Oregon Natural Resources & Industries Stand Against the ODF 2023 HCP
STOP THE HCP
All Oregon Citizen’s lives will be adversely affected!
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Timber money is vital to Oregon
Whether you’re a logger, mill worker, forester, community leader, rural Oregonian, or just plain care about the future of our state forests and rural communities, the message is the same – if this draft HCP is approved this fall, the consequences will be detrimental to the forest sector, community services, and those who rely on timber revenue for their livelihoods.
June 7th Meetings in Sisters Oregon
Public Comments and Board Social June 7th
They will take public comment in-person and virtually at the beginning of the meeting until 10:30am, but don’t actually have an update on the draft HCP on the agenda. With your help, we’ll put this topic on the agenda by testifying during open public comments!
There is also a Board Social event at 5:30pm, which is another opportunity to talk directly with Board members and ODF staff
Five Pine Lodge & Spa
June 7, Wednesday – Hybrid Public Meeting 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
The Board will meet for their regular public business meeting at the FivePine Lodge, South Sister Room – 1021 Desperado Trail, Sisters,
OR, 97759
June 7, Wednesday – Board Social 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.
The Board will meet with the Sisters community, local leaders, and members of the public in person and on location. Sisters-Camp
Sherman Rural Fire Department, Community Room – 301 South Elm Street, Sisters, OR, 97759. The evening conversation will explore
smoke impacts in Deschutes County.
June 8, Thursday – Hybrid Public Meeting 8 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
The Board will meet for their regular public business meeting at the FivePine Lodge, South Sister Room – 1021 Desperado Trail, Sisters,
OR, 97759
Attend the Meeting
Let's show solidarity and display urgency for the BOF to change course on the HCP. It's a 70 year mistake! Stand up in-person!
Anyone willing to testify in person or online (and we highly encourage folks to do so):
Sign up to testify by June 2 at 5pm by emailing
hilary.olivos-rood@odf.oregon.gov and include:
- your name
- organization (if affiliated)
- email address
- agenda item number or focus of testimony – Agenda Item 1, State Forest HCP
- preference to provide oral testimony by computer or in person
You will have three minutes to testify. Share your concerns, experience, and personal stories on the impacts of a 34% reduction in timber harvest!
For those who can’t testify but can submit written comments, send those to:boardofforestry@odf.oregon.gov
Or sign the Petition!
Unmanaged Forests Rot
When our forests are unmanaged they become impassible. Native Americans intentionally burned the forests when they become in this condition. They provided the forests what they needed, a helping hand to be healthy.
Unmanaged forests are the reason that we are fighting giant wildfires.
What is an HCP?
A Habitat Conservation Plan is a voluntary plan or agreement available to landowners under the federal Endangered Species Act to protect wildlife species and the ecosystems on which they depend. It is intended to ensure landowners operational flexibility and assurances while providing for the needs of fish and wildlife.
It provides the Federal Government with unfettered access to your property and they can make changes without your permission at anytime. This is not going to end well.
How will this HCP affect Oregon?
This HCP has been controversial from the beginning, as timber harvest on state forests are an important source of revenue for the Department of Forestry and for 15 Forest Trust Land Counties and hundreds of taxing districts with which the state has nearly a century old contractual relationship to actively manage land the counties deeded to the state. In return, ODF provides 64 percent of the revenues produced from timber harvest to the counties for critical public services. This HCP is supposed to protect 17 species that are listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and almost 60 non-listed species. There are several issues with this plan, one being that these species cannot withstand forests fires. We know unmanaged forests accumulate massive amounts of fuel, especially over 70 years, and that fuel adds to the intensity and severity of forest fires. The question is not if, but when will these forestl burn. Another issue is that at least 4 of these species should be or are in the process of being delisted from the ESA. For example, the marbled murrelet is a sea bird that only comes to land for 4-6 weeks to hatch their offspring high in the forest canopy, never to return to their nest. These birds are extremely difficult to study because they nest very high in trees and are only on land for very short periods of time. Their population is dependent on ocean conditions much more so than the forests they hatch their offspring. Their actual numbers are vague at best. The spotted owl’s population keeps declining regardless of the many HCP’s that have been used to protect them. Their greatest threat is forest fires and the barred owl. The red tree vole was in the process to be delisted, but an environmental group threatened a lawsuit so another new study is being conducted with results in 5 years. The Coho salmon’s population in Tillamook and Clatsop counties are at historic abundance levels which is a benchmark to delist them, but the ESA has determined that their population is vulnerable since they’re in high-risk fire zones. Riparian buffers have grown dramatically over the years, which add fuels and debris along waterways that contribute to the high-risk fire zones. This has perpetuated the Coho’s listed status on the ESA – unnecessarily. The real reason the Department of Forestry has been directed by the Board of Forestry to create a federal habitat conservation plan on state forests is because Environmental Groups hold our forests hostage one lawsuit after another. These lawsuits suck up revenue that could be used to manage our forests but instead are making those groups money while we pay the price.
Wildfires are Growing in size and frequency
Without managed forests we are experiencing large seasonal wildfires and the length of the seasonal fire season is growing. Let's not follow California's lead and ruin the very soil we need to grow forests.
We must manage our forests for the health of our forests and the economies of the Counties that are dependant upon the timber tax dollars to provide basic services to their citizens.
How Counties will be affected
· Clatsop County will lose 34% of their timber revenue for 70 years
· Approximately 30% of Tillamook’s general fund is supported by timber revenue each year.
· Lane County includes 2,915,000 acres, of which 85% are forest land, and 58% are public forest land.
· 50% of Polk County is Forest. Over 83,000 people live in Polk County, all of them will be negatively impacted.
· Family-wage jobs are the cornerstone of a healthy and sustainable community. Massive job losses due to the HCP shutting down over 50% of state forests adds to the reduction in tax revenue.
· Reduces timber harvest revenue to the point it will make Oregon Department of Forestry insolvent – they won’t have enough money to keep their lights on.
· The reduction in timber harvest revenue from the 70 HCP, the Private Forest Accord’s 50 year HCP on private timberlands, the over 1 million acres burned in the Labor Day fires, and the increasing forest fire costs, pose a real threat to the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), rural Oregon communities and Oregon’s economy.
· A new report shows a 34 percent reduction in harvest levels from what was previously represented, and will not increase over the life of the 70-year plan. We already knew this plan would devastate rural communities, but an additional 34% reduction in harvest and revenue will have far worse results for 70 years.
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