Forests and Water

Action Alert: The State Forester wants to hear from you!

We would like to share the following action alert from Wild Salmon Center and urge you to sign up to speak online or in-person at one of the upcoming Department of Forestry listening sessions — the last opportunity for you to let Oregon’s State Forester know that you support a strong Habitat Conservation Plan (Alternative 3 in particular) for state forests in western Oregon:

“Oregon’s State Forester Cal Mukumoto and the Board of Forestry need to hear more from you! They’ve scheduled three listening sessions to gather public comments on the Habitat Conservation Plan and broader management of Oregon’s state forests. But they didn’t give us much time to prepare...

Due to weather delays and power outages, the Oregon Department of Forestry only announced dates last Friday for these listening sessions. This is likely your last chance to make formal comments on the plan and the long-term management of 634,000 acres of state forests.

The 65 spots for testimony on Jan. 29 are filling up fast, so we urge you to sign up right away to tell the State Forester and the Board that you want a strong plan finalized without further delay. A Zoom link and other details will be provided by email following registration. More information on the listening sessions is provided on the Department of Forestry website.

Can't make the Jan. 29 virtual session? There are also two in-person listening sessions coming right up:

  • Eugene: Jan. 25 at the Lane Events Center, Room #4, W. 13th Ave.

  • Astoria: Jan. 31 at the Loft at the Red Building, 20 Basin St.

For both in-person sessions, speaking slots are first-come, first-serve. Doors open at 5 p.m. and both meetings starts at 5:30 p.m., with speakers allowed a maximum of 2 minutes. NOTE: These meetings will be well attended, so get there early for onsite registration! 

Need some inspiration for your comments? Here are key points to make to the State Forester:

  • The Board of Forestry must finalize a strong Habitat Conservation Plan without further delay.

  • State forests have been overharvested for decades. We must restore balance to state forests by protecting fish and wildlife habitat along with the clean, safe drinking water on which our communities depend. 

  • The Board must base decisions on the best science available, as the law requires. This includes larger buffers from clearcuts near small streams.

  • The Board needs to implement ODF’s Climate Change and Carbon Plan. We can increase carbon absorption and storage by reducing clearcut logging and instituting longer time periods between logging.

Once again, thank you for your tireless work to ensure that our state forests are managed for all Oregonians, not just the timber industry. That means healthy wild salmon runs, cold, clean water, the recovery of endangered wildlife, and the establishment of Oregon as a national leader in climate-smart forestry.

Sincerely,

Michael Lang
Oregon Senior Policy Manager
Wild Salmon Center”

Photo by dawn villaescusa

Action Alert: Help us keep Oregon State Forest protections on track!

Dear Reader,

Photo by dawn villaescusa

We are happy to forward this action alert to you from the Wild Salmon Center. For the past two years, the Audubon Society of Lincoln City has been working with the Wild Salmon Center and other participants in the Forest Coalition to advance a strong Habitat Conservation Plan for state forests in western Oregon.

Here’s the alert:

  Step by step, month by month, we're getting closer to historic protections for salmon streams, wildlife habitat, mature forests, and clean water in our state forests.

Thanks to you and the power of your voice, this past July, the Department of Forestry began implementing many of the protections in the State Forest Habitat Conservation Plan that we’ve been supporting for the past two years. It’s clear that ODF is already acting in anticipation of final federal approval of the HCP in late 2024. 

 That’s great news, but we haven’t won yet. We have to stay loud for strong conservation—louder than the voices that still want ODF to scrap this plan completely.

TAKE ACTION: Tell the Board to finalize state forest protections!

This week, the Department of Forestry issued new timber harvest estimates for the 70-year lifespan of the HCP. Under the revised estimates, timber harvest will be reduced to sustainable levels compared to the past 20 years of overharvesting state forests. This is needed to restore balanced management on our state forests. But the timber industry and their political allies are using this information to try and derail the HCP.

Can you speak up today in support of the HCP as it stands: a plan that balances timber with the many other values that Oregonians have for these public lands?

Tell the Board to stay the course and finalize the HCP

This won’t be the last time we’ll need to speak up for strong conservation. The HCP is still at least one year away from federal approval. We’ll need to keep the pressure high or risk losing the progress we’ve made. The current HCP is a big conservation gain, and there are ways that we can further improve management of state forests:

  • Larger protective buffers on headwater streams are needed. A recent peer-reviewed study on the Trask River supports HCP Alternative 3 with larger protective buffers on small streams; and

  • We need to modernize the antiquated law that couples state forest timber revenue with funding for the counties: counties deserve more stable funding for local services.  

We know there's more work to do, and we’re working hard to gain more ground in the coming months. But right now, the Board of Forestry needs to hear loud and clear that we want the HCP to stay on course. 

The timber industry won’t be satisfied until our state forests are managed like private industrial forests. And delay and derailment tactics are its specialty. For the sake of our remaining mature state forests and the clean drinking water and healthy fish and wildlife habitat they provide, let's keep this legacy plan on track. Please tell the Board of Forestry to finalize a strong HCP without delay!

