Oregon forests provide clean water for local communities and habitat for threatened species like salmon, all while acting as a key line of defense against the climate crisis. From extreme heat waves to longer droughts, the effects of climate change are already here. This is a critical moment in time when we need to change the way we manage Oregon forests so they can keep protecting us in the uncertain years ahead.
What we don’t need is more forest management that focuses solely on making money from logging Oregon’s public forests. For too long, the timber industry — corporations who prioritize their bottom line over the climate, ecosystems, and community well-being — have held sway in Oregon politics.
And until now, the Board of Forestry allowed timber corporations to use profit-driven, unsustainable logging practices that accelerate the climate crisis. But that is changing. Last month, the Board of Forestry voted down an industry-backed proposal to scrap the draft Habitat Conservation Plan for Western Oregon State Forests (HCP) and reaffirmed its commitment to enacting an HCP that strikes a balance between logging revenue and all the other values our western state forests provide.
If passed, the HCP would be a critical step for the State of Oregon to manage forests through more sustainable, climate-smart practices. Although imperfect, the HCP is a good faith effort driven by community input, and would be a huge win for Oregon forests. It’s clear that timber corporations are not interested in good faith, and are determined to clearcut forests even as over-logging threatens clean water, threatened species like salmon, and local communities.
But the fight to pass HCP isn’t over yet. Earlier this month, timber interests launched new attacks on the HCP, and are now pressuring our governor and legislators to overrule the Board of Forestry. House Republican legislators are demanding that the Governor oppose the HCP and direct the Department of Forestry to maintain unsustainable amounts of logging on state forests. And today, timber interests rallied at the Capitol.
We need to defend the HCP and our state forests from industry-driven political intervention. We need to remind Governor Kotek and our legislators that their role is to support the Board of Forestry in doing its job, and that we need to manage state forests for the good of all Oregonians, not just the timber industry.
For the forest,
Brenna and the Forest Defense Team
P.S. So far, we’ve been able to stave off the timber industry’s attacks on our state forests through your actions to support the HCP. Thank you! Now, we need our legislators and the Governor to hear from us again. Take action for the HCP and Oregon forests today!
