FROM PAGE ONE
A6 — THE OBSERVER
BROWN
Continued from Page A1
$400 million more for
housing initiatives and $100
million more for child care.
Although governors usu-
ally deliver state of the state
addresses to a joint session
of the Legislature or another
live audience, the pandemic
has forced Brown to do so
virtually the past two years.
One more year
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
A deer makes its way down upper Igo Lane on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, north of La Grande. A forest im-
provement project is underway on the Mount Emily Recreation Area, causing logging trucks to travel
up and down the road.
FOREST
Continued from Page A1
contractors using Igo
Lane and Archer Lane.
According to Cham-
bers, Union County
worked alongside
ReedCo, who felt that
the equipment would
damage the Owsley
Canyon Trailhead area
if work was done there.
ReedCo opted to utilize
the rock roads near Igo
Lane rather than the nat-
ural soil near Owsley.
Residents in the Igo
Lane area have been
made aware that log
trucks will be coming
in and out, while eff orts
have been made to pro-
mote safe traffi c.
“Extra eff ort has been
made by the public works
department to make it as
two-laned as possible,”
Chambers said. “Public
works has really done a
good job to make the road
safe.”
Chambers further
explained that the truck
drivers have been made
“Extra eff ort has been made by the
public works department to make it as
two-laned as possible. Public works
has really done a good job to make the
road safe.”
— Sean Chambers, Union County Parks coordinator
aware that residents live
in the area and have taken
safety precautions.
“Everybody’s been real
sensitive to what’s going
on up there,” he said.
Archer Lane was
closed during the past
week, but opened again
this weekend. Chambers
said there is a possibility
it could be closed early
next week as well.
Those opposed to
the plan expressed con-
cern over the logging of
large trees and the mas-
tication of shrubs. Many
opposed voiced that mas-
tication of shrubs would
encourage invasive spe-
cies at MERA. Cham-
bers explained at the
Feb.1 Mount Emily Rec-
reation Area Advisory
Committee meeting that
the project is not a “cor-
ner-to-corner” mastica-
tion undertaking. Cham-
bers and Sarrett stated
that mastication may be
heavier along rock roads
in MERA to create a
fi rebreak.
“If there’s a fi re in
there, we’ll be using
those roadways and that
will make that scenario
more doable,” Cham-
bers said at the advisory
meeting.
Adversaries of the
project also voiced con-
cern over the well-being
of trails and wildlife hab-
itats at the recreation
area. Concerns were
expressed at a fi eld
review in November as
well as during a county
commissioners’ meeting
in December.
Brown was secretary
of state when, seven years
ago this month, she suc-
ceeded John Kitzhaber,
who resigned under pres-
sure amid an ethics scandal
just 38 days into his fourth
term. (There was a 12-year
gap between his second
and third terms.) Brown is
barred by term limits from
running again this year;
she will leave offi ce Jan. 9,
2023.
“In my last year as gov-
ernor, I view every day,
every moment, as one more
opportunity to focus on the
big and bold work we still
have to do for Oregon’s
working families,” she said.
“I am dedicated to
building a strong work-
force for Oregon. I will bol-
ster that workforce by pro-
viding access to child care
so that parents can go to
work knowing their kids
are cared for. And I will
marshal my colleagues to
once again make a signifi -
cant investment in aff ord-
able housing. These three
investments work together
to ensure every working
family can thrive.”
She has called for the
spending of an unantic-
ipated $1.5 billion in tax
collections generated by a
strong economy. But she
and legislative leaders have
agreed to set aside $500
million, mostly from federal
pandemic recovery funds,
to balance the 2023-25
budget. That budget will be
put together mostly while
Brown is still governor,
although her successor will
have until Feb. 1 to propose
changes.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2022
MORE INFORMATION
Gov. Kate Brown’s delivered her fi nal state of the state address on
Thursday, Feb. 3. Brown pointed out some high points of her tenure as
governor:
• Graduation rates have increased for kids by 8% since she took offi ce, and
there has been a record investment in schools
• The number of children in foster care has decreased by 11% to about
5,000 kids, the lowest number in 16 years
• The state’s largest transportation package was passed
• The state passed a comprehensive reproductive health package
Brown also touched on
the private accords, which
she and her staff mediated
between the timber industry
and environmental advo-
cates to resolve disputes
going back four decades
over the fate of 10 mil-
lion acres of Oregon’s for-
ests. Both sides agreed to
protect sensitive species
and create a habitat con-
servation plan. Brown has
asked for $35 million to
start work on streamside
habitat, plus $121 million
to sever the link between
the Elliott State Forest and
the Common School Fund,
earnings from which are
distributed to schools. The
State Land Board seeks
to transfer the south coast
acreage to Oregon State
University for a publicly
owned research forest.
Pandemic aff ects
popularity
Brown has the lowest
popularity ratings of any
of the nation’s gover-
nors, although other recent
Oregon governors such as
Republican Vic Atiyeh and
Democrats John Kitzhaber
and Ted Kulongoski also
saw sharp declines late in
their second terms