On this day, November 24, 1971, On Thanksgiving eve DB Cooper boarded Flight 305 in Portland, Or., and demanded $200,000 with the threat of a bomb. He parachuted from a Northwest Airlines 727 with the money over the Cascade Mountains near Ariel, Wash., and was never seen again. FBI agent Ralph Himmelsbach wrote the book NORJAK that described the case. A packet containing $5,880 of the ransom money was found in 1980 on the north shore of the Columbia River, just west of the Washington city of Vancouver. In 2011 evidence was presented that Lynn Doyle Cooper of Oregon, a Korean war veteran, was the hijacker. On July 13, 2016, the FBI said it is no longer investigating the case.
Clackamas and Marion Commissioners will decide
Following the resignation of State Sen. Alan Olsen, Clackamas County and Marion County commissioners will hold a joint session on Monday, Feb. 1, to interview candidates and select a replacement for the open Senate District 20 position.
Oregon law requires that a legislative vacancy be filled by county commissioners representing the district in which the vacancy exists. Senate District 20 overwhelmingly falls within Clackamas County, but a small pocket extends into Marion County.
Finalists were selected by the local Republican Party (as deemed by state law), since Olsen belongs to that party. The three finalists are:
- Steve Bates, community advocate
- Bill Kennemer, former state legislator and county commissioner
- John Lee, Jr., CEO of Stumptown Sales Success
The person selected will fill the remainder of Olsen’s term, which runs through 2022.
The meeting will be held from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 1, in the Board Hearing Room in the Public Services Building on Red Soils Campus in Oregon City. The address is 2051 Kaen Road.
Due to COVID restrictions, physical space in the Hearing Room for attendees is limited. The public is welcome to virtually attend the proceeding over Zoom. Zoom and phone connectivity information is available
online.
The meeting will also be broadcast live on the county’s YouTube channel and Clackamas County Government Channel.
--Ben Fisher| Post Date: 2021-01-25 16:41:45 | Last Update: 2021-01-25 18:32:01 |
Caused in part by government?
As the Oregon Legislature considers several measures to address the housing crisis in Oregon, it's a good time to reflect on Oregon's land use laws and what impact they have had on the supply of housing in Oregon.
The high point for housing starts in Oregon was in the mid-1970s when builders started on nearly 45,000 new units. Despite consistent high demand over the decades since then, housing starts in Oregon have never reached that level. The graph shows how, when beaten down by recession, housing starts struggle to recover to previous levels and since the mid-2010s trended flat. Another watershed event of the 1970s was the passage of Oregon's land use system in 1974.
Like many economic trends, perennially sluggish production in the housing sector has various causes. One of the simplest causes, however, is the reduced inability of builders to acquire buildable land, and when they can acquire it, the cost of the land is so high that it often makes sense to put larger, more expensive properties on it. The biggest cause of this is the decreased supply of buildable land due to land use laws.
According to the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis, the problem lately has been supply. "In fact, one of the largest issues has been that the supply of products has not been able to keep up with the demand. Employment for wood products manufacturing and construction are down, seemingly in expectation that demand would dry up due to the recession. However these goods-producers tied to the housing market are adding jobs and looking for workers to meet the stronger-than-expected demand." In hindsight, the COVID-19 recession is a service sector recession and little else. It's had little effect on housing.
The damage due to fires will surely support something of a rebound by creating demand, but there are legitimate worries over access to raw materials. The Oregon Office of Economic Analysis says, "the wildfires are a complicating economic factor. Early indications are that the amount of timber burned is equal to a quarter or a third of the annual harvest. While certainly not insignificant, this is likely a manageable amount from an industry perspective. Markets should not be overwhelmed with burned logs, driving prices down to the point where it hurts the viability of logging. This is not always the case following large fires. Already, crews began as soon as possible to salvage log private lands before the rain started, and will return to do so next year."
