920272e092b2524672e263f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bdfff1f0e2f2efe2efd8cbd4ced4d2d3e2eeded2cdd4d3dafddfd1d093dad2cb">[email protected]</span></a>.
<bullet> Mail: Attention BLM OR930: 1220 SW 3rd Ave, Portland OR
97204.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined online at
<a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov">https://eplanning.blm.gov</a> and at the BLM Oregon/Washington Portland
State Office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Burghard, Medford District
Manager, Bureau of Land Management Oregon/Washington Portland State
Office, telephone (503) 808-6056; address 1220 SW 3rd Ave, Portland, OR
97204; email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#99dbd5d4c6d6cbc6cbfceff0eaf0f6f7c6cafaf6e9f0f7fed9fbf5f4b7fef6ef"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cc8e808193839e939ea9baa5bfa5a3a2939fafa3bca5a2ab8caea0a1e2aba3ba">[email protected]</span></a>. Individuals in the United
States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech
disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services for contacting the Portland State
Office. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay
services offered within their country to make international calls to
the point-of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The planning area is located in Benton,
Clackamas, Columbia, Coos, Curry, Douglas, Klamath, Lane, Lincoln,
Jackson, Josephine, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Tillamook, Washington, and
Yamhill Counties in Oregon and encompasses approximately 2,460,000
acres of public land, most of which are Revested Oregon and California
Railroad (O&C) lands, or Reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road (CBWR) lands,
and are managed under the statutory authority of the Oregon and
California Revested Railroad Lands Act of 1937 (O&C Act, Pub. L. 75-
405). The BLM-administered lands are within the Coos Bay, Medford,
Northwest Oregon, and Roseburg Districts, and the Klamath Falls Field
Office of the Lakeview District.
Purpose and Need
The purpose of the RMP revision is to seek an increase in sustained
yield of timber harvest that aligns with the historically higher levels
of production on BLM-administered public lands governed by the O&C Act
and contribute to one of the six principal or major uses of the public
lands identified in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976,
which recognizes ``the Nation's need for domestic sources of timber and
fiber.'' The need for this RMP revision is established by the
requirements of the O&C Act to determine the productive capacity of O&C
timberlands, declare the allowable sale quantity and offer it for sale
annually and consider information in the period following adoption of
the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan, during which time timber production
substantially decreased compared to historically higher levels, with a
corresponding decrease in economic output. During this time local
businesses and counties have experienced unpredictability and a
significant decrease in revenue, lost businesses, and faced economic
difficulty. Moreover, counties entitled to timber revenue sharing
payments under the O&C Act and Coos Bay Wagon Road Act of 1939 have
faced declining revenue payments as a result of policy decisions that
have reduced allowable timber harvest on these lands. Through this
planning effort, the BLM seeks to lawfully address these longstanding
issues and increase revenue from these lands, which pursuant to the O&C
Act are shared with rural counties and support essential services, such
as roads, schools and law enforcement.
Historic timber harvests on the BLM's Western Oregon O&C and CBWR
lands were robust through the 1960s and 1970s, with annual volumes
often exceeding one billion board feet. Harvests peaked in 1964 at
approximately 1.638 billion board feet and averaged about 1.078 billion
board feet annually from 1960 through 1989, prior to the Northern
Spotted Owl listing. Following the 1990 listing, harvests fell
sharply--from 704 MMbf in 1990 to under 100 MMbf by 1994 and have
remained far below historic levels. Post-2000 volumes stabilized at
modest levels, generally between 45 and 275 MMbf, with recent years
showing slight increases, including 267 MMbf in 2025. These trends
reflect a long-term shift from high-yield timber production to
constrained harvests under modern conservation policies, marking a
structural change in resource management and revenue patterns for
Western Oregon counties.
As noted, the listing of the Northern Spotted Owl (1990) and
Marbled Murrelet (1992) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
drastically reduced timber harvests on O&C lands, severely reducing
county timber receipts from over $109 million in 1989 to just $21
million by 1995. This revenue collapse triggered mill closures, job
losses, and shrinking tax bases, devastating local communities and
forcing counties to cut services and raise local taxes. Federal relief
measures, including ``Spotted Owl Safety Net'' payments (1993) and the
Secure Rural Schools Act (2000), temporarily stabilized funding,
peaking at $116.1 million in 2006 before declining to $18.8 million by
2016, as a result of declining payments from subsequent renewals, and
reduced harvest limits resulting in recent payments around $25-$30
million, still far below pre-ESA highs. The BLM's 2016 Western Oregon
RMPs restricted harvest limits with recent payments.
