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A16 News wallowa.com January 11, 2017 Wallowa County Chieftain Coalition pressures counties to Enterprise DMV exit $1.4 billion forest lawsuit closed for repairs East Oregonian Class action seeks compensation for change in forest policy By Mateusz Perkowski Capital Bureau Fifteen Oregon counties must soon decide whether to opt out of a class action law- suit seeking $1.4 billion for allegedly insuffi cient logging in state forests. As the Jan. 25 deadline approaches, a coalition of environmental and fi shing groups is urging counties and the taxing entities within them — including school and fi re districts — to exit the lit- igation. The North Coast State Forest Coalition, which rep- resents the seven organiza- tion, hopes to send a message that counties and taxing dis- tricts see state forests as more than just “piggy banks,” said Chris Smith, the coalition’s coordinator. Linn County is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit but its boundaries contain far few- er acres of state forestland than Tillamook, Clatsop and Washington counties, he said. “If some of the bigger counties opt out, the merits of the case are then suspect,” said Smith. John DiLorenzo, the attor- ney representing Linn Coun- ty, said the groups within the coalition have nothing to lose with their request, but coun- ties and tax districts will suf- fer remorse if they opt out. “It’s a half-baked strate- gy,” DiLorenzo said. The lawsuit simply aims to recoup revenues lost by the counties when the State of Oregon changed forest policies in 1998 to focus on the environment and recre- ation instead of maximizing logging, he said. By making that deci- sion, Oregon’s government breached its contract with counties, which turned over their forestlands in the early 20th Century in return for a portion of timber revenues, DiLorenzo said. Counties and tax district that exclude themselves from the lawsuit won’t impact for- est policy because the case is purely about fi nancial dam- ages, he said. “Opting out is a useless gesture that amounts to turn- ing down money,” DiLoren- zo said. “They will have a lot of explaining to do the next time they ask voters for more money.” Entities that exit the litiga- tion also won’t have any in- fl uence if Oregon does decide to enter settlement negotia- tions, he said. “You have to be at the table to have a judge listen to you.” Smith, of the North Coast State Forest Coalition, coun- tered that counties and other entities that opt out of the case will reduce the state’s possible liability and thus the pressure to settle. “They haven’t won the case yet and I’m not at all sure they will,” he said. Opting out also reinforces Oregon’s argument that state forests are valuable for multi- ple purposes, including water quality and recreation, Smith said. While Tillamook County has decided not to exit the litigation, the coalition still hopes to sway other entities, he said. “We’re trying to make the case and our sup- porters are talking to their (county) commissioners.” Linn County fi led the law- suit earlier this year on behalf of itself and 14 other counties that donated roughly 650,000 acres to the State of Oregon. Since then, its complaint has survived the state gov- ENTERPRISE — A burst water pipe has forced the clo- sure of the Oregon Depart- ment of Motor Vehicles fi eld offi ce in Enterprise. Workers discovered the damage Monday, and will determine an exact reopening date after assessing the repairs EAGLES Continued from Page A10 Fulfer had praise for play- er Trey Wandschneider who scored two points. “He plays a Dennis Rod- man type of role for us, he really plays tough defense,” Fulfer said. The wins left the boys with a 3-1 league record and 9-3 overall. —— The road was a bit more rocky for the girls, who took a 55-41 loss at the hands of Echo. Coach Lance Homan at- tributed the loss to a lack of energy on his team’s part. “Echo came out more ag- gressive and with more ener- gy and we didn’t match them and restoration. The Enterprise offi ce, lo- cated at 200 W. North St., is typically open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thurs- day. The nearest DMV offi ces are located in La Grande and Baker City. For DMV services, resi- dents can also visit www.ore- gondmv.com. in those departments,” Ho- man said. The Saturday game at Wal- lowa saw the girls back to form, cruising to a 52-37 vic- tory. Homan was pleased with the turnaround. “I was proud of how our girls responded the next night against Wallowa,” he said. “We came out very aggressive and we made some shots ear- ly. Wallowa plays with a lot of heart and energy. Annette Moeller does a great job with them. We were able to even- tually pull away, but it was a pretty tight game most of the way.” The week left the lady Ea- gles with a 2-2 league record and 8-3 overall. Both teams next play Pine Eagle at home on Friday, Jan. 13. Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press Fifteen counties and roughly 130 tax districts are being pressured by environmental and fishing groups to opt out of a $1.4 billion lawsuit that accuses Oregon’s government of insufficiently logging state forests. ernment’s motion to dismiss and has been certifi ed by Linn County Circuit Judge Daniel Murphy as a class action, which means other counties and tax districts are included in the litigation un- less they object. The lawsuit claims Or- egon breached its contract with counties in 1998 when it emphasized environmental and recreational goals as the “greatest permanent values” of state forests, rather than maximizing revenues. Up to 150 local taxing districts that receive timber sales receipts from harvests from the Oregon Forest Trust Lands contract could be eli- gible join the suit. That in- cludes schools, libraries, public safety agencies and other districts. The other counties that benefi t from the trust are Benton, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Coos, Douglas, Josephine, Klamath, Lane, Lincoln, Marion, Polk, Tilla- mook, and Washington. INVITE Continued from Page A10 On the Outlaw side, Shane Lund at 113 lbs. and Cole Farwell at 126 lbs. thorough- ly dominated their opponents with Farwell winning his championship match by fall in short order. Dylan Staigle just missed the championship round but still won a decisive victory for the third place slot at 132 lbs. Enterprise coach Troy Far- well praised his team’s effort. “Cole (Farwell) came out real aggressive and won his bracket, Shane (Lund) had a great match. My whole team wrestled well all weekend,” he said. Farwell added the tourna- ment afforded the opportunity to see all the other teams and wrestlers in their district. Joseph coach Tim Kieseck- er also praised his team’s per- formance. “With seven wrestlers we ended up in pretty good team shape,” he said. “They put forth a pretty good effort. Also the turnout with the roads the way they were was great.” Kiesecker also had high praise for the meet volunteers. “I want to thank all the folks who make this happen,” he said. “There’s so many vol- unteers that most people don’t see.” Thank you Wallowa Count y for an amazing 2016! We look forward to serving you in 2017 with all of your Hardware needs. Save your season with our selection of ICE MELTER & SNOW SLEDS acehardware.com • 101 W. North St • Enterprise • 541-426-3622