--Staff Reports| Post Date: 2021-01-25 16:13:05 | Last Update: 2021-01-25 17:43:37 |
4-to-6 inches on I-5 Siskiyou Summit
The Oregon Department of Transportation is advising that drivers traveling over southwest Oregon mountain passes, including those on Interstate 5, should prepare for severe winter driving conditions Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday due to heavy snow and blizzard conditions, especially if traveling into northern California.
National Weather Service
forecasts call for blizzard conditions and up to 3 feet of snow in the Shasta Valley and Mt. Shasta City area and 4-to-6 inches on I-5 Siskiyou Summit and the I-5 passes north of Grants Pass as well as U.S. 199 Hayes Hill. On Oregon 42, up to 3 inches are forecast on Camas Mountain.
Drivers traveling on the Interstate 5 and U.S. 97 and U.S. 199 corridors into southern Oregon and northern California should be aware and prepare for the severe conditions.
Heavy snow events quickly overwhelm resources. Given the forecast, ODOT and Caltrans will likely need to stop traffic at Ashland and Redding to ensure public safety and to make sure they have accommodations such as food, fuel and motels.
“We want travelers to be prepared and safe and not stuck on the roadway. When that happens we can’t plow the snow and everything shuts down,†said ODOT Interim District Manager Jeremiah Griffin.
Other winter driving tips include:
- Delay travel if possible
- Plan for delays if you must travel
- Carry tire chains and know how to install them
- Start off with a full tank of gas
- Have snacks and food
- Be sure to have blankets, coat, gloves and hat
- Bring cell phone charger
--Staff Reports| Post Date: 2021-01-25 15:29:12 | Last Update: 2021-01-25 16:13:05 |
“Follow the scienceâ€
On Friday, Gov. Kate Brown doubled down on her decision to deprioritize vaccinating seniors. The decision flies in the face of science as the data clearly shows that seniors die at a disproportionate rate than other groups.
Even the Governor, in her Friday press conference, admitted, “It is absolutely true that our children are not dying at the same rate... as seniors,†but then proceeded to explain why seniors must wait another 2 weeks to receive a vaccine.
Senator Chuck Thomsen (R-Hood River) released the following statement:
“This decision will cost lives. Last week, reporting by The Oregonian and Willamette Week pointed out the Governor’s flawed decision-making process. If the Governor was really “following the science†as she is so fond of saying, she should not be pushing seniors back in line.
“I understand the desire to get kids back in school for regular instruction. Kids and parents alike are suffering. Teachers unions have said they will only go back to school if they receive the vaccine. Now that they have pushed seniors back in the line, they are balking at going back to school. If we have no guarantee that in-person instruction will even happen after teachers are vaccinated, then the Governor’s whole argument collapses.
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“It would be one thing if the Governor has had a consistent message, however anti-science it may be, but she told seniors in my district, and across the state, that they could get the vaccine. Then after discovering the federal government had a limited number of doses available, she rescinded her decision to vaccinate seniors and decided to let teachers go first.
“I call on Governor Brown to make vaccines immediately available to our seniors so we can prevent any excess death from COVID-19.â€
Governor Brown's
retreat on vaccines for seniors has caused quite a stir.
--Staff Reports| Post Date: 2021-01-25 09:48:19 | Last Update: 2021-01-25 15:29:12 |
If Antifa and BLM don’t finish off the cops, the Legislature will
As part of the ongoing slate of police reform bills -- dating back to the special sessions during the summer of last year -- State Representative Janelle Bynum (D-Portland) has introduced two bills,
HB 2931 and
HB 2932, which will receive a public hearing Wednesday at 8:00am
before the House Committee on Equitable Policing. Perhaps not coincidentally, she chairs this committee.
HB 2931 requires person who arrests another person to ensure arrested person receives medical assessment. The Oregon Coalition of Police and Sheriffs has taken a
stand against the bills, or at least to have them re-thought. Their statement on
HB 2931 says:
The first and most obvious concern is that -- should both of these measures pass -- an officer faced with an arrestee who refuses medical assistance may be faced with a choice between violating HB 2931 (allowing the individual to refuse an examination) or appearing on a publicly-searchable database by dint of threatening or utilizing force to ensure compliance.