Further, the BLM seeks to enhance its ability to implement forest
treatments to mitigate the devastating effects of wildfire and to
salvage timber killed by wildfire, drought, and other disturbances.
Between 2000 and 2024, the U.S. averaged 7.3 million acres burned
annually (<a href="https://www.nifc.gov">https://www.nifc.gov</a>). On BLM-managed lands, wildfire burned
an average of 236,530 acres of forest annually between 2009 and 2024.
High-profile events such as the 2018 Camp Fire in California--which
burned 153,336 acres (including 4,070 acres of BLM land), resulted in
85 fatalities, and caused billions of dollars in damages--highlight the
urgent need for proactive management. Between January 1, 2025, and
November 28, 2025, 4,927,904 acres burned due to wildfires on federal
land. This RMP revision will assist in reducing fuel loads in order to
battle these unprecedented and destructive fires and will aid in
keeping the American people safe.
The need for the RMP revision is further established by Executive
Order (E.O.) 14223, Addressing the Threat to National Security From
Imports of Timber, Lumber, and Their Derivative Products and E.O.
14225, Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production. Through this
planning effort, the BLM will also consider information relating to the
invasive barred owl and management strategy to address threats to the
northern spotted owl.
Preliminary Action Alternatives
In addition to the no action alternative, BLM has developed a
preliminary alternative that would meet the purpose of providing an
increase in timber harvest levels of production to align with
historically higher levels of volume on BLM-administered public lands
in the decision area. The preliminary alternative would manage BLM-
administered lands to provide a sustained yield of timber production
consistent with the maximum productive capacity of the lands.
Under all action alternatives, the BLM would reserve from
sustained-yield timber harvest all Congressionally designated lands
(lands designated by
[[Page 8019]]
Congress for purposes other than sustained yield timber production)
(approximately 4 percent of the decision area); lands not capable of
supporting sustained-yield timber production, including non-forest
lands (approximately 13 percent of the decision area); and streamside
buffers ranging from 25 to 100 feet, depending on stream type, to
comply with the Clean Water Act (approximately 6 percent of the
decision area).
The BLM welcomes comments on preliminary alternatives and
suggestions for additional alternatives.
Planning Criteria
The planning criteria guide the planning effort and lay the
groundwork for effects analysis by identifying the preliminary issues
and their analytical frameworks. The BLM has identified preliminary
issues for this planning effort's analysis related to sustained-yield
timber harvest as required by the O&C Act, ACECs, air quality, botany,
cultural resources, fire and fuels management, fisheries, forest
management, hydrology, invasive species, lands and realty, lands with
wilderness characteristics, livestock grazing, minerals, National Trail
System, recreation, socioeconomics, soils, Tribal interests, visual
resources, wild horse, wildlife, and Wild and Scenic Rivers. The
planning criteria are available for public review and comment at the
ePlanning website (see ADDRESSES).
Summary of Expected Impacts
The preliminary alternatives would result in a range of outcomes
related to timber harvest, fire hazard, and wildlife habitat. As a
result of these changes, the BLM will declare a new allowable sale
quantity of timber.
Public Scoping Process
This notice of intent initiates the scoping period and public
review of the planning criteria, which guide the development and
analysis of the Draft RMP/EIS.
The BLM does not intend to hold any public meetings during the
public scoping period. Should the BLM later determine to hold public
meetings, the specific date and location of any meeting will be
announced at least 15 days in advance through the project ePlanning
page (see ADDRESSES). The BLM will provide additional opportunities for
public participation consistent with the NEPA and land use planning
requirements, refer to the project ePlanning page for updates (see
ADDRESSES).
