The Forest Service released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Austin Project on February 2. Because this project affects nearly 80,000 acres of public land in Eastern Oregon, Forest Access For All (FAFA) took the time to read the document carefully, review the maps, and compare what is written to what exists on the ground. What we found raises serious concerns about access, transparency, and whether the project stays within the emergency authority it rel

When we talk about the Blue Mountains Forest Plan revision today, we aren’t starting from scratch. We’ve been here before. In 2018, the first attempt to revise the forest plans for the Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests  was withdrawn. That didn’t happen quietly. And it didn’t happen by accident. It happened after significant public involvement raised serious concerns about process, analysis, and how community needs were reflected in the proposed directio

“Stored” Roads, Closed Access: The Austin Project and a Pattern of Public Misdirection

From Open Forests to Permission-Based Access: What This Revision Is Trying to Change