The awkward confluence of these two measures might be addressed if the Committee were to first inquire as to current practices and policies. In fact, the vast majority of police agencies in Oregon already have policies in place requiring officers to have EMS come out to the scene when certain levels of physical force are used or if the suspect is exhibiting any forms of physical distress. In fact, the Portland Police Bureau’s directive 630.45, Section 5 is broader in terms of who it applies to, though stops short of mandating examinations.
There is also a significant concern among ORCOPS membership that such mandated medical examinations conflict with a person’s right to refuse treatment. While cases such as Washington v. Harper (494 U.S. 210 1990) outlined the state’s ability to mandate medical
treatment when a compelling interest existed, HB 2931 makes so much test and broadly applies the requirement to all arrested persons.
HB 2932, the companion bill, directs Oregon Criminal Justice Commission to establish statewide database of reports of use of physical force by peace officers and corrections officers The Oregon Coalition of Police and Sheriffs is asking the committee to
make amendments to this bill.
First, we are not clear as to what objective the proposed database is serving. Since the database is intended not only to chronicle threats or uses of force that are alleged to constitute misconduct, but all such actions -- even when unquestionably within policy -- it is unclear to us why the Committee would feel the need to individualize this data, contrary to the recent model used in the “stop data†project. Many officers will naturally be using a “threat of force†via implication in order to compel adherence to certain lawful orders. In many cases the threat of force is a part of a successful de-escalation strategy. The idea of noting that a particular officer “threatens to use physical force†in a scenario or even has such a pattern of activity, may be indicative of many things unrelated to the disposition of that particular officer. ORCOPS would ask that only sustained complaints of misconduct are individualized in such a database.
Frankly, the list of information to be collected about these incidents seems to be focused very much on vilifying the officer in question without providing adequate context about the subject.
In addition to
submitting written testimony on the bills to the committee interested persons may also sign up to
present oral testimony to the committee
There has been some speculation that Bynum's position as chair of the powerful House Judiciary Committee -- and the creation of the House Subcommittee On Equitable Policing -- was a gift to her for standing down in her bid to become House Speaker.
--Staff Reports| Post Date: 2021-01-24 20:25:22 | Last Update: 2021-01-24 20:56:22 |
Not recycling is bad enough. Fake recycling is an outrage.
A couple of Portland area Democrats have introduced legislation to curb fake recycling. Representatives Maxine Dexter (D-Portland) and Janeen Sollman (D-Hillsboro) have submitted
HB 2815 as a bill in the legislature. It has been assigned to the House Energy and Environment Committee. It has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.
The bill focuses the ubiquitous "chasing arrow symbol" found on many products which are recyclable or have recyclable packaging -- or perhaps are not recyclable. According to the bill, no person may sell any product that makes "deceptive or misleading claims" about it's ability to be recycled.
(b) A product that displays a chasing arrows symbol, a chasing arrows symbol surrounding a resin identification code or any other symbol or statement indicating the product is recyclable is deemed to be deceptive or misleading unless:
(A) The product is accepted for collection by a majority of recycling collection services in this state; or
(B) The product is labeled in accordance with labeling standards established by the Environmental Quality Commission under subsection (3) of this section.
The enforcement allows the DEQ to issue an order and if that fails, the courts may issue an injunction. Failure to heed, can lead to fines of up to $25,000 per day for each day of violation.
(1) In accordance with the applicable provisions of ORS chapter 183 relating to contested case proceedings, the Department of Environmental Quality may issue an order requiring compliance with the provisions of section 1 of this 2021 Act.
(2) The department, or any other person, may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to enforce the requirements of section 1 of this 2021 Act. The court may grant injunctive relief pursuant to this subsection.
The bill is also sponsored by Representative Rob Nosse (D-Portland), Khanh Pham (D-Portland), and Rachel Prusak (D-West Linn).
