Opinion
4A
Saturday, June 12, 2021
OUR VIEW
School
spending
falls short
t seems unlikely that members of the Oregon Edu-
cation Association, the teachers union that lav-
ishes most of its campaign contributions on Dem-
ocratic candidates, will ever pine for Republicans to
have more clout in the Oregon Legislature.
At least not publicly.
But recent actions in Salem, where the Democrats
have supermajorities in the House and Senate, might
well have given some union offi cials, and members,
reason to at least ponder their political preferences.
Last week, Republicans in the House advocated
for the state to spend $300 million more for public
schools in the two-year budget cycle that starts July
1. But GOP members don’t have the votes to move
the school budget bill back to a committee, where the
amount could be increased, so the bill went to Gov.
Kate Brown’s desk at $9.3 billion. Republicans called
for $9.6 billion, the amount the Oregon School Boards
Association had suggested is necessary to avoid any
program cuts or layoff s.
Just two Democrats — Mark Meek of Oregon City
and Marty Wilde of Eugene — joined 20 Republicans
in voting for a motion to send the bill back to com-
mittee, with a goal of boosting the spending to $9.6
billion over the two years.
That wasn’t enough Democratic support.
Rep. Susan McClain, a Democrat from Forest
Grove who’s chair of the education budget subcom-
mittee, tried to defend the $9.3 billion by saying that
the Legislature is “creating record investments in
public schools this year.”
The $9.3 billion fi gure is up from $9 billion in the
current two-year budget cycle.
Rep. Dan Rayfi eld, D-Corvallis, co-leader of the
Legislature’s joint budget panel, said, “It is our job as
a legislature to fi nd out what is the Goldilocks por-
ridge in our budget that meets the needs of our chil-
dren, but also at the same time, is a sustainable budget
that we can continue to operate on.”
The more apt fairy tale in this case is
Rumpelstiltskin.
The federal government has been spinning quite a
lot of gold during the pandemic, and one result is that
Oregon’s revenue is burgeoning. The most recent esti-
mate from state economist Mark McMullen, released
in May, is for an additional $1.18 billion in the soon-
to-end biennium, with much of that coming from
rising income tax collections spurred by federal stim-
ulus payments. McMullen projects an increase of
$1.25 billion from projects for the biennium that starts
July 1, and $1.64 million more for the 2023-2025
budget cycle.
Put simply, the state absolutely can aff ord the $9.6
billion schools budget the Republicans, and too few
Democrats, have advocated for.
House Minority Leader Christine Drazan,
R-Canby, pointed out that the fl ush state coff ers isn’t
the only reason to boost education spending.
Oregon students have also suff ered greatly during
the pandemic, with in-person classes limited at
times in every district, and students in some of the
larger districts missing more than a year of normal
schooling.
“As we ask our schools to bring kids back to have
full in-person learning fi ve days a week, they are
going to be bombarded with unknowns,” Drazan said.
“The need for them to have the resources necessary
to create an environment where these kids can be
successful cannot be overstated. Our state has more
money than ever, and we’re committed to giving fam-
ilies the choice of in-person learning next fall. This is
the wrong time to move forward with a ‘cuts’ budget.
Our kids deserve better.”
Indeed they do. It’s a pity that the majority Dem-
ocrats in Salem, who can always count on support
from the teachers union, didn’t do the same for their
political benefactors.
I
What is forest health?
GEORGE
WUERTHNER
OTHER VIEWS
he Forest Service continuously
justifi es logging our forests
based on what it calls “forest
health.” The agency claims logging
will “restore” resiliency. But few ask
what exactly constitutes a healthy
forest ecosystem?
The agency defi nes forest health
as a lack of tree mortality, mainly
from wildfi re, bark beetles, root rot,
mistletoe, drought, and a host of
other natural agents. To the Forest
Service, such biological agents are
“destructive,” but this demonstrates
a complete failure to understand how
forest ecosystems work.
This Industrial Forestry Paradigm
espoused by the Forest Service views
any mortality as unacceptable other
than that resulting from a chain saw.
This perspective is analogous to
how Fish and Game agencies used to
view the infl uence of natural pred-
ators like wolves and cougars on
elk and deer. Over time biologists
learned that culling of the less fi t ani-
mals by predators enhanced the sur-
vival of the prey species.
Similarly, wildfi re, bark beetles,
and other natural sources of mor-
T
EDITORIALS
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of The
Observer editorial board. Other columns, letters
and cartoons on this page express the opinions
of the authors and not necessarily that of The
Observer.
LETTERS
• The Observer welcomes letters to the editor. We
edit letters for brevity, grammar, taste and legal
reasons. We will not publish consumer complaints
against businesses, personal attacks against pri-
tality enhance the long-term resil-
ience of the forest ecosystem.
