County timber payments: Put public lands ahead of politics

Can we clear-cut our way to prosperity? Oregon Wild Conservation Director Steve Pedery argues that we need a better solution for county funding.

There is no denying that Oregon's congressional delegation is under enormous political pressure because of the expiration of federal payments to support county budgets and that there are difficult choices to be made about how to keep counties afloat ("A new forest policy or bust," editorial, Jan. 23). But short-term political self-interest is not an excuse for elected officials attempting to sacrifice clean water, wildlife and America's public lands.

Unfortunately, Reps. Peter DeFazio, Kurt Schrader and Greg Walden appear to be favoring short-term political expediency over finding a viable solution to the county payments impasse. They are poised to partner with the House Republican leadership on a plan to bail out county budgets by relinking them to clear-cut logging on public lands. Most Oregonians strongly oppose such a plan, and these representatives know it. Perhaps this is one reason that, despite months of hype, this controversial proposal has not been publicly released or opened to scientific scrutiny.

Historically, Oregon counties enjoyed an enormous windfall from the proceeds of the logging epidemic that swept through federal public lands in the 1970s and '80s. With as much as 90 percent of the region's old-growth forests cut down, strong public opposition finally brought an end to rampant clear-cutting in the 1990s -- and the money going to counties from timber sales shrank. Congress cushioned the fall by instituting federal payments (funded by American taxpayers) to help transition the counties away from dependence on federal subsidies. These payments expire this year.

Some in Congress, including Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, are working on a short-term extension of county payments to give local, state and federal leaders time to work on a permanent solution. Unfortunately, DeFazio, Schrader and Walden have not been working to advance a similar measure in the House.

Instead, they have partnered with House Republican leaders who wish to exploit the county payments impasse to weaken safeguards for clean water and wildlife. Despite historic low demand for timber, they are promoting the idea that counties can clear-cut their way to prosperity.

What little has been revealed about the plan isn't pretty. Approximately 1.2 million acres of federal Bureau of Land Management lands -- forests that belong to all Americans -- would be put into a corporate "timber trust." These lands would then be managed under weak state logging rules rather than more protective federal standards. State rules allow clear-cutting, don't require scientific analysis of logging's effects on salmon and other endangered species, and fail to include important Clean Water Act safeguards. To maximize profits, the 1.2 million acres would be subjected to industrial logging practices.

The plan is unlikely to generate the revenue county governments are seeking, as timber prices are at a record low and timber demand these days is coming from China. And as Gov. John Kitzhaber has noted, it is not in Oregon's interest to become the timber colony of Asia. Worse, the plan could undo decades of work establishing a restoration-based forestry model that repairs the environmental damage done by the logging epidemic of the past.

These are the sorts of problems that public hearings, and the normal legislative process, help uncover, which is why it is imperative that DeFazio, Schrader and Walden come clean on their legislation. They should share it with the public and schedule hearings both in Washington, D.C., and in Oregon, rather than leaving the legislative calendar in the hands of House Republican leaders. They should commit to an independent scientific analysis of the plan, as well as an economic analysis of its viability.

Most important, they should be willing to listen to Oregonians' concerns and explore alternatives for county funding that don't sacrifice our clean water, wildlife and public lands.

Steve Pedery is the conservation director of Oregon Wild.