Every county has different levels of recycling available. The "Chasing arrows symbol" simply means it is recyclable if the county is equipped to recycle. Counties don’t use the recycling symbol or numbers appearing in the triangle in their guidelines for recycling simply because they don’t sort or have outlets based on all products within the numbering. Packaging labels and recycling symbols are meant to help us identify how different types of packaging can be recycled. What is recyclable today may change as more outlets are created. The answer isn't a one size fits all answer with a heavy hand of a regulatory agency.
HB 2815 criticizes the misuse of symbols that is more importantly meant to indicate a health factor to humans and animals. The triangle symbol includes a number ranging from 1 to 7 that is a resin identification code that is used to help recycling plants sort materials. While you may think nothing of these symbols, they can actually offer a great deal of information regarding the toxic chemicals used in the plastic, how likely the plastic is to leach, how bio-degradable the plastic is, and ultimately the safety of the plastic. Symbols 2, 4, and 5 are used on plastics considered to be safest. These are the plastics to look for in terms of human and animal consumption. Avoid recycling symbols 3, 6, and 7. While Number 1 is considered safe, it is also best to avoid this plastic.
- Plastic #1 is found in peanut butter jars, plastic soda and water bottle, salad dressing bottles and is the most frequently recycled group. It is recycled into tote bags, furniture, carpet, paneling, fiber, and polar fleece.
- Plastic #2 is typically opaque and picked up by most curbside recycling programs. This plastic is one of the 3 plastics considered to be safe, and has a lower risk of leaching, such as milk jugs. recycled into pens, recycling containers, picnic tables, lumber, benches, fencing, and detergent bottles, to name a few.
- Plastic #3 is food wrap, plumbing pipes, and detergent bottles, and is seldom accepted by curbside recycling programs. This plastic is recycled into paneling, flooring, speed bumps, decks, and roadway gutters.
- Plastic #4 is Low density polyethylene found in squeezable bottles, shopping bags, clothing, carpet, frozen food, bread bags, and some food wraps. It is recycled into compost bins, paneling, trash can liners and cans, floor tiles, and shipping envelopes.
- Plastic #5 is Increasingly becoming accepted by curbside recycle programs, plastic #5 is also one of the safer plastics to look for. It is typically found in yogurt containers, ketchup bottles, syrup bottles, and medicine bottles. Polypropylene is recycled into brooms, auto battery cases, bins, pallets, signal lights, ice scrapers, and bicycle racks.
- Plastic #6 is Styrofoam, which is notorious for being difficult to recycle, and thus, bad for the environment. It is recycled into egg cartons, vents, foam packing, and insulation.
- Plastic #7 is a mix bag of plastics that includes polycarbonate, which contains the toxic bisphenol-A (BPA). These plastics should be avoided, but can be found in sunglasses, iPod cases, computer cases, nylon, 3- and 5-gallon water bottles, and bullet-proof materials. It is recycled into plastic lumber and other custom-made products.
Even though each level has many possibilities for reuse, Oregon has discouraged recycling industries with a focus on eliminating plastics. Rather than putting manufacturers in a tough position to label to fit all counties and multiple states, educating consumers on recognizing the health risk associated with the numbers might be more beneficial. Adding a label that the product may not be accepted for recycling solves nothing. In the end, plastics will still be used, but you can certainly limit your use of the product for health reasons by choosing glass instead of buying plastic water bottles or other plastic containers.
--Donna Bleiler| Post Date: 2021-01-24 17:54:28 | Last Update: 2021-01-24 20:25:22 |
Linn County Planning and Building Employee Arrested
Linn County Sheriff Jim Yon reports that on January 19, 2021, his Detectives arrested Angela Renee Adams, 48, in connection to an embezzlement investigation of the Linn County Planning and Building Department.
In March of 2020, a Linn County employee told the Linn County Administrative Officer that they suspected the Linn County Planning and Building Office Manager, Angela Adams, was stealing from the department. The Linn County Administrative Officer requested a financial audit of the Planning and Building Department after receiving the complaint. The audit was concluded in November of 2020 and revealed some financial discrepancies. The Linn County Administrative Officer requested the Linn County Sheriff’s Office conduct a criminal investigation.
