Oregon Watchdog: State fails to act on forest plan to create 15,000 new jobs

OREGON HOUSE REPUBLICANS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 23, 2009
CONTACT: Nick Smith, 503-986-1351

STATE FAILS TO ACT ON FOREST PLAN TO CREATE 15,000 NEW JOBS
"eWOPR'i Plan Puts Rural Oregonians Back to Work

SALEM'oThe Legislature has failed to act this session on measures to put rural Oregonians back to work in Oregon'is forests. One such measure is House Resolution 3, sponsored by Rep. Sherrie Sprenger (R-Scio) to urge the Governor to facilitate the implementation of the Western Oregon Plan Revisions (WOPR). The federal plan is estimated to create 15,000 jobs in some of Oregon'is most economically-distressed communities.

The bill is considered dead for the 2009 session after the House Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Communities Committee failed to advance the measure before a key deadline last week.

`iIt'is unfortunate to see the Governor and Legislature put politics and special interests ahead of creating jobs for rural Oregonians,^i Rep. Sprenger said. `iThe state doesn'it need to increase government debt to create jobs, it simply needs to revaluate natural resource policies that have devastated our rural economy.^i

The Bureau of Land Management'is WOPR plan would potentially increase sustained yield harvests in Oregon'is 2.2 million acres of `iO&C^i federal forest lands. The plan calls for the management of 48 percent of these lands, with 52 percent of these lands being set aside for old-growth protection and habitat for endangered species.

Under an agreement with the federal government, the state has served as a formal cooperator in the WOPR planning process. Ten state natural resource agencies, led by the Oregon Department of Forestry, have been involved in WOPR'is development. Though Governor Ted Kulongoski signed the agreement with BLM in 2005, he has aggressively opposed WOPR'is implementation.

`iTo help Oregon'is rural communities, the state must endorse efforts to reform the federal government'is planning process for forests,^i Rep. Sprenger said. `iThis plan would bring BLM forest management policies in line with existing federal law that requires a focus on timber production for the benefit of local communities. Thanks to the state'is efforts to stop WOPR, we are no closer to giving rural Oregonians the jobs they need and deserve.^i

The Legislature also failed to act on a similar Senate bill, Senate Joint Resolution 24, which directs state agencies to immediately facilitate implementation of the WOPR plan.
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