The U.S. government is calling for more timber harvesting and less grazing on 64 million acres in the eastern part of the Northwest as part of the largest federal land-use plan ever proposed. The plan, released yesterday by the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project, is a joint effort by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, covering land in eastern Washington and Oregon, Idaho, and western Montana. If approved after a 30-day period, the plan would boost timber cuts by about 22 percent with a plan of aggressive thinning. It would also take steps to protect fish habitat, as well as land for threatened species like sage grouse and grizzlies.
