You might have heard that the Forest Service is organizing a series of meetings starting on February 24th in Heppner and continuing until March 7th, concluding in La Grande (a flyer for each meeting will be provided soon).
The Forest Service is stating -
"Guide your Forests’ Future! The Malheur, Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests are beginning to transition from Assessment Phase to the NEPA Phase of the Land Management Plan Revision Process.
Please join us at a public meeting to hear updates from the revision team, learn about the upcoming NEPA Phase, and ask questions. All the meetings will be held from 5-8 p.m., with doors opening at 4:30 p.m.
An option to attend virtually is possible and the link is available below. An option to call into the meeting is possible by dialing the number listed below. To attend in-person: Gilbert Event Center, EOU - 1University Blvd, La Grande, OR 97850."
The forest service should not move from the assessment phase to the NEPA Phase because the assessment phase is incomplete, with no information provided on the potential recommended wilderness areas.
To find the date and time of the meeting in your area, please use this link to the Forest Services calendar - https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/umatilla/home/?cid=fseprd1066821
These lands need to be kept open. We have seen what wilderness status has done. It will not allow for logging or roads and they will let the entirety of it burn. This is a bad idea and unacceptable.Keep the forest open.