Detectives interviewed numerous Linn County Employees and served a search warrant and numerous subpoenas related to the investigation. Detectives were able to determine that approximately $235,000 of cash payments made to Linn County Planning and Building had not been deposited with the Linn County Treasurer in the last eight years. Detectives were able to see receipts for cash payments had been deleted from the permit software but were able to recover them with the assistance of the Linn County Information Technology Department who had the files backed up in the archive system.
Angela Adams was arrested and lodged in the Linn County Jail for ten counts of Aggravated Theft in the First Degree and two counts of Theft in the First Degree. The investigation is on-going.
--Bruce Armstrong| Post Date: 2021-01-24 17:44:01 | Last Update: 2021-01-24 18:05:36 |
House Bill 2679 Being Considered Behind Closed Doors
An effort to lower the voting age has been proposed by Democrats in the Oregon legislature.
House Bill 2679 is being considered by the super-majority Democrat state legislature, and is sponsored by the following politicians:
- Representative Dan Rayfield
- Representative Courtney Neron
- Representative Ricki Ruiz
- Representative Janeen Sollman
- Senator Michael Dembrow
- Senator Elizabeth Steiner-Hayward
The language of the bill declares to "permit persons who will be 17 years old on date of primary election and 18 years old on date of general election to vote at primary election for candidates of major political party with which person is affiliated if major political party has adopted rule to this effect."
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It also appropriates money from the Oregon General Fund to the Secretary of State for the purpose of printing and counting additional ballots.
Critics are noting that the bill may just be an incremental step in a larger plan to allow 16 year olds to eventually vote.
Additional language in the bill may "allow for an applicant not affiliated with any political party to request a ballot for a major political party. The applicant would then be sent the ballot for the political party that the applicant requested..."
--Bruce Armstrong| Post Date: 2021-01-23 17:28:00 | Last Update: 2021-01-23 19:29:54 |
Replacement for Alan Olsen will be chosen by the county
A convention of Clackamas County Republican precinct committeepersons sent three nominees to the Clackamas County Commission to select from to be appointed as the next State Senator from Senate District 20 and will participate in the 2021 legislative session.
Former State Representative and former State Senator Bill Kennemer, Oregon Republican Party Treasurer John Lee, Jr. and party activist Stephen Bates. Bates is listed as the President of the VietNam War Memorial Fund.
The seat was vacated by incumbent Alan Olsen who resigned earlier this month. The Clackamas County Commission has five members, Tootie Smith, Mark Shull and Paul Savas are Republicans and Tonya Fisher and Martha Schrader are Democrats.
--Staff Reports| Post Date: 2021-01-23 17:06:28 | |
Nearman doesn’t represent the actual town. Paul Evans does
The OPB Story, “
The city of Independence wants to be free — of this lawmaker,†reporter Dirk VanderHart tells the tale of the little quaint town of Independence, Oregon being embarrassed, and actually wanting to distance itself from State Representative Mike Nearman.
In the account four people — the Monmouth-Independence’s Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, the Mayor of Independence, an Independence Hotel manager and the State Representative for Independence, Paul Evans — all are quoted assuming Nearman did something wrong, something beyond the pale. What the article fails to note is that all four of these people are registered Democrats, and would most likely enjoy seeing the four-term State Representative ousted from office.
What’s disappointing is the quotes from these four Democrats are unprovable, anecdotal stories about people from out of town deciding not to visit or do business in Independence because of Representative Nearman’s actions and that his mailing address is Independence, Oregon — even though he doesn’t actually represent the town of Independence. This just doesn’t seem to ring true — who looks up a State Representative’s mailing address to decide not to visit a town, but then to call the local chamber or Mayor stating such?
However, the biggest problem with the OPB story is the narrative it peddles — that Representative Nearman did something wrong and therefore should lose his House seat. And that is the point, it has yet to be determined whether Representative Nearman actually did anything illegal or wrong. He walked out a door, a door he has probably used many times during his legislative career. There were no police guarding it, no signs stating not to use the door, nor was any instruction provided to legislators and staff that day on which Capitol entrances and exits to use or which ones to avoid.
