The Forest Service is looking for public comment on a nearly 25-hundred acre logging proposal in the Willamette National Forest near McKenzie Bridge. The Goose Project has already been blocked by a federal judge.
Conservation Groups Oregon Wild and Cascadia Wildlands sued two years ago over the Goose Project, saying the forest service didn't do enough analysis of how logging would impact wildlife, including threatened northern spotted owls. Cascadia Wildlands' Nick Cady says there was huge public outcry at the scale of the project:
Cady: "It targeted older forests, it involved regeneration harvest, clear-cut logging, and impacted heavily riparian areas, areas that contribute to water quality and fish species."
In 2013, Federal Judge Ann Aiken ordered the Forest Service to do an Environmental Impact Analysis on the Goose Project. The draft EIS has been released. Terry Baker with the Willamette National Forest says there were some changes made, including a reduction in acreage. He encourages people to come to two public meetings on the Goose Project this week.
The public meetings are Tuesday evening from 5 to 8 at Leaburg Fire Hall and Wednesday evening from 5 to 8 at Upper McKenzie Community Center.
Comments can also be made at the Forest Service Website