 

Sincerely,

Michael Lang

Action Alert: Share why you care about Oregon’s forests

Oregon’s forests provide a variety of ecological, social, and economic benefits to Oregonians. The Oregon Board of Forestry and Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) are responsible for developing and implementing policies and strategies that promote forest health and resilience to preserve those benefits for future generations. Those policies and strategies affect forest bird and wildlife habitat, fish habitat, and water quality.

The Oregon Board of Forestry and the Department of Forestry  (ODF) are updating their shared strategic plan that will guide forest management policy. They’ve partnered with Oregon Kitchen Table—a program of Portland State University—to hear from as many Oregonians as possible to ensure the plan focuses on what matters most to people when it comes to our forests.

Please take a few moments to complete the online survey by October 9 to let ODF know you care about our forest habitats.

Action Alert: Stand Tall for Oregon's State Forests!

If you’ve been following our conservation efforts, you’ll know that we, along with many other conservation organizations, have been fighting hard against the timber industry for a Western Oregon State Forests Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) that protects wildlife, clean water, and public land access. 

Right now, the Oregon Department of Forestry is finalizing an HCP that will affect the future of Oregon’s forests for generations to come. Now is the time to #StandTallOregon and let your elected officials know that you support a strong HCP!

Stand tall for healthy forests. Our forests keep rivers cool, prevent erosion, and sequester carbon in the fight against climate change. 

Stand tall for clean water. Our forests provide cold, clean drinking water to 500,000 people in Northwest Oregon. 

Stand tall for wildlife. Our forests keep salmon runs healthy and provide habitat for endangered species like the coastal marten and Marbled Murrelet.

The timber industry’s campaign to slash protections for our state forests is based on misinformation and motivated by greed. As we watch climate change drive warming temperatures that threaten beloved wildlife and exacerbate forest fires that destroy Oregon homes, we cannot let the timber industry win this battle. 

Will you join us to #StandTallOregon and let your elected officials know that you support an HCP that works for all Oregonians and our precious forests, not just the timber industry?

To learn more about the campaign to protect Western Oregon State Forests, visit https://standtalloregon.org/ and follow @protectthe_tillamook on Instagram.

Images provided by Wild Salmon Center.

Action Alert: Help us keep state forest protections on track!

We’re just a few weeks out from a key opportunity to make sure the Oregon Board of Forestry hears our voice to keep a strong Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for state forests that’s been years in the making.

On June 7, the board convenes in Sisters for a bimonthly full meeting. This is our chance to counter the timber industry that seeks to derail the HCP. We deserve a state forest plan that serves all Oregonians—not just the narrow interests of the timber industry.

Can you please help us speak up for fish and wildlife, clean drinking water, outdoor recreation, and sustainable forestry practices on our state forests?

One of the most powerful ways to support the HCP is by testifying in person or virtual connection on June 7.

If you can’t join us in Sisters, you can also show up for state forests by reaching out to your community news outlets, sharing social media posts, and submitting written testimony. (Need guidance? Click here for pointers.) You can also take a few minutes now to send the board a letter of ongoing support.

YES! SIGN ME UP TO SUPPORT A STRONG HCP

We know that conservation victories only happen when we show up again and again. Remember, we’re fighting a deep-pocketed industry that has relied on fears and falsehoods to undermine the HCP.

Case in point: timber interests are claiming that the HCP is a job killer. In fact, according to the Department of Forestry, the HCP would increase timber jobs by at least 10 percent in Clatsop County, and more than 40 percent in Tillamook County.

Let’s make sure that the HCP’s real story breaks through. Can you help us win the day for our state forests—and keep this fight alive?

Action Alert: Halt the timber industry grab on Oregon’s state forests!

The timber industry and their politicians are trying to stop years of work to find balanced habitat protections on state forests under a Habitat Conservation Plan. Their plan for state forests is to throw out habitat protections and increase clearcuts in critical habitat.

Add your voice in support of a strong state forest Habitat Conservation Plan for the Board of Forestry meeting on Wednesday, March 8!

Big timber is ramping up pressure on the Board of Forestry to abandon the Habitat Conservation Plan. In the legislature, they’re pushing a bill to transfer state forests over to the counties to undercut conservation and increase clearcutting. If passed, the counties could then sell state forests to the timber industry. We can’t allow this to happen.

Your voice matters. You helped strengthen the Board of Forestry’s support for the Habitat Conservation Plan when we defeated the timber industry’s attempts to stop this process only a few weeks ago.

The state forest Habitat Conservation Plan is a balance between long-term conservation and pressure for timber harvest. It is a good faith effort, developed over many years, to manage public lands for the good of all Oregonians today and into the future.

Send an email to the Board of Forestry today. Tell the Board that we are counting on them to adopt a strong Habitat Conservation Plan that protects salmon, wildlife and clean water in Oregon’s state forests! Ask them to support efforts to diversify funding for rural services, decreasing county dependence on revenue from timber sales.

