By Oregon State University Extension  Office (Photo by Lynn Ketchum.) More than one in five commercial honeybee hives in Oregon did not survive last winter, continuing a financially challenging trend for professional beekeepers. Between Oct. 1 and March 31, Oregon beekeepers reported a 21.1 percent loss in colonies of the […]

Natural Resource News Note: The Oregonian is reporting that Ron Wyden’s much anticipated timber O&C reform bill is expected to be taken up in the Senate in next week. The timing is tight as Congress closes during August for recess and returning to the district. More from the Oregonian Wyden […]

By Daily Digger Oregon Association of Nurseries According to an alert sent by the Farm Employer Education & Legal Defense Service (FEELDS), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is actively investigating farms in the Willamette Valley this week. Their focus thus far has been on blueberry farms, but that could […]

By National Farmers Union NFU Backs Senate’s ‘Clean Reauthorization’ of STELA Bill Doug Sombke, president of South Dakota Farmers Union, visited Capitol Hill last week to urge lawmakers to act on pending legislation that will ensure rural Americans maintain access to their local broadcast television stations. “Broadcast television is a […]

Map: NW engulfed in 20 wildfires, The Pacific NW is engulfed in 19 wildfires that has already effected 910,000 acres. See map below.

The wildifre breaking out in the State of Washington is the worst on record and has been making national news.  Watch video below.

by Rex Storm, Forest Policy Manager Associated Oregon Loggers Sen. Wyden Seeks Tribal Forests: Oregon US Senator Wyden (D-OR) introduced two bills that would establish tribal ownership of two forests. The ‘Canyon Mountain Land Conveyance Act (S.1415)’ would deed 17,826 acres of BLM forestland for the Cow Creek Band of […]

By American Farm Bureau Federation During a Day of Action with events in Washington, D.C., and in more than 60 congressional districts across 25 states, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Partnership for a New American Economy, Business Roundtable and other groups are urging Congress and […]

by Craig Pope, Polk County Commissioner Michael Cairn’s recent criticism of rural county governments in his Statesman Journal op-ed deserves a response. Mr. Cairns lives in Polk County, where I serve as a County Commissioner charged with balancing the budget in the face of declining revenues. As one of 18 […]

by Rex Storm, Forest Policy Manager Associated Oregon Loggers Lawsuit Threat Faces Land Purchasers: Environmental groups filed a notice of intent to sue two private landowners—claiming timber harvest of marbled murrelet seabird habitat would violate the federal Endangered Species Act. The 1,453 acres, formerly part of the Elliott State Forest, […]