FEDERAL WAY, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY) today announced it will close its iLevel® lumber mills in Wright City, Okla., and Dallas, Ore., effective immediately. The announcement will affect approximately 307 employees. “Demand for wood products continues to decline due to a slowdown in the housing market,” said Tom Gideon, executive […]

Oregonians for Food and Shelter, Statement in SB 570 The crime of metal theft in Oregon is increasing exponentially as meth addicts and others looking for a quick buck are ripping off anything made of non-ferrous or semi-precious metal to sell to scrap dealers and recyclers.   The hearings on SB […]

By Dave Hunnicutt, Oregonians In Action For those of you expecting a quick decision on your Measure 49 claim, you are unfortunately in for some disappointing news. As we have chronicled in past editions of Looking Forward, the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) is having a difficult […]

By Guest Opinion, Last week a hearing was held on the bill to stop field burning.  Senate Bill 528 calls for an immediate stoppage of field burning in Linn, Benton and Lane Counties with a two year phase out in all other counties. Gail Shibley, Environmental Public Health Office Administrator […]

Congressman Greg Walden Press Release, WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) is once again helping lead a bipartisan effort in the House of Representatives to create a separate catastrophic wildfire fund so federal forest managers no longer have to rob other forest management budgets to pay for fighting fire.  […]

By Tom Partin, American Forest Research Council, Both Houses of Congress passed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The House vote was 246-183 and the Senate vote was 60-38. In the House, no Republicans voted for the bill, while Republican Senators Olympia Snow (ME), Susan Collins […]

Weekend National News Focus: National Cattlemen’s Beef Association:  WASHINGTON (March 13, 2009) – The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) announced that as part of a revamped strategy to eliminate government intervention in the renewable energy market, it is withdrawing as a member of the Food Before Fuel Coalition.“The Food Before […]

Weekend National News Focus: American Farm Bureau Federation: WASHINGTON, D.C., March 12, 2009 – The American Farm Bureau Federation joined 38 other agricultural and commodity groups in expressing strong opposition to the more than $16 billion in cuts to the farm safety net proposed in President Barack Obama’s 2010 budget. […]

Oregon Dept. Fish & Wildlife– A California sea lion, previously identified as one of the animals regularly feeding on Columbia River spring chinook in the waters below Bonneville Dam, was euthanized today. A health examination revealed the animal had a lesion of a viral origin that is indicative of cancer. […]

Oregonians In Action is hosting their annual Land-Use Forum this Saturday at the Wilsonville Holiday Inn. Issues to be covered are; 1) land use bills in the current legislative session, 2) the most recent updates on Measures 37 and 49, 3) a new panel on water law and the role […]