SALEM — The Oregon Department of Forestry has quietly withdrawn more timber sales that are the target of a lawsuit by conservation groups trying to protect nesting trees for a threatened sea bird called the marbled murrelet.
The annual operations plan for the Coos District, dated Sept. 19, says the Elliott State Forest will look for alternative timber to sell while the lawsuit over protections for marbled murrelet habitat moves through federal court. The move comes on top of a decision to withdraw other timber last July.
