A view of Steins Pillar in the Ochoco National Forest. Photo from BLM.
Long time adversaries in Oregon’s timber wars told the Senate today they’re ready to make peace, at least in Eastern Oregon.
The setting was a hearing on the Eastern Oregon Logging bill sponsored by Senator Wyden. Based on a historic compromise between timber and conservation groups, the bill hopes to revive the region’s logging industry while at the same time protecting old growth trees and restoring forests.
But despite the talk of peace and collaboration, it’s clear there are still some hard feelings out there.
About the only thing all the witnesses agreed on is that Eastern Oregon’s forests are in deep trouble and need help.
One of the key players in the compromise is Andy Kerr, a senior advisor for Oregon Wild. Kerr says he’s still very much part of the wilderness movement, and still believes in protecting areas from logging and development. But as hard as it may be for people to change their views, he says that’s exactly what he’s done regarding Eastern Oregon forests. The science, he says, now tells him these forests need “active management.”
“Eastern Oregon forests are not pristine, but sick and wounded.”
Kerr thinks it’s time to bring back controlled fires and forest thinning projects to remove trees that have become an ecological threat to overall forest health and stands of old growth. He’s talking about what he calls an “unnatural concentration” of younger and smaller trees that are susceptible to fires. Kerr says they are outcompeting old growth, robbing them of moisture and nutrients, leaving them vulnerable to disease and insects.
“While it is not a perfect bill,” says Kerr, “it is nonetheless a great bill.”
Kerr’s partner in the talks is John Shelk with the Ochoco Lumber Company of Prineville.
Shelk paints a desperate picture of the timber industry in Eastern Oregon. Since 1990, 23 mills – many owned by Ochoco Lumber – and 2,000 jobs have disappeared.
“How much longer the eight remaining mills can survive,” says Shelk, “depends on supply of saw logs.” He says the timber industry in Eastern Oregon depends on timber from federal forests and increasing the volume of that timber is “critical”.
But like Kerr, Shelk says he’s also worried about the health of the forests. Falling timber harvests have led to overcrowded forests which he says leads to insect and disease infestations and increased risk of fire.
“I think it is fair to say that it is not the bill any of us would have written, but we believe it is a workable compromise that will improve the health of Oregon’s Eastside forest and help to preserve the livelihoods and tax base of our rural communities.”
One critic at the hearing was Larry Blasing of the Grant County Forest Commission. Calling the bill a “bureaucratic nightmare”, he says it addresses the wrong problem. He says the problem isn’t how the Forest Service manages the land, but rather the environmentalists who oppose how they do it and the appeals court that support the environmentalists.
Blasing says what’s happened is that the Forest Service does a long “mating dance” with environmental groups before projects even get off the ground. “This isn’t the best way to manage forests,” he says.
Blasing also criticized the bill for not including jobs or economic considerations among its goals. “Each timber job is critical to our economy,” says Blasing. “As timber goes, so goes our economy.”
Wyden disputed that argument later in the hearing.
But a more interesting moment came when Idaho Senator Jim Risch talked about what he went through getting an agreement on wilderness areas in his state. Speaking directly to Blasing he says, “You have to go forward on this.” Both sides, says Risch, need to realize that the only way to get this done is through a collaborative process.
