Next year Washington State can continue to play a leading role in efforts to improve the health of our federally-owned forests while restoring economic opportunity to our rural forested communities. Help can’t come soon enough, especially for county governments. As timber receipt revenues remain low and an extension of “Secure Rural School” payments remain unclear,…
With post-fire salvage and restoration efforts underway on Southwest Oregon private forests burned in the Douglas Complex fire, the State of Oregon is warning the Bureau of Land Management about hazards posed to forest workers from nearby federal lands. A recent action by officials with the State of Oregon again highlights growing concerns over the…
Nearly 80 percent of Skamania County, Washington is managed by the U.S. Forest Service, along with three wilderness areas and the Mt. St. Helens National Monument. Environmental lawsuits and regulations meant to protect the forests have instead led to widespread decay. Forest health has declined due to the lack of active management, and local forests…
Washington Senator Patty Murray and Congressman Derek Kilmer have reintroduced the “Wild Olympics” wilderness legislation for the Olympic Peninsula. Please take a moment to read this message, contact your federal officials, and urge your friends, family and neighbors to do the same! The Wild Olympics bill would put an additional 125,000 acres of the Olympic National Forest…
Over 100 forestry, outdoor, education and county associations recently urged Senate leaders to take action on forest management legislation for the benefit of forest health and rural communities. In a letter, the groups write that solutions are needed in light of poor forest conditions and the resulting record-setting forest fires: Dear Senators: We are encouraged…
The National Association of State Foresters recently adopted a resolution supporting reforms to federal forest policies: “The current level of active management on federal forest lands is insufficient to address the scope, scale and pace needed to restore these forests to a more resilient condition. Uncharacteristically large and intense wildfires and insect epidemics are impacting…
A recent Oregonian article on the plight of rural Oregon provides yet another call for our Congressional delegation to move quickly on a real plan to restore the health of our rural communities and federal forests through legislation that assures active, sustained yield timber management. The article outlined warnings from Oregon economists that describe a…
The National Education Association, representing three million educators across America, urged U.S. House members to approve the “Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act” to restore economic opportunities and education funding in rural communities. Here’s what they had to say: On behalf of the more than three million members of the National Education Association, we…
In 2012, wildfires burned 9.3 million acres, while the U.S. Forest Service harvested approximately 200,000 acres. This means that 44 times as many acres burned as were responsibly harvested and restored. According to the U.S. Forest Service, 65-82 million acres of Forest Service Lands are at “high risk of wildfires.” Source: U.S. House Natural…
The La Grande Observer recently published the following commentary by BoiseCascade’s Lindsay Warness and Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities’ Nick Smith: Oregon’s public forests are a public treasure from which many people derive pleasure, solace, and a living. Forestlands in Oregon are incredibly diverse and provide a wide range of benefits for the people who live,…