The Oregon Board of Forestry called a special board meeting to move forward with a proposal that would reduce nearly 35% of the timber harvest in the State Forest. This reduction, which is part of the Western Oregon State Forests Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), could potentially result in the loss of millions of dollars for the North Coast timber industry, forestry workers, and the budgets of Clatsop, Columbia, and Tillamook Counties. Representative Cyrus Javadi (R-North Coast) and Senator Suzanne Weber (R-Tillamook) commented in response to the meeting on the devastating impacts the plan will have on local governments, local economy, jobs, and essential services like public safety.

Rep. Javadi said, “this plan is going to devastate our local timber economy. Years ago, the North Coast gave these forests to the state for essentially nothing, with the promise that it would be managed for the benefit of the local economy. This forest provides hundreds of good-paying jobs in our communities.”

Last week, on a 4-3 vote, the Board of Forestry rejected a proposal that would have required them to go back to the drawing board to balance the region's economic needs better. The HCP changes will set aside 55% of forest land for habitat, leaving less than half of the forest for active management. A 35% reduction in harvest from ODF predicted levels under this HCP. From 2006 to 2015 Oregon State Forests harvested 56% of net growth, 18% of net growth succumbed to mortality, and 26% of net growth remained as an increase in net volume on the forest. The HCP has been touted as necessary to grow habitat for wildlife but the current forest management plan is already doing this at an astounding rate of 26% of net growth.

State Forests are directed to be sustainably managed to provide social, economic, and environmental benefits to all Oregonians. In October of 2020, the Board of Forestry (BOF) directed the State Forests Division to begin the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process for the draft Western Oregon State Forests Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and continue developing an associated Forest Management Plan (FMP). These parallel planning processes have been closely coordinated to ensure alignment and consistency in management goals, objectives, and strategies. ODF said they recognize that public engagement is a key element in developing an HCP and FMP that reflect the values of all Oregonians, and is committed to providing information and engaging in dialogue.

Not everyone agrees that ODF has been forth coming. Association of Oregon Counties accused ODF of developing the plan behind closed doors and applied to the Federal Services for an HCP, before they released a draft environmental impact statement. That statement showed harvest levels having a much better outcome than what would occur without an HCP and essential to achieving Greatest Permanent Value. However, staff’s further modeling for the Implementation Plan and Forest Management Plan contained additional constraints and those additional constraints result in lower harvest levels. Therefore, the plan’s harvest level projections are actually 27% less than the environmental impact statement and 33% less than the business case analysis.

The lower harvest levels under the Implementation Plan will result in layoffs of public service providers including police officers, teachers, social workers, and emergency services staff. In addition, workers in fully benefited family wage jobs in the timber industry and support services will lose their jobs at a time when no similar jobs exist in rural counties.

Clatsop County Board of Commissioners Chair, Mark Kujala, commented, “Beyond the devastating financial impacts on local governments (an estimated $8.5 million annual reduction in Clatsop), the County is also concerned about the broader economic and social implications of the HCP. According to the Oregon Forest Resources Institute, eleven (11) jobs are created in Oregon for every million board feet of timber harvested. It is also estimated for every $1 million of ODF timber revenue generated, an additional $1.2 million is generated for local forest sector businesses who log, haul and mill the timber.” He maintains that, “The HCP process must study and consider the impacts of job loss and government service reductions on our rural economy.”

Washington County Commissioner, Jerry Willey, also expressed county concerns, “What appears unsettling though, is the drastic reduction in projected harvest levels from ODF’s Business Case Analysis of the HCP in 2018 to present day. Harvest levels are now 24 % lower than originally projected. These varying numbers show me that we have no clear grasp on the full impacts of the HCP, a 70-year plan. We could potentially be destroying the timber industry completely, which does not meet Greatest Permanent Value.”

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Senator Weber supports her counties, “Give all Oregonians a chance for a more balanced plan. Current and future generations of Oregonians shouldn’t get stuck with a bad plan just because the agency didn’t have the foresight to examine a full range of options when it had the chance. I want to be clear that...the Board...direct ODF to take practical and necessary steps to address shortcomings that are now so obvious...”

The Oregon Log Buyers point out that the lack of housing needs more wood, the most environmentally friendly building material that can be used. When modeling carbon storage and output for the upcoming Forest Management Plan, at least one and likely two mills tributary to state forests will be closed. Many people only look at the closure of a mill, but this is devastating to the communities these mills reside in as the spending by employees goes away and the businesses supported by the mill either go out of business or scale back.

On the other hand, such organizations as the Audubon and fishing groups, Riverkeepers, and Oregon Wild that don’t see the timber impact on communities, support the plan and don’t see a need for further research.

The HCP will also impact ODF’s own budget. State Forests Division revenue under the HCP will fall 34%, commensurate with the drop in harvest volume, more if timber prices continue to fall. At the same time the Governor is requesting agencies plan for 10% budget cuts. Without an adequate budget, the department is likely to fail to respond to and manage wildfires. The Governor states Oregon is facing an increasingly devastating wildfire season. How will the state deal with the layoff of so many fire fighters.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2023-02-20 17:06:26

Last Update: 2023-02-20 14:17:42