St. Helens High School girls' wrestlers placed sixth as a team in 4A state competition. Sophomore Kallee Kester and senior Cambria Funk both took third place in their weight class. Junior Kate Leonard, also one of the team's captains, took fourth place.

The Columbia County Chapter of the Oregon Hunters' Association held their annual banquet this last weekend at the Columbia County Fairgrounds. This year's banquet was a huge success, not only financially for the association, but also for all those that attended.  Youth are a large focus of the organization, and the Rainier Trap team was present along with many other youths ranging in age from 8-days to 18 years.

OHA focuses on ensuring sound and scientific management of all wildlife species.  Their financial resources are split between wildlife and habitat conservation, and a strong legislative agenda.  Recent legislative efforts include helping ODFW develop its revised predator management plans, and sponsoring the "Right to Fish, Hunt, Harvest and Gather House Joint Resolution 5 (HJR 5) while OHA members have stepped up in Call to Action to provide testimony on that bill. I am proud to be a sponsor of this bill.

As part of their conservation programs, on March 25, 2023, OHA will be hosting "Restoring Hope & Habitat" Round 2 to plant 4k seedlings in southern Oregon for wintering mule deer and other wildlife.

Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) has called an emergency meeting for next Wednesday, March 8, to discuss the future of Oregon's state forests and they need to hear from you!

Last week, on a 4-3 vote, ODF rejected a proposal that would have required them to go back to the drawing board to balance the region's economic needs better.  In short, this plan is going to devastate our local timber economy. The forest provides hundreds of good paying jobs in our communities.  

ODF has decided to move forward with a proposal that would cut nearly 35% of the timber harvest in the State Forest. This reduction, which is part of the Western Oregon State Forests Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), could potentially result in the loss of millions of dollars for our timber industry, forestry workers, and the budgets of Clatsop, Columbia, and Tillamook Counties. The devastating impacts on local governments, jobs, and essential services like public safety are of serious concern.

For every dollar ODF produces from a harvest, at least one additional dollar is generated for local small businesses through logging, hauling, road building, mill wages, trucking and logistics. The sheer reduction in harvest alone will cost hundreds of jobs in rural communities throughout Oregon.

Unless the  Department changes course, Oregon's state forests will go the way of the state's federal forests - becoming unmanaged, overstocked forests infested with insects and disease, further contributing to the state's wildfire crisis while worsening timber-dependent rural counties' ability to provide essential services and sentencing those communities to economic decline.

I am fighting to protect our forests and jobs. You can help by reaching out to the ODF and show your support for an alternative plan!  boardofforestry@odf.oregon.gov

My friend and fellow legislator, Representative Ed Diehl has proposed HB 2408. What HB 2408 does is make Oregon become part of the Nurse Licensure Compact (NCL). You may be asking, well what is the NLC and why is it important? The NLC increases access to care while maintaining public protection at the state level. Under the NLC, nurses can practice in other NLC states, without having to obtain additional licenses. As of now 38 states are NCL members and it is time that Oregon joins the pack. 

Over 90 percent of Oregon nurses surveyed support making Oregon become part of the NLC. This would greatly benefit rural areas like ours and our state, which is facing an immense nursing shortage. By joining the NCL it would be an essential element in solving our immense nursing shortage in our state. This would also benefit our state in times of emergency like a natural disaster. 

We need nurses and members of the public to call and email their state representatives and state senators to encourage them to support HB 2408.  

My staff and I are here to help you! If you have a problem, question or comment, please feel free to email me at rep.brianstout@oregonlegislature.gov. I do ask you to PLEASE include your phone number and your address.  This allows me to call you to follow up or ask any questions I might have.  Your address lets me know that you're a constituent.  I get hundreds of emails every week, but I always make sure that constituents get top priority.  If you'd prefer, you can call us at 503.986.1431.

If you'd like to visit me in Salem, you're always welcome to come by! If you drop by without an appointment, I'll do my best to meet with you, but to ensure that I don't have any other commitments, please call or email first for an appointment.  That way I can make sure to give you my undivided attention.

To stay connected, please follow me on Facebook or sign up to receive my e-newsletters as they are published emailing me or calling my office.

Thank you so much for this opportunity to be your State Representative.