■ TO OUR READERS: This guest column begins an initiative by The Chronicle to shine a spotlight on key policy issues affecting life in our communities. We’ll utilize subject-matter experts to help readers better understand the complexities and options around key policy decisions.
What do our forests – specifically, our public forests, mean to you? What role do they play in your life? Do you ever wonder about the rules, laws, and regulations that dictate how they are managed? Are these laws working? Are they benefiting our forests, you, and your family?
Oregon’s forests are part of our state’s identity, history, culture, and economy. They have also been at the center of intense conflict and controversy in our communities for over 30 years. Why?
Why is this extraordinary natural resource that purifies our air and water, provides world-class recreational opportunities like hiking, hunting, fishing, and camping, sustains abundant wildlife, provides wood products to build homes, and creates jobs for local communities – why is this resource that we all value and benefit from the source of division, instead of unity?
Answering these questions inspired my pursuit of a career in forest policy. It continues to motivate me today. I grew up in Springfield and attended public schools in the 80s and 90s. I watched our forested communities, workforces, and rural economies change dramatically when the Northern Spotted Owl was listed as an endangered species and the Northwest Forest Plan – which governs the management of 24 million acres of federal forests – was implemented under the Clinton Administration in 1994.
Like most Oregonians, I love our forests. I love being outside. I love exploring and adventuring in the woods. And, I honor and respect the extraordinary people and families who steward our forests, who work tough, underappreciated jobs, who sacrifice and take risks running small and large businesses to ensure our forests remain forested.
After college, I traveled by backpack to countries all over the world. I wanted to see and experience how other countries managed their natural resources and forests – in Central and South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Europe. No surprise, I found natural resources management creates unique social, economic, and environmental conflicts the world over.
Global perspective
Another truth became obvious through my travels and educational experiences abroad: we have it good in Oregon and in this country! If my neighbors, friends, and family saw what I saw in Honduras, or Brazil, or Egypt, or Cambodia, or even in Western Europe– regardless of their political persuasion – would we be arguing this way about Oregon’s forests?
This global scale and perspective changed my understanding of what “conservation” and “environmentalism” really mean. What are the global impacts of our local decision-making in Oregon? Does protesting or stopping a timber sale on the Willamette National Forest “save” trees and the forest, or the owl, while we get our wood products from other countries that don’t share our social and environmental values?
Am I an environmentalist if I live in a wood house, but I don’t know where that wood came from, how it was harvested, or if I have any sense for the workers who procured it? What are the tradeoffs? What are the consequences?
After my travels I got a job working for Congressman Peter DeFazio in Washington, D.C. as his natural resources aide. I got to hear from all sides about their views, ideas, frustrations, and hopes for our forests. That’s where another truth was confirmed: we, Oregonians, share common values and a common vision for the stewardship of our natural resources.
We want healthy forests. We want healthy communities and good jobs. We want clean air, and clean water. We want to pass on to the next generation a legacy we can be proud of, something we inherited from the generation before us and made it better, more sustainable. Do you know anyone who doesn’t want these things?
The complexities of ‘how’
The problem – the conflict – is about the how. The “how” is decided by the federal rules, laws, and regulations that govern how our forests are managed, when they are managed, and by whom they are managed. It turns out, the “how” is complicated beyond my wildest imagination. Even after nearly 20 years in the forest policy space, now leading the American Forest Resource Council here locally, I continue to be amazed, surprised, frustrated, and energized by the extraordinary challenges – and opportunities – for improving the “how” to manage our forest for the benefit of all.
Forest policy – and the trajectory of our public forests – is at a crossroads right now. Whether you know it or not, major legal, policy, and regulatory processes are playing out in Oregon, the Pacific Northwest, and the U.S. more broadly that will impact our public forests, workers, communities, and businesses for decades. If you chose, you can be a part of those conversations and help shape the “how.” That’s the beauty of our public forests – they belong to all of us.
Consider, for example, the Northwest Forest Plan – the “how” our federal forests are managed in Washington, Oregon, and Northern California – is being considered for change and modernization by the U.S. Forest Service right now. It has not been altered in 30 years. You can read more about it here, and even make your voice heard by submitting a comment directly to the Forest Service here.
Federal legislation called the Fix Our Forests Act is being considered in Congress to address the wildfire crisis and the “how” of forest management on all federal lands – 193 million acres across the country. It passed the House of Representatives with overwhelming bipartisan support, a rarity in Washington, D.C. these days. It must be considered and passed by the U.S. Senate before becoming law. You can learn more about it here. No matter your opinion, you can share your views about our forests with Oregon Senator Merkley here and Senator Wyden here. I can tell you from experience in Washington D.C., your voice matters.
The goal of this column is to spark curiosity, to prompt questions, and to motivate readers to learn more about and engage in the policies that are shaping the future of federal forests. If you’re like me, I’m not satisfied with the status quo. We can do better. We must do better. Instead of perpetuating conflict, disagreement, and distrust, let’s have a conversation. What do we agree on? Where is there common ground? How do we move forward together for a better future?
Travis Joseph is a Springfield resident and the President/CEO of the American Forest Resource Council, a trade association representing the forest products sector.
