Last week, in a surprising about-face, Oregon county commissioners turned their backs on the hard work Oregon residents and their delegation have put into crafting a balanced bill to deal with issues on the O & C Lands Act.
Instead of supporting Senator Wydens well balance bill, they supported a bill written by Wyoming’s Sen. John Barrasso, a timber-focused bill that only addresses the harvest side of the equation, watering down important protections that have been in place for decades.
For months, our delegation has been working to find the right balance between timber harvest and protection for our land and water. And after taking input across the board, they came up with a workable solution – one everyone signed on to because it was a local solution that came from local people.
It’s time our commissioners look at the bigger picture and support the legislation that came from their own constituents — not something authored by a Senator in a state that doesn’t understand timber or the impacts of timber harvest the way Oregon does.
I urge you to contact your county commissioner and let them know how you feel about the “Barrasso bill”, and contact Sen. Wyden’s office in Eugene or Portland and thank the senator and his staff for their efforts on finding a balanced approach on O & C forest lands.
Chris Daughters
Contact Sen. Ron Wyden here: https://www.wyden.senate.gov/contact/
In Eugene here:
405 East 8th Ave., Suite 2020
Eugene, OR, 97401
tel (541) 431-0229
In Portland here:
911 NE 11th Ave., Suite 630
Portland, OR, 97232
tel (503) 326-7525
Also, you can send a message to the BLM here about the plan. Comments to the BLM are due by July 23rd.
