PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Conservation groups have warned the state of Oregon they will sue to reduce logging on state forests to protect nesting trees for a threatened seabird called the marbled murrelet
Cascadia Wildlands, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Audubon Society of Portland sent the governor and state agencies formal notices Thursday that a lawsuit will be filed if they do not rescind recent decisions to increase clearcut logging on the Elliott, Tillamook and Clatsop state forests.
Last year the state decided to give up a system that protects habitat for threatened and endangered fish and wildlife, and adopt another that avoids killing specific animals. The change allows greater timber production.
Marbled murrelets spend most of their lives at sea, but nest in old-growth trees near the coast.
