After nearly 30 years of non-stop court and political battles, the Obama administration hopes two of the authors of the Northwest Forest Plan can show federal agencies a new path forward.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar met with the timber industry and conservation groups Monday to find a way out of decades of bitter conflict over logging in Western Oregon.

In dry forests, trees older than 150 years could not be cut, but younger trees in those stands would be logged to reduce fire danger, improve forest health, and promote fish and wildlife habitat.