Forest Policy Briefs by Rex Storm, Forest Policy Manager Associated Oregon Loggers Chief Says Wyden Bill Wrong-Headed: Former US Forest Service Chief Jack Ward Thomas wrote a guest opinion in the Oregonian newspaper, blasting US Senator Ron Wyden’s proposed bill on Eastern Oregon forests.  Thomas accurately attacked the Senator’s bill, […]

Ag Groups File Amicus Brief on High Court’s First Biotech Case National Wheat Growers Association, NAWG joined a coalition of agricultural organizations Monday in filing a joint friend-of-the-court brief to the Supreme Court in support of the petitioners in Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms. The case will be the […]

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, NEWPORT, Ore. – Oregon’s recreational and commercial ocean salmon seasons scheduled to open from March 15 through April 30 have been closed due, in part, to a low projected run of fall Chinook to the Sacramento River. “The closure of these March and April […]

Grassroots Opposition to Climate Change Bill Delivered to Senate By American Farm Bureau Federation, WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Farm Bureau Federation’s successful, six-month campaign to oppose cap-and-trade climate change legislation, “Don’t CAP Our Future,” culminated Wednesday when farmer and rancher members from across the country presented key lawmakers some […]

By Oregon State University Extension Office, CORVALLIS, Ore. – Recent warm weather has prompted more than spring fever. As temperatures have climbed over 50 degrees, a potentially devastating insect pest has been detected in western Oregon and Washington. Last fall, the spotted wing drosophila, an invasive vinegar fly native to […]

Merkley, Wyden Urge Obama Administration to Provide Immediate, Coordinated Drought Assistance for Klamath Basin Senator Ron Wyden Press Release, WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden requested immediate and expansive drought assistance for Klamath Basin in anticipation of emergency drought conditions this year.  In a letter sent today, […]

By Oregon Department of Agriculture, Senate Bill 676, passed by the 2009 Oregon Legislature, permits production and possession of industrial hemp and trade in industrial hemp commodities and products. What is industrial hemp? Industrial hemp includes a number of varieties of Cannabis sativa L. that are intended for agricultural and […]

From Oregon Association of Nurseries, Sacramento, California – The California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers (CANGC) and the Oregon Association of Nurseries (OAN) today filed a suit in U.S. District Court in Columbia, South Carolina, seeking to overturn a new regulation aimed squarely at blocking California and Oregon nursery […]

From Bureau of Land Management, HINES, Oregon – For the second year in a row, the Extreme Mustang Makeover challenge is headed to the Northwest Horse Fair and Expo in Albany, Oregon. This thrilling competition will take place over three days, culminating in a fantastic freestyle event in front of […]

Northwest Food Processors Association The FDA signaled that more criminal prosecutions of corporate officials for FDA-related offenses may be on the way. Commissioner of Food and Drugs Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg March 4 said that the FDA was acting in response to an internal committee’s recommendation that the “appropriate” use […]