Board of Forestry email: boardofforestry@odf.oregon.gov

Sample Message:

Subject: Support a Strong State Forest Habitat Conservation Plan with No Delays

Dear Chair Kelly and Members of the Board of Forestry,

I’m writing to ask you to continue your support of a strong Western Oregon State Forest Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) that is at least as protective as Conservation Alternative 3. The State Forest HCP is a workable balance that would protect iconic salmon runs, wildlife habitat, recreation, and clean water while ensuring more sustainable timber harvest. Now is the time to finalize the HCP and ensure that Oregon’s state forests are managed for multiple values.

Right now, the timber industry and supportive politicians are calling on you to reject the HCP, prioritizing timber harvest over all other values. They’re using inflammatory and misleading statements to undermine common-sense plans to protect state forests. Today I ask you to stand strong and support moving forward on the state forest HCP with no delays.

The HCP before you has been developed with years of extensive public input. The courts have affirmed the State’s right to manage for multiple benefits on state forests (Linn Co. v. State of Oregon). Now is the time to step up for Oregon’s state forests and for current and future generations by adopting a strong HCP. Thank you.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]


You can use our sample message or write your own. Either way, your voice is essential! 

Thank you for continuing to support solid conservation practices in Oregon. 

Action Alert: Support the Natural Climate Solutions Bill!

We are joining our Forest Coalition partners to advance a critical piece of climate legislation in the current session of the Oregon legislature — the Natural Climate Solutions bill (SB 530). Natural climate solutions are critical for fighting climate change and protecting our forests, farms, grasslands, and wetlands.  This legislation will support simple, proven solutions for reducing the future impacts of climate change.

Photo by Steve Griffiths

  • Planting more trees in urban areas;

  • Protecting and recovering drinking watersheds and wetlands;

  • Planting cover crops on agricultural lands; 

  • Supporting longer logging rotations on private lands;

  • Protecting mature and old-growth forests on public lands; and 

  • Protecting coastal communities from sea-level rise and storm surge.

Please help us get this bill safely over the finish line this session. Tell Representatives David Gomberg and Cyrus Javadi, and Senators Dick Anderson and Suzanne Weber how important it is to coastal residents that they act now to address climate change and its impacts on our communities. 

How to contact our state legislators

Action Alert: Protect threatened and endangered species!

TAKE ACTION TODAY to protect endangered and threatened species!

Wilson River Oregon by Julie McWorther

Raise your voice. It can be difficult and intimidating to wade through hundreds of pages of potential plans, regulations, and rules that control how our local habitat is managed by state and federal agencies. We know that you want to be part the process, to advance the best outcomes for things we care about: water supplies, birds, wildlife, and the habitat that supports them.

Let us help you promote Alternative #3 of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement in support of Oregon Department of Forestry’s (ODF) Western Oregon State Forest Habitat Conservation Plan.

The Plan, prepared by ODF, is currently under review by federal wildlife agencies. Under auspices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this plan addresses the habitat needs for 14 threatened and endangered species. These include the Northern Spotted Owl, Marbled Murrelet, coastal marten, and many species of salamanders, salmon, and steelhead.

The plan’s required 60-day public comment period is open right now. This is your chance to create a lasting legacy of conservation on state lands. Tell decision-makers you want a balanced management plan: one that protects wildlife, allows recreational opportunities, ensures clean air and water, and helps to stabilize the climate for generations to come.

Please submit your comments today to NOAA and ODF through this link.

Feel free to adapt any or all of these points:

  1. I recognize and applaud the work of our state and federal agencies in developing a Habitat Conservation Plan for Western Oregon’s State Forests. I support Alternative 3: Increased Conservation, as described in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

  2. I support wider riparian buffers to protect our streams, safeguard water supplies, and provide critical habitat needed to promote the recovery of endangered fish and other aquatic species.


  3. Northern Spotted Owl, Marbled Murrelet, red tree vole, and coastal martin populations are threatened and/or endangered as a result of decades of human activity. Modern industrial logging practices have resulted in disturbance, destruction, and fragmentation of mature forest habitat.


  4. Conservation Actions 6, 7, 8, and 10 as described in the EIS should be seen as absolute minimum standards needed to protect threatened and endangered species.


  5. Protection of interior forests with enclosed canopies and complex structure is critical. Habitat Conservation Areas of adequate size and contiguity are key to survival of terrestrial species such as Marbled Murrelet, Northern Spotted Owl, and coastal marten.


  6. ODF should emphasize ecologically focused management of our state timber lands and allow them to become mature, diverse forests that can and will provide highly suitable habitat for threatened and endangered species.


  7. ODF must recognize habitat fragmentation as a serious threat to endangered species and should strive to promote habitat connectivity across the landscape.


  8. Ecologically focused forest management must include retention of the oldest, largest trees on the landscape during regeneration harvests. Retaining these features on the landscape will eventually result in the stands of old growth needed to provide refuge and dispersal habitat in areas outside of Habitat Conservation Areas.


  9. It is time for ODF and the Oregon Board of Forestry to move beyond a timber-centric, business-as-usual approach to forest management.

Thank you for your critical support!