Oregon State Forest Lands, Part 3: “Greatest Permanent Value”

October 28, 2020 in Forestry, Forests, Local Government

The Oregon legislature has directed and authorized the Oregon Board of Forestry to manage state forestlands under its control “so as to secure the greatest permanent value of those lands to the state.”

Oregon State Forest Lands, Part 2: What, Where, Who, Why, and How Much

October 14, 2020 in State Lands

Controversy over the management of state forests in Oregon is on the rise, which is a good thing. Before examining some of the controversies in Part 3, let’s first understand the various kinds of state forests and the administrative entities that manage them.

Oregon State Forest Lands, Part 1: A New Day?

October 02, 2020 in Endangered Species, Forestry, Forests, State Lands, Wildfire

The seven-member Oregon Board of Forestry will decide next Tuesday, October 6, whether to proceed in seeking a habitat management plan and concurrent incidental take permit for sixteen imperiled species that inhabit western Oregon state forests.

Converting State Trust Lands into Public Lands, Part 2: Focus on Oregon

August 28, 2020 in Congress, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, Land & Water Cons. Fund, State Lands

The federal government, through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, should buy a significant portion of state trust lands that have high conservation value. The Oregon Legislative Assembly should use the state’s bonding authority to issue bonds to buy the state trust lands out of their bondage in the Common School Fund.

The Elliott State Forest Will Not Be Privatized—But Will It Be Saved?

May 12, 2017 in Forests, State Lands

The existential crisis for public lands conservationists has passed, but the Elliott State Forest is not yet fully in the hands of conservation. It all depends on where the lands end up and the purposes for which they are bought out of the Common School Fund. Perhaps in a later blog post I will explore the strengths and weaknesses of each of the three approaches and offer up what I think is the best solution.

A Congressional Conservation Agenda for the Twenty-First Century

December 16, 2016 in Bureau of Land Management, Congress, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, Forests, Land & Water Cons. Fund, Marine National Monuments, National Forest System, National Monuments, National Park Service, National Park System, National Wildlife Refuges, Wild and Scenic Rivers

With President-elect Trump having won the Electoral College and the Republicans being in the majority of both houses of the coming 115th (2017-2018) Congress, the public lands conservation community is going to be on defense like never before.

It was either the Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz (1780–1831) or the Manassa Mauler, William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (1895–1983) who famously said that the best defense is a good offense. The conservation community needs to be for good things while we are opposing bad things.

Though we’ve burned through one-sixth of the current century, Congress has yet to enact any sweeping and bold public lands conservation legislation in the new millennium. There’s still time though, and a crying need.

You may be questioning my grip on reality at this moment, given the recent election. While I am quite cognizant of the dark times that await us, I’m equally aware that it often takes several Congresses (two-year terms) to enact sweeping and bold legislation into law....

There is no time like the present to begin to change political reality.