The Forest Service plans to overhaul a portion of Oregon's Deschutes National Forest, with a project designed for restoration and wildfire mitigation, but it has one task to complete first: remove the dozens of homeless people currently living on that land. That process was set to begin Thursday, after a judge posted Tuesday that a restraining order to halt the closure of that area had been denied, reports the Bend Bulletin. The shuttering of 30,000 acres to make way for the Cabin Butte Vegetation Management Project would mean recreation sites and trails there will be closed through April 2026—and that locals who've been camped out there will have to go, per the AP.
Deschutes rep Kaitlyn Webb says the government's goal with the evictions is "voluntary compliance," but that Forest Service officers will patrol the area for enforcement and to "ensure public safety." Those who stay could see up to a year behind bars, up to $5,000 in fines, or both, says Jesse Rabinowitz of the National Homelessness Law Center.
Four residents and two homeless advocates filed for a restraining order last month, claiming the closure would cause irreparable harm to more than 100 people, many with disabilities, and many of whom ended up there during the pandemic after losing jobs and housing. Up to 200 people were living in the forest several months ago; Rabinowitz said the remaining residents were informed the area would close on May 1. Local advocate and retired attorney Chuck Hemingway, who helped file the claim and had argued for a "rolling closure" to take place over several months, estimated 80 people were in the encampment as of last Friday, and that at least 40 would likely still be there on Thursday, per the Bulletin.
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In a statement, the NHLC called the forest sweep a "flashpoint for America's failure to solve homelessness." One of the locals who's about to be booted from the forest is disappointed in the court's decision. "Just because we're living out here doesn't make us bad people, but the way we're being treated makes everything that much harder," says Chris Daggett in an NHLC release posted by KTVZ. "It's incredibly difficult to get back on your feet once you've been knocked down. If they force us out on May 1, we still won't have anywhere else to go. It'll just make it even tougher for us to rebuild our lives." (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)
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