Thurston Hills Timber Sale Turns into Asset for the Community

Seneca is proud to be the purchaser of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Pedal Power timber sale.

The Pedal Power project area provides a unique opportunity to create something special for the community due to its close proximity to Springfield and adjacency to Willamalane Park and Recreation District’s Thurston Hills Natural Area.

The BLM crafted a dynamic plan that includes areas of riparian reserve around streams, late successional reserve around an older stand, dozens of wildlife trees left throughout the harvest, and an untouched buffer area near a neighboring property. Of the 394 acres, only 92 acres will be harvested in patches dispersed throughout the Pedal Power project area.

Once the harvest is complete in 2021, the BLM in partnership with Willamalane, Disciples of Dirt, and other organizations in the community will extend the trail system that already exists on Willamalane’s property onto the BLM’s Pedal Power site to create almost nine miles of new trails through the dynamic landscape for hikers, mountain bikers and the community as a whole.

Seneca paid a little over $1 million for the timber, and half of that payment will be transferred from the Federal government to western Oregon counties for public services such as road improvements and law enforcement. The harvest itself will create jobs in the community and provide revenue in the local economy.

Additional information and a map of the Thurston Hills Forestry and Trails project is available at: https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/orwanwo-thurston-hills-fact-sheet.pdf