ACECs
The following ACECs are currently designated in the planning area:
Baker Cypress, Bear Gulch RNA, Beatty Creek RNA, Beaver Creek, Bobby
Creek RNA, Brewer Spruce RNA, Bumpheads, Bushnell-Irwin Rocks RNA,
Callahan Meadows RNA, Cobleigh Road, Crabtree Complex RNA, Dakubetede,
Deer Creek, East Fork, East Fork Whiskey Creek RNA, Eight Dollar
Mountain, Elk Creek, Esmond Lake, Ferguson Creek, Forest Peak RNA, Fox
Hollow RNA, French Flat, Garoutte Prairie, Glades RNA, Grandmother's
Grove, Grass Mountain RNA, Grassy Mountain, Grayback, Grayback Glades
RNA, Green Springs Mountain Scenic, Heceta Sand Dunes, High Peak--Moon
Creek RNA, Hole-In-The-Rock, Holton Creek RNA, Horse Rock Ridge RNA,
Hoxie Creek, Hult Marsh, Iron Creek, Jordan Creek, King Mountain Rock
Garden, Lake Creek Falls, Little North Fork Wilson River, Little Sink
RNA, Lorane Ponderosa Pine, Lost Lake RNA, Lost Prairie, Low Elevation
Headwaters of the McKenzie River, Lower Scappoose Eagle, Mary's Peak
ONA, McCully Mountain, McGowan Meadow, Middle Santiam Terrace, Mill
Creek Ridge, Mohawk RNA, Molalla Meadows, Moon Prairie, Myrtle Island
RNA, Nails Creek, Nestucca River, North Bank, North Fork Silver Creek
RNA, North Myrtle Creek RNA, Oak and Pine Area, Oak Basin Prairies, Old
Baldy RNA, Pickett Creek, Pipe Fork RNA, Poverty Flat, Red Ponds RNA,
Reeves Creek, Rickreall Ridge, Rough and Ready, Round Top Butte RNA,
Saddle Bag Mountain RNA, Sandy River ONA, Silt Creek, Snow Peak, Soosap
Meadows, Spencer Creek, Sterling Mine Ditch, Surveyor, Table Rocks,
Tater Hill RNA, The Butte RNA, Tin Cup, Tunnel Creek, Upper Elk Meadows
RNA, Upper Klamath River, Upper Klamath River Addition, Upper
Willamette Valley Margin, Valley of the Giants, Waldo-Takilma, Walker
Flat, Waterloo, Whiskey Creek RNA, White Rock Fen, Wilhoit Springs,
Willamette Valley Prairie, Williams Lake, Woodcock Bog RNA, Yainax
Butte, Yaquina Head ONA, and Yellowstone Creek. Information about each
existing ACEC, including the size, relevant and important values, etc.,
is available online on the project ePlanning page (see ADDRESSES). The
BLM will reevaluate these designated ACECs for consideration in the
Draft RMP/EIS. The BLM will evaluate nominated ACECs for consideration
in the Draft RMP/EIS. To assist the BLM in evaluating nominations for
consideration in the Draft RMP/EIS, you must provide supporting
descriptive materials, maps, and evidence of the relevance and
importance of resources or hazards by the close of the public comment
period. The BLM has identified the anticipated issues related to the
consideration of ACECs in the planning criteria.
Responsible Official
The Oregon and Washington State Director is the deciding official
for this planning effort.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The nature of the decision to be made will be the State Director's
selection of land use planning decisions pursuant to this RMP revision
for managing BLM-administered lands under the O&C Act (Pub. L. 75-405)
and other applicable laws in a manner that best addresses the purpose
and need.
Interdisciplinary Team
The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the plan
revision in order to consider the variety of resource issues and
concerns identified. Specialists with expertise in the following
disciplines will be involved in this planning effort: forest
management, fuels, geographic information systems, fisheries, and
wildlife.
Additional Information
The BLM will utilize and coordinate the NEPA and land use planning
processes for this planning effort to help support compliance with
applicable procedural requirements under the Endangered Species Act (16
U.S.C. 1536) and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
(54 U.S.C. 306108) as provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3), including public
involvement requirements of Section 106. The information about historic
and cultural resources and threatened and endangered species within the
area potentially affected by the proposed plan revision will assist the
BLM in identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources.
The BLM will consult with Indian Tribal Nations on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175, BLM MS 1780
and other Departmental policies and laws. Tribal concerns, including
impacts on Indian trust assets and potential impacts to cultural
resources, will be given due consideration. Federal, State, and local
agencies, along with Indian Tribal Nations, and stakeholders that may
be interested in or affected by the proposed RMP revision that the BLM
is evaluating, are invited to participate in the scoping process and,
if eligible, may request or be
[[Page 8020]]
requested by the BLM to participate in the development of the
environmental analysis as a cooperating agency.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
(Authority: 43 CFR 1610.2)
Kimberly Prill,
BLM Oregon and Washington State Director (Acting).
[FR Doc. 2026-03290 Filed 2-18-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-24-P
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