What’s lacking in the media’s witch hunt is to allow for due process. However, when the politician is a Republican, and a very conservative one at that, innocent until proven guilty is apparently thrown out in favor of warming the tar and plucking the feathers.
The story makes the point that Nearman doesn't represent the actual town of Independence. He lives in rural Polk County, just north of Independence and is served by the Independence post office. What's also lacking in this story is the story of the State Representative who
does represent the City of Independence, Paul Evans (D-Monmouth). If the City of Independence blushes at Nearman, they must really cringe at their own State Representative who has racked up multiple campaign finance violations, was called before the House Conduct Committee for calling Republican Senators "Terrorists" and has authored a (warning: this link contains graphic content)
vampire porn novel,
Springtime in Babylon.
Asked for his thoughts, Nearman said, "This is clearly 'Cancel Culture' at work. No one calls up the mayor or a town and tells them that they're not going to move there or do business with the town because of a politician. These people are either not that smart, or they are complicit -- they're on the same team. I think Dirk VanderHart at OPB got used by leftist activists. He should be ashamed."
It is a sad day when mainstream journalism has lost its ability to be neutral in order to seek facts and truth, rather than propelling a narrative to ruin someone’s political career and life in order to get a few more clicks for their publisher.
--Staff Reports| Post Date: 2021-01-23 16:35:29 | Last Update: 2021-01-23 17:06:28 |
“Scratch that veneer to reveal the fear, racism and political ambitionâ€
Thursday January 21, 2021 marks the one year anniversary of COVID-19 in Oregon. Oregon Governor Kate Brown addressed the year in review with a congratulatory speech, and several guest speakers. Brown thanked Oregonians for their sacrifices, and signaled we've reached the end of COVID-19 due to the Moderna and Pfizer gene therapy, distributed for emergency use. Neither the Moderna or Pfizer shots meet the
definition of a vaccine, "a suspension of attenuated or killed microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, or rickettsiae), administered for prevention, amelioration, or treatment of infectious diseases."
These experimental medical procedures are still in the
phase 3 clinical trial until January 31, 2023. Additionally neither are guaranteed to prevent COVID-19, but thousands have been hospitalized, suffered permanent disability, life threatening complications, and death.
Simultaneously, as Brown gave her state of the State address, painting a happy picture, directors from every county across Oregon met via zoom for their monthly "Health Coalition Meeting", and
Antifa smashed in the windows of the Democratic Party of Oregon office. The overarching cacophony of dissenting voices exposed the cracks in the veneer, effectively proving the Governor is either out of touch, or is less than forthright in her assessment of the current state of the State.
During the health coalition meeting county directors expressed their frustration with distribution of the experimental COVID-19 biologics. Sarah Poe, Health Director of Malhuer County stated "we're doing a good job, because we're not doing a good job". Poe then went on to advocate for "some form" of mandated intervention, due to the high level of individuals refusing the recently authorized (for emergency use) COVID-19 shots offered by Moderna and Pfizer. Another large demographic refusing these biologics, is the Black community, and "people of color". In addition to hesitancy issues, and subsequent conversations regarding coercive tactics for forced compliance of an EUA medical procedure, another startling conversation emerged. A very tired looking Dr Paul Cieslak of the Oregon Health Authority, told county directors to "do their best", and "don't worry" about tracking other types of infectious illnesses (other than COVID-19).
Meanwhile, Antifa destroyed the Democratic Party Office in Multnomah County, holding a banner that reads "We don't want Biden, we want revenge. For Police Murders, Imperialist Wars, and Fascist Massacres", and another large sign with big bold letters stating "We Are Ungovernable".
