Add Governor Kulongoski to the list of supporters for the new Eastern Oregon logging agreement that was announced this week.
The deal was negotiated by timber and conservation groups, with the help of Senator Wyden’s office. Wyden will introduce legislation to make it happen.
“The forests of eastern Oregon have reached a crisis condition as has our wood products industry,” says Kulongoski in his statement. “Our communities and rural economies are stressed beyond tolerance and Senator Wyden’s bill is the kind of solution to this triple threat that Congress should adopt as quickly as possible.”
The bill has been described as historic, and for good reasons.
It gives legal protection to old growth forests by banning the logging of trees more than 21 inches in diameter. On top of that, it changes how the Forest Service manages the forest. Instead of logging for the sake of logging, the Forest Service would focus on restoring forests and watersheds. Logging will be part of the restoration process. Wyden’s office estimates that during the first year, about 80,000 acres would be logged.
The law would affect about 8 million acres of federal forests in Eastern Oregon.
See: “Historic” Deal Reached For Eastern Oregon Forests.
Timber is signing on because they believe it will assure their industry of a steady supply of wood from public lands.
The Oregon Sierra Club, which wasn’t one of the negotiators, issued a statement expressing some concerns.
That’s because the bill calls for a three year ban on administrative appeals of timber sales. The Sierra Club and other groups have used administrative appeals to block controversial sales in the Umatilla National Forest. The process allows them to challenge Forest Service decisions without having to sue.
