NW Natural Resource Note, NW lumber firms are benefiting from the Japan Tsunami aftermath.   The Vancouver business, Columbia Vista Corp., exports 75% of its lumber to Japan and has recently hired two dozen new workers.   A Japanese lumber company, Miyoshi, was destroyed after the Tsunami and now relies on $120,000 […]

Bill Would Allow Forest Fire Fuel Loads to be Responsibly Managed National Cattlemen’s Beef Association  Congressman Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) was joined by 27 of his colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives today, May 15, 2012, to introduce the bipartisan Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention Act of 2012 (H.R. 5744). According to […]

by National Association Wheat Gorwers The conference process for divergent House- and Senate-passed surface transportation bills began this week with a public hearing on Tuesday that was dominated by opening statements and calls for passage of a long-term bill. The 47-member conference committee is charged with bridging the gap between […]

Export figures indicate a recovering grass seed industry resurrected By Oregon Department of Agriculture Oregon’s grass seed industry suffered greatly with the US economic downturn that began in 2008. But there are increasing signs of recovery that include export numbers generated by the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s inspection and certification […]

American Farm Bureau Federation American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman at a hearing on Capitol Hill reemphasized his organizations’ support of a single commodity option and a strong crop insurance program in the 2012 farm bill. Speaking before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management, […]

Removing 4 Lower Snake River Dams Just a Bad Idea Don Brunell, President Washington Business There are dams that should come down and those that shouldn’t. Demolishing the two dams on the Elwha River west of Port Angeles is a good thing and, hopefully the salmon and steelhead will return […]

By Oregonians For Food and Shelter, Last week the Oregon Forest Industries Council (OFIC) announced their new President. According to a statement from Tom Holt, OFIC’s Board Chairman, “McNitt will begin work on June 15, 2012, and there will be a two week overlap with Ray Wilkeson working closely with […]

YF&R Committee Vice Chair, Brenda Kirsch, gives a video reason on why Oregon’s estate tax (aka “death tax”) should be eliminated. Currently the End Oregon Death Tax petition campaign is gathering signatures to qualify for the 2012 ballot.

Walden leads group of lawmakers urging inclusion of county payments, PILT in final transportation bill By Congressman Greg Walden U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and 15 House Republicans have sent a letter urging a joint Senate-House panel to include county payments and PILT funding in a final transportation bill.The Senate […]

Free Enterprise, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Beating up on coal, America’s most-used source for electricity, wasn’t enough for the Sierra Club. They now declared war on natural gas. From National Journal: “The Sierra Club is intensifying its natural-gas reform campaign and renaming it “Beyond Gas,” a spin-off of its decade-old […]