FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Poll Finds Overwhelming Support for Wyden Forest Legislation

Restoration bill for 8.3 million acres of National Forest backed by statewide, 2nd District voters

Noted Republican polling firm finds support for Wyden legislation across all measured demographic groups.

Contact:
Steve Pedery, Oregon Wild (503.283.6343 ext 212)
Lori Weigel, Public Opinion Strategies (303.433.4424)

View the polling memo here.

Statewide conservation group Oregon Wild released the results today of a poll on eastern Oregon forest issues conducted by the public affairs research firm, Public Opinion Strategies. Headlining the results were the key findings that 70% of statewide likely voters and 76% of respondents in eastern Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District support the Oregon Eastside Forest Restoration, Old-Growth Protection, and Jobs Act (S.2895). The legislation was introduced by Senator Ron Wyden in December and is the subject of a field hearing in Bend on Friday, June 4.

Additionally, two-thirds of voters statewide and in the 2nd Congressional District (66% and 67%, respectively) say that they would have a more favorable impression of their Member of Congress if he or she supported this legislation.

“Oregonians love their forests, so it is no surprise that a bill designed to protect and restore 8.3 million acres of eastern Oregon forest land is so strongly supported,” said Steve Pedery, Conservation Director with Oregon Wild.

The Oregon Eastside Forest Restoration, Old Growth Protection and Jobs Act would protect old growth forests and refocus national forest management in eastern Oregon on science-based restoration. Future logging would remove primarily smaller diameter trees and serve landscape-wide forest and watershed restoration goals. The legislation follows months of intense negotiations between conservationists, timber industry leaders, and Senator Wyden’s staff.

The polling data suggests that Oregonians strongly favor this balanced approach between conservationists and timber interests. When asked whether different aspects of the legislation made statewide respondents more likely or less likely to support the proposal, 80% said that the fact this represents a “balanced compromise on how to restore national forests that took over a year of negotiations between major timber companies and environmental organizations ” made them more likely to support the bill.

“I think the fact that Senator Wyden was able to bring former foes together to craft a lasting solution really resonates with the average Oregonian,” added Pedery. “The balanced nature of the Wyden legislation is really what sets it apart from previous efforts to push forest legislation through Congress.”

The proposed Oregon Eastside Forest Restoration, Old Growth Protection and Jobs Act applies to National Forest System lands within Oregon not covered by the Northwest Forest Plan. In all, the legislation will set new management priorities on six National Forests covering 8.3 million acres of federal public land. The terms of the bill call for enhanced conservation of old-growth forests, watershed protection, and a restoration focus for all future management activities. Conservationists expect the new legislation to dramatically increase the pace of forest and watershed restoration in eastern Oregon.

Polling revealed that support for the legislation cuts across age, geography, gender, party affiliation, and education. Perhaps most surprisingly, the Wyden legislation seems to span the urban/rural divide garnering high levels of support across residents of cities and suburban areas, small towns, and rural area (78%, 72%, and 80% respectively).

“The breadth of this proposal’s support is highly impressive, with voters across a wide variety of demographic, partisan, and geographic sub-groups offering backing for the legislation,” explained Lori Weigel, a Partner with Public Opinion Strategies, the polling organization which conducted the survey.

The poll was conducted via telephone interviews with voters throughout Oregon from May 22-25, 2010. The statewide sample has a margin of sampling error of +/- 4.3% and the 2nd Congressional District sample has a margin of sampling error of +/- 6.2%.

Oregon Wild
Founded in 1974, Oregon Wild works to protect and restore Oregon’s wildlands, wildlife and waters as an enduring legacy for all Oregonians.

Oregon Wild (formerly the Oregon Natural Resources Council or ONRC) has been instrumental in securing permanent legislative protection for some of Oregon’s most precious landscapes, including nearly 1.7 million acres of Wilderness, 95,000 acres of forests in Bull Run/Little Sandy watersheds (to safeguard the quality of Portland's water supply) and almost 1,800 miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers.

Public Opinion Strategies
Public Opinion Strategies is a national political and public affairs research firm and largest Republican polling firm in the country. Its political client base includes 17 U.S. Senators, six Governors, more than 40 Members of Congress, and numerous state legislative caucuses. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, its nationwide presence is achieved through strategically sited offices in California, and Colorado, with eleven Partners and two Vice Presidents leading research efforts.

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