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To contact me, please click here: Rep.AnnaScharf@oregonlegislature.gov
First and foremost, thank you to everyone for your support and faith allowing me to represent you in Salem for another two years.
I recently sent out a mailer, which I hope you received. It encourages everyone to sign up for my e-newsletter and shared key upcoming legislative dates.
If you know anyone who does not receive my e-newsletter, please encourage them to get signed up as we are uncertain regarding the future of physical mailer possibilities.
Upcoming Dates of Importance:
January 13th - Swearing In and Organizational Days
January 21st - Opening Day of the 2025 Legislative Session
June 29th - Constitutional Sine Die
From my family to you and yours, may you have a wonderful Holiday Season.
Sincerely,
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 Anna Scharf
State Representative - HD 23
Yesterday, the Oregon Legislature convened for a special one day session to pay wildfire related bills.
The over $200 million package will backfill costs occurred by the Department of Forestry and State Fire Marshall's office, as well as pay debts owed to hundreds of private businesses and firefighters who risked their lives during previous fire seasons. Many of those businesses needed to take out loans to pay their employees and are now paying interest on those loans. They should not carry the cost of government inefficiencies on their backs. The government needs to pay its debts, especially when it’s to Oregon's small businesses and those who risked their lives to protect us.
Many of these expenses come from fighting fires on federal land, but because the federal government takes forever to pay Oregon the cost for fighting those fires, we must pay those costs upfront. It is not a good way to do business and the federal government must do better. The federal government owns 50% of the land in the State of Oregon, they need to be better landlords.
However, the costs would not be incurred to begin with if the forests were managed properly. This year, wildfires burned nearly 2 million acres across Oregon, costing over $260 million—making it the most expensive wildfire season ever recorded. This approach to our forests of reaction instead of prevention needs to change. It’s not a sustainable strategy. Log it, graze it or watch it burn has never been truer.
The federal government expects us to fight fires on land that they own yet they do nothing to properly manage it to prevent the devastating fires. They push expansion of the Endangered Species Act and allow extreme ecoterrorism groups to shut down proven forest management practices in favor of watching millions of board feet of timber burn each year.
Oregon is just as complacent as the federal government in the annual wildfire destruction of our forests. Implementation of the Habitat Conservation Plan will continue to cripple our forestry industry and the much-needed lumber to build housing with. It will allow lands to become overgrown building fuel for more fires year over year. The only true answer it to return managing our forests.
The current reactionary system and constant declarations of emergencies is not how to solve the problem. We cannot continue to pour millions of dollars into suppression costs while ignoring prevention and a return to proven forest management practices that served Oregon for hundreds of years.
I am calling on the federal and state governments to take action. The federal government should manage their lands or sell them to private timber companies who can manage them best. This would not only be an economic investment in our state but would be an immediate way to reduce wildfires across Oregon. The state should also bear the responsibility for the proper management of State Lands. If they’re not managed properly, the cost falls on the backs of hard-working Oregonians either in the form of lost timber harvest tax revenue, lost economic opportunities or as we have seen year over year, wildfire costs.
So, log it or graze it, but if nothing changes and it is allowed to continue to burn, remember, that cost comes out of the pocket of hard working Oregonians. It’s time for you to join me and demand change.
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1423
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-387, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.AnnaScharf@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/scharf
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