For a century, when the Forest Service sold the trees on public forestlands to a private firm for the purpose of logging (aka: a timber sale), local counties have gotten a cut of the proceeds. On 2.2 million acres of Bureau of Land Management forest in western Oregon the take for Oregon counties can be as high as 75 percent.

Historically, the direct funneling of money from timber sales to county coffers has made elected officials in Oregon counties big cheerleaders for big timber and the old-growth logging that has marked much of Oregon’s history. In fact, the Josephine County Sheriff’s Department logo sports the image of a three-log truck heading down the road—as if the job of local law enforcement was solely tied to protecting timber profits.

County commissioners in Oregon timber country have often read as a who’s who of mill owners or logging company executives. Groups like “Citizens for Sustainable Forests and Communities” name former county commissioners as their leaders while funding rolls in from PR firms hired by timber corporations. The fact that Oregon has only 4% of our state protected as Wilderness (compared to ID-8%, WA-11%, and CA-15%) can largely be attributed to the historical power of the logging industry in our political paradigm. Our prime, low-elevation old-growth forests have largely been clear-cut, not conserved.

Of course, as Bob Dylan said, “The times, they are a-changin’.”

Sort of.

Just this week, the Lane County Board of Commissioners took a bold step towards reform. Over the past two decades, Lane County has spent over $700,000 in taxpayer money to pay dues to the Association of O&C Counties. The AOCC is made up of Oregon counties that contain BLM O&C lands. The history of these lands is long and twisted, but they have connected the 18 Oregon counties that hold them for 70 years. For 20 of those years, the AOCC has exploited this connection to unite the counties behind destructive logging practices in our public forests.

AOCC, often behind closed doors and in defiance of the popular opinion of citizens within the counties, has consistently advocated for clear-cut old-growth logging. They’ve proposed hair-brained schemes like selling off vast tracts of public land for a quick buck. They’ve stood in the way of real reform that would benefit local rural economies and begin to heal the damage done by decades of industrial logging.

This Wednesday (June 24) Lane County finally said, “Enough is enough.” The Board of Commissioner voted 5-0 to approve the county budget—one that did not include yearly dues to the AOCC. In responding to public pressure, the Board of Commissioners made a bold statement in opposition to the worn-out policies of the pro-timber AOCC.

Of course, this is a first step. Continued pressure from local activists will be needed to keep the Board of Commissioners on the right track. In addition, Lane County may be the third largest member of the AOCC (in terms of dues paid), but they are only one county in 18. And the others are not exactly embracing reform.

Also this week, the Jackson County Board of Commissioners voted 2-1 to reject Senator Wyden’s proposed old-growth legislation. Some observers saw the vote as an unnecessarily confrontational move—considering the fact that the bill is still in draft form. Regardless of the political implications, the Jackson County vote does show that things change slowly in Oregon timber country.

Of course, things could change more quickly if we all had a little common sense.