Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Obama Administration Thursday announced it's pulling back Bush-era management plans for federal forests in the Northwest.

Advocates for protecting old-growth trees are celebrating. Those hoping for increased logging on federal lands in Washington, Oregon, and California face gloomier prospects.

Regional correspondent Tom Banse reports.

At stake here are a recovery plan for the threatened spotted owl and a separate plan to increase logging in a smaller area – federal forests in Western Oregon.

Both were prepared late in the Bush Administration. And both were fraught with controversy including charges of political interference with science.

On a conference call with reporters, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar framed the do-over he ordered as “cleaning up the mistakes of the past.”

Ken Salazar: “Unfortunately last year before leaving office, the previous administration took actions that conflict with the values that must guide the management of our nation's public lands.”

The Interior Department does not yet have specifics for how long it will take to revise habitat protections and logging rules for the spotted owl's range.

In the interim, federal timberlands will be governed by the Northwest Forest Plan from the early 1990's.