Governor Kate Brown attempted to placate the masses by appropriating Billions to a "Cradle to Career" approach towards public policy, specifically tailored to the "Black, Indigenous, Latino, Lantina, LatinX, Asian, Pacific Islander, tribal communities and communities of color". Services that include invasive "
home visiting", whereby Department of Human Services workers, and a county health nurse scope out the home of newly born babies to check on the health and well being of the infant and family. The Oregon Department of Human Services
disproportionately removes children of color, housing them in
motels, and
abandoned prisons as young as six years old. While older children are often shipped out of state to
Sequel Youth and Family Services facilities. Kate Brown was in the news, as recently as last year, after
being sued for alleged negligence and malfeasance.
Mahogany Chambers was brave enough to go to the media with her story of rape, isolation, and abuse.
Leaders within the Black community refer to these types of policy as "
the Democrat Plantation". The state of the State address signaled that Kate Brown is going all in, and intends to use the vast majority of Oregon taxpayer money to do it. From cradle to career, Brown has vowed to eradicate inequity and racial injustice by committing more funding to the same exact policies that have created institutional, and systemic racism, labeling anyone who disagrees as a "violent white supremacist".
Meanwhile, centuries of informed consent violations within BIPOC communities, from Tuskegee to forced sterilization, go ignored as conversations regarding coercion take place.
"You don't have to scratch that veneer very hard to reveal the fear, racism and political ambition concealed within"-- Kate Brown
--Breeauna Sagdal| Post Date: 2021-01-23 13:24:10 | Last Update: 2021-01-24 12:55:33 |
Oregon is a big part of the nation's wood basket
Nick Smith is communications director for the American Forest Resource Council, a group founded in 2013 advocating forest management on federal lands. Based in Portland, the group serves the western states of Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho and Montana. Previously, Nick worked in the Oregon House under six Representatives. He recently gave a talk focused on forest fires, their causes, effects and solutions.
Oregon is a big part of the nation's wood basket. One million acres of forest burned in Oregon in 2020. The air was fouled, land denuded, watershed quality severely impacted, tree destroying insect infestations greatly expanded, wildlife and their habitat destroyed. Humans and domestic animals lives were threatened, homes were burned to total loss, forestry job opportunities were lost, lumber production diminished, scenic and recreational opportunities erased.
Neither stewards of the land nor environmentalists -- two groups normally at odds -- claimed a positive side to these outcomes. The conditions leading to these fires were mostly preventable. Forest management has the tools to greatly mitigate the incidence of forest fires. The tools can’t prevent drought, lightening and high winds. The tools are logging, thinning, creation of fuel breaks, firefighting with maintained access roads and rapid replanting.
Comparing private timber holdings to federal lands reveals a sharp contrast in outcomes. Planned, controlled forest fires destroy little marketable timber and have smaller environmental impacts which mimic natural cycles. Catastrophic fires have no positive outcomes. With private forests, owners effect forest management policies. Their planning spans activity over many decades due to growth and harvest cycles.
With federal lands both elected and unelected officials impact policy. Those policies are subject to change before a strategic long-term plan is allowed to manifest itself. It's been pointed out that the deterioration of both federal forests and the private timber industry has been underway for 40 years. The Timber Summit of 1994 was to have found a balance between preservation and harvest. Promises to the timber industry made then have not been lived up to. Courts interpreted the law with decisions that favored the environmental interests over proven forest management practices.
Smith said the OSU School of Forestry is strong, but now has some environmentalists on its faculty. Federal forest lands can’t be operated successfully without private industry know-how and personnel. Harvesting, thinning, road construction and fighting fires on federal lands are all done under contract. As federal timber becomes less available, the timber industry shrinks. Less industry infrastructure results in less potential to help the federal government manage its forests. As timber inventory supplies are made less predictable, private investment becomes less likely. To start a sawmill with the technology to compete in todays’ market requires near $80 million. Risk and reward are sufficiently out of balance to justify that investment currently. Over-regulation has led to paralysis. Both the condition of Federal forests and the plight of the timber industry remain in a downward spiral. Proper education on forest management reaches too few policy makers and their constituents. The quality of decision making suffers as a result.
--Tom Hammer| Post Date: 2021-01-23 08:28:45 | |
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