More logging is proposed to help curb wildfires in the US Pacific Northwest

Associated Press

U.S. officials are proposing increased logging on federal lands across the Pacific Northwest under changes to a sweeping forest management plan that’s been in place for three decades. Friday’s proposal would overhaul the Northwest Forest Plan that governs about 36,000 square miles of U.S. Forest Service land in Oregon, Washington and California. The plan was adopted in 1994 as part of efforts to curb logging practices that resulted in widespread clearcutting across the region. Logging has fallen dramatically in the years since. Officials say worsening wildfires due to climate change mean that forests must be more actively managed to increase their resiliency.