The discovery of threatened marbled murrelet seabirds dropped the value of three tracts of forest land in Coos County from $22.1 million to $3.6 million since they can no longer be logged.
The discovery of threatened marbled murrelet seabirds dropped the value of three tracts of forest land in Coos County from $22.1 million to $3.6 million since they can no longer be logged.
Timber industry representatives told an appraiser working for the Department of State Lands that they were unlikely to aggressively pursue the land, because of the uncertainty arising from the bird.
Environmental groups say the discovery and devaluation of the land should end the state’s sale effort. “It would be unconscionable to sell the land at a drastically discounted price because of the endangered wildlife that resides there,” said Francis Eatherington, conservation director at Cascadia Wildlands. “This resource belongs to the public.”
Read more at OregonLive.com.
