Coast Range Association State Forests & the Board of Forestry

New Board of Forestry (BOF) appointments approved by the Oregon Senate

On February 13, 2012 the Oregon State Senate confirmed Cindy Deacon Williams to the Oregon Board of Forestry.  The vote was 19-11. Ms. Williams has a strong background in science and conservation.  Her resume and list of publications are impressive. Currently, Cindy is President and Chief Scientist for Environmental Consultants of Medford, OR. From June 2006 to February 2009, Cindy worked for the National Center for Conservation Science & Policy based in Ashland, OR where she was Director of Aquatic Science and Conservation Education Programs.

Also appointed to the BOF were two representatives from Eastern Oregon, Nils Christofferson of Wallowa Resources and Tom Insko of Boise Cascade.

The website of Wallowa Resource has this to say of Nils Christofferson " Nils currently serves as Executive Director for Wallowa Resources. He has a Bachelors in Economics from Williams College (honors in Environmental Economics), and a Masters in Forestry from Oxford University. His work experience includes 6 years in Eastern and Southern Africa on forestry and wildlife management issues, with an emphasis on community based natural resource management. Previously, Mr. Christoffersen has served as Executive Director for the US Office of Africa Resources Trust, Regional program Coordinator for the IUCN Regional Office in Southern Africa (Zimbabwe), Training Officer for Wildlife Division in Tanzania, and Field Supervisor for Forestry Department in Botswana. Other work includes policy work with the European Commission on matters related to CITES and natural resource management, and short term field work in Australia (livestock), UK (forestry), Norway (forestry and fishing), and Israel (agriculture).

Leaving the board were Peter Hayes, Jennifer Phillippi, and Cal Mukumoto. The Coast Range Association thanks Peter Hayes for his strong concern and advocacy while on the Board of Forestry on behalf of biodiversity issues. Peter was always open to input and shared many of the concerns that the CRA has worked on for decades.

The Coast Range Association welcomes all three new Board of Forestry members.

In April, 2006 an Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) analysis indicated that the forest plan for the Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests will produce less timber revenues for counties than they had expected.Since then a coalition of Oregon counties who receive funds from state forests timber cutting have been lobbying to up the cut. At the November, 2006 Oregon Board of Forestry (BOF) meeting, the CRA and other public interest organizations offered comments about the state's management plan for the Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests. We expressed concerns that wildlife habitat and public recreation are not being adequately addressed.

Now fast forward to November 2011. A lot has changed with the Department of Forestry, state politics and the political landscape. Here is a portion of a November 7 issued report from State Forester Doug Decker that addresses last weeks presentation by Governor Kitzhaber to the Board of Forestry.

From: DECKER Doug S
Sent: Monday, November 07, 2011 4:14 PM
Subject: Board of Forestry Meeting Follow-up

I’m following up from an eventful Board of Forestry meeting last week, and wanted to share some observations about how things went, and where we go from here.

The Governor presented his vision to the Board of Forestry. Governor Kitzhaber joined the Board Thursday afternoon to share his vision for forests and forestry in Oregon, and to provide some specific ideas and suggestions to the Board relative to State Forests. I invite you to read the full text of his comments, which you’ll find at this link -- http://www.oregon.gov/ODF/AGENCY_AFFAIRS/Governor_Video.shtml -- along with video of his conversation with the Board. Several themes come through:

• 1. Managing for social, economic and environmental values is the key to sustainability. The Governor made the point that forest management must address this full portfolio of values, and that we should achieve this mix—consistent with laws and landowner objectives—across the full forest landbase.

• 2. Federal forests need to be contributing across that value set. Governor Kitzhaber noted that federal forests now provide only 12 percent of all harvests, even though they represent more than 60 percent of all Oregon forest lands. Active management to address forest health and fuels management is a key to addressing this inbalance.

• 3. The current higher export value of raw logs is not in Oregon’s best long-term interest because it drives down the manufacturing sector and Oregon employment, while putting heavier harvest pressure on private and state lands. The Governor is advocating for Oregon to enhance its share of the manufactured wood product export market.

• 4. On State Forests, the Governor encouraged the Board and Department to strengthen state forest performance measures and to consider a range of strategies that can help achieve those outcomes. He asked us to examine how we can use our existing authority to establish conservation areas that provide  protection for sensitive resource areas. (Under current plans and authority, we identify areas where no harvest operations are contemplated. We have an opportunity now to more clearly highlight such areas and their conservation attributes.) The Governor endorsed our focus on adaptive management, and asked us to be clear about identifying the resources we need for effective research and monitoring. Wrapping all of these pieces together, the Governor recognized that we need to have a business model that funds all of this work, and that continues to generate revenues for our financial beneficiaries. The Board took his comments to heart, and members asked us to utilize these key elements as an overlay as we work together to develop the Board’s 2012 State Forests workplan.

The Governor’s comments were thoughtful, energizing, well-timed and well received by the Board. I look forward to working with him, with our stakeholders and partners, and with the Board, to align our work and our expectations as we build our various workplans going forward.

Doug Decker

Oregon State Forester