Oregon’s Department of Forestry is writing a Habitat Conservation Plan that will guide management of more than 600,000 acres of state forest lands in western Oregon over the next 70 years. Unfortunately, the current draft of the plan relies upon 1990s ideas, which we know are outdated and ineffective. It’s filled with the same misguided and ineffective policies that led to the shutdown of the federal forests three decades ago. We need your voice.
The current plan calls for reducing timber harvest by as much as 30 percent and puts 60 percent of our state forest lands off-limits for sustainable harvest.
We already know the so-called set-aside “solutions” proposed within this plan don’t work to save the spotted owl, but we do know they cost jobs and family businesses and threaten local schools and public services. That’s why we need you to speak out — this is your last chance to have a say over what happens in the forests in your own backyards.
Tell the state and federal officials who are in charge of this plan to protect rural communities.
This is 2021, not 1991. We know that sustainable timber harvest coupled with sound biology works. We can create habitat that enhances wildlife while ensuring that our rural communities also survive. The future depends on us. That’s why we need to hear from you today.
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