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On June 9, former Governor John Kitzhaber presented his
"New Vision for Forest Management," ("Vision") to the Oregon Board of
Forestry (BOF) out of frustration with the way politics have influenced
forest management decisions in the state. The BOF, a group dominated by individuals with
financial ties to the timber industry, is charged with "leading Oregon
in implementing policies and programs that promote environmentally,
economically, and socially sustainable management of Oregon's 28
million acres of public and private forests." Governor Kitzhaber is not new to the Oregon forest arena and his
vision is indeed visionary. He calls for three fundamental elements in
sustainable forestry, suggesting the Tillamook State Forest as a good
place to start. The three principles include: Kitzhaber explicitly focuses on watershed health as the top priority
in forest management. According to Kitzhaber, "To get this started, you
have to have someone take the first step." "There's a pretty large void
right now." The Oregonian, June 10, 2004. Could this have been a call for our current Governor to step up to
the plate? Absolutely. Current Governor Ted Kulongoski has said very little about state
forest policy during his tenure and has left forest management
decisions in the hands of individuals who, for the most part, view
forest products and profit as our state forests' top priority. On June 28, in response to Kitzhaber's "Vision," Governor Kulongoski
wrote to the BOF to present his views. He asked them to consider
Governor Kitzhaber's June 9 testimony. Oddly, his letter does not mention watershed health as the top
policy objective, but says the following: "Thus, the challenge of reaching a 'single overarching policy
objective' is dependent on developing a widely accepted evidence review
process by which credible scientific evidence can be developed
concerning the relationship of forest practices to watershed health as
a reflection of overall forest ecosystem health." This statement is ambiguous and could have a variety of
interpretations. Does Governor Kulongoski believe, like Kitzhaber and the
conservation community, that watershed health should be the single,
overarching policy objective for sustainable forests? We certainly hope
so. Until now, the actions of his administration have been
disappointing. Doubling the timber harvest on the Tillamook and Clatsop
state forests is just one example. You can write to Governor Kulongoski and ask that he make watershed
health the number one priority for Oregon's State Forests. Write
to: Governor Ted Kulongoski View his letter here.
160 State Capitol, 900 Court Street
Salem, Oregon 97301-4047
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