In the mist of the political games in Oregon, Democrats released SB 83 for a floor vote hoping to mask the tax increases in the Transportation bill. SB 83, which repeals the costly and burdensome regulations imposed on communities by the Statewide Wildfire Hazard Map, goes to the Governor for signing.

Stuck in Ways and Means is HB 3103. This bill tells the State Forester to see how much forestland there is. Then the State Forester is directed to make harvest levels for cutting timber on state forestland, and to manage state forestlands. It allows certain persons to seek an injunction if the State Forester fails to establish sustainable harvest levels or manage available state forestland.

The Trump Administration proposes to sell more than 2 million acres from a total of 258 million acres in the next five years. Proposal puts federal forests up for sale using wildfires as a pretext for fast-tracking logging proposals on up to 59% of U.S. Forest Service lands. This initiative aligns with an executive order from Trump that calls on federal agencies to dramatically increase timber harvests aimed at generating revenue and addressing the "housing crisis".

In the meantime, Zaugg Timber Solutions, a third generation run business in Rohrbach, Switzerland, entered into a long-term lease with the Port of Portland to develop a manufacturing site at Terminal 2. Zaugg is a manufacturer of engineered wood products and uses its own materials to build structures. Buildings are nearly completed at a Zaugg warehouse before leaving the factory. The company’s buildings expertise is around affordable modular and prefabricated mass timber elements are used to build homes and other structures. They will be able to produce around 700 manufactured homes a year. The company is also expected to hire 60 workers.

Where will Zaugg sell their homes? HB 2258 is waiting the Governor’s signature, which requires local governments to approve certain land use applications for residential developments using building plans preapproved by the Department of Consumer and Business Services. The League of Oregon Cities, along with individual cities, oppose HB 2258 creating a one size fits all model for housing that doesn’t work. ”Oregon needs more housing, we need bills that significantly move the needle and work with our communities, HB 2258 is not one of them."

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

Spoiler alert. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden is proposing new national legislation targeting wildfire prevention in his National Prescribed Fire Act of 2025. The bill aims to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires by investing in hazardous fuels management. It seeks to accelerate and expand the use of prescribed burns during cooler, wetter months, develop a technically skilled prescribed fire workforce. “This is a major science driven bipartisan approach to preventing fire,” Wyden claims. However, not everyone agrees since lack of management of prescribed burns has been the source of major fires. Prescribed burns would also burn up the supply Zaugg is looking to use for their prefab wood.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2025-07-12 13:20:58

Last Update: 2025-07-12 19:48:53