A botched old-growth cut became evidence in a 3,400-acre timber fight

A nearly 200-year-old Douglas fir more than 40 inches wide was supposed to stay standing in the Mean Mustard timber sale near Drain. It came down after a smaller felled tree lodged against it; the attempt to free that tree also uprooted another protected fir. Volunteers later documented additional large cedars cut in the unit.

Those events became part of a federal case that stopped the nearly 3,400-acre Blue and Gold project. In July, a judge found the Bureau of Land Management had not adequately considered and retained ecologically significant old-growth trees. Limited cleanup and removal of already-down timber can continue, but the larger legal dispute remains unresolved.

The halt also reaches Lane County's timber economy. Rosboro says suspended sales represented 29% of the volume needed by its Springfield and Veneta operations, while Sierra Pacific expected wood for mills in Eugene and Noti. The reporting found real ecological damage, real economic exposure and no tidy side of the argument where consequences disappear.