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Hello Friends,
Oregonians
have watched in dismay over the past several weeks as catastrophic wildfires
burned from one end of our state to another. These environmentally hazardous
conditions have prompted many to ask what it is that we should be doing
differently to keep these kinds of situations from recurring.
There
are a couple of existing models already in place that can help show the way
towards better policies for the public lands and forests that we all love so
much.
I
was fortunate as Mayor of Ashland to implement the first phase of former Mayor
Cathy Shaw’s Ashland
Forest Resilience Stewardship Project. That inclusive process
places an emphasis on collaboration between the community, government
officials, non-governmental organizations, scientists and others.
The
Project is a partnership between four organizations—the City of Ashland, the
Lomakatsi Restoration Project, the Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Rogue
River-Siskiyou National Forest. It’s a ten-year effort that is aimed at
reducing wildfire risk in the watershed that residents rely on to provide safe,
cleaning drinking water.
Aside
from protecting older forests, the Project emphasizes thinning out crowded
trees, funds restoration work and protects the community from the dangers of
fires that can spread out of control and burn private and public lands.
One
of the tools used through the Project is the use of low-intensity controlled
burns. Another is landowner grants to encourage citizens to do work on their
property. That is done after Lomakatsi performs assessments to those
landowners, free of charge.
The
Ashland Forest All-lands Restoration does thinning, fuel reductions and
underburning on private property. These efforts are funded with the support of
the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, the Natural Resources Conservation
Service and matching funds provided by the federal, state and local governments.
Taking this approach also allows for the preservation of wildlife habitat and
the protection of unstable slopes and erodible soils.
This
science-based approach calls for 7600 acres of work to be completed over the
course of ten years. It has thus far lead to the creation of 17 permanent local
forestry jobs. More than 200 people have been trained to do this work through
the program, and around 150 seasonal jobs are created every year.
Another
tool that can be useful moving forward is the Good Neighbor
Authority that was
included in the 2014
Federal Farm Bill. It allows the U.S. Forest Service to
enter into cooperative agreements or contracts for state watershed restoration
and forest management services on lands managed by that agency.
Governor Brown signed
a Good Neighbor Agreement in
March 2016 with the Forest Service that was also signed by the state forester,
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife director and the USFS Regional Forester.
The
stated purpose of that agreement was to enhance opportunities to work across
private and public lands, advance partnerships, reduce hazardous fuels, address
insect infestation and increase forest resilience. A key component is the
collaborative approach that allows projects to move forward without being
stalled by lawsuits that are both costly and time-consuming. If done properly,
the agreements can allow the state to help local officials address the growing
backlog of deferred maintenance on the federal lands that surround their
jurisdictions.
As
you can see, solutions to these problems are possible. But like anything, they
require that people and entities work together in good faith to achieve common
goals. I will continue to try and find such solutions so we can all enjoy the
public lands we are so lucky to have in such abundance in our wonderful state.
Yours truly,
Sen. Alan DeBoer
Senate District 3
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1703
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-421, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: sen.AlanDeBoer@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/deboer
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