For example, the snag forests
resulting from a high severity fi re
have the second-highest biodiversity
found in forested landscapes. Large,
high severity fi res promote more
birds, bees, butterfl ies, wildfl owers,
bats, fungi, small rodents, trout,
grizzly bears, deer, elk, and moose.
Many species of wildlife and
plants are so dependent on snags and
down wood that they live in mortal
“fear” of green forests. Some esti-
mates suggest that as much as 2/3 of
all wildlife species utilize dead trees
at some point in their lifecycle.
Even worse for forest ecosys-
tems, the Forest Service empha-
sizes chain saw medicine to “fi x”
what they defi ne incorrectly as a
“health” problem. Chain saw medi-
cine ignores the long-lasting eff ects
of logging on forest genetics.
Research has demonstrated that
all trees vary in their genetic ability
to adapt to various stress agents.
Some lodgepole pine and ponderosa
pine have a genetic resistance to bark
beetles. Others are better adapted to
deal with drought and so forth. Yet,
a forester with a paint gun marking
trees for logging has no idea which
trees have such adaptive genetics.
Research has shown that thin-
ning even 50% of a forest stand can
vate individuals or comments that can incite vio-
lence. We also discourage thank-you letters.
• Letters should be no longer than 350 words
and must be signed and carry the author’s name,
address and phone number (for verifi cation only).
We will not publish anonymous letters.
• Letter writers are limited to one letter every two
weeks.
• Longer community comment columns, such
as My Voice, must be no more than 700 words.
Writers must provide a recent headshot and a
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Subscription rates:
Monthly Autopay ...............................$10.75
13 weeks.................................................$37.00
26 weeks.................................................$71.00
52 weeks ..............................................$135.00
one-sentence biography. Like letters to the editor,
columns must refrain from complaints against
businesses or personal attacks against private
individuals. Submissions must carry the author’s
name, address and phone number.
• Submission does not guarantee publication,
which is at the discretion of the editor.
SEND LETTERS TO:
letters@lagrandeobserver.com
or via mail to Editor, 911 Jeff erson Ave., La Grande,
OR 97850
STAFF
SUBSCRIBEAND SAVE
NEWSSTAND PRICE: $1.50
You can save up to 55% off the single-copy
price with home delivery.
Call 800-781-3214 to subscribe.
remove half of the genetic diversity
because it is the rare alleles that are
important in the time of environ-
mental stress. Perhaps one in a hun-
dred trees may have a genetic ability
to survive drought or slightly thicker
bark that enables it to survive a fi re.
There are numerous other known
ecological impacts associated with
logging that are minimized, over-
looked, or ignored by the Forest
Service.
For instance, one of the primary
vectors for the spread of weeds
into the forest ecosystem is logging
roads. Logging roads are also a pri-
mary chronic source of sedimen-
tation that degrades aquatic eco-
systems. Logging removes carbon
that would otherwise be stored on
the site. Even burnt forests store far
more carbon than a logged/thinned
forest.
So when the Forest Service
asserts it is logging the forest to
enhance “forest health,” one must
ask whose defi nition of forest health
are they using? The timber industry?
Or an ecological perspective? So far,
the agency is more a handmaiden of
the industry than a custodian of the
public trust.
———
George Wuerthner is an ecologist
who specializes in fi re ecology and
livestock issues.
Anindependent newspaper foundedin1896
www.lagrandeobserver.com
Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, Oregon 97801
Published Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
(except postal holidays) by EO Media Group,
911 Jefferson Ave., La Grande, OR 97850
(USPS 299-260)
The Observer retains ownership and copyright
protection of all staff-prepared news copy, advertising
copy, photos and news or ad illustrations. They may
not be reproduced without explicit prior approval.
COPYRIGHT © 2021
Phone:
541-963-3161
Toll free (Oregon):
1-800-781-3214
Email:
news@lagrandeobserver.com
POSTMASTER
Send address changes to:
The Observer,
911 Jefferson Ave.,
La Grande, OR 97850
Regional publisher. ...................... Karrine Brogoitti
Multimedia journalist.........................Alex Wittwer
Regional circulation director .................. Kelli Craft
Home delivery advisor ............... Amanda Fredrick
Interim editor ....................................Andrew Cutler
Advertising representative ...........Juli Bloodgood
News clerk ........................................Lisa Lester Kelly
Advertising representative .................... Amy Horn
Reporter....................................................Dick Mason
National accounts coordinator ...... Devi Mathson
Reporter............................................Davis Carbaugh
Graphic design .................................. Dorothy Kautz
Intern ...................................................Carlos Fuentes
A division of