The head of Oregon State University’s College of Forestry has ordered a temporary stop to the cutting of older trees on the college’s research forests after some ancient trees were felled.
The Gazette-Times reports the move came after questions were raised about a logging operation near Corvallis that took down multiple trees more than 200 years old, including one Douglas fir that may date back to 1599.
Interim Dean Anthony Davis announced the moratorium in a college memo July 12, about a month after a logging operation was conducted near Sulphur Springs in the McDonald-Dunn Research Forest. Davis says they made a mistake in carrying out the harvest by not considering the future research and ecological benefit of the older trees.
The memo says no trees more than 160 years old will be cut down until work is finished on a new comprehensive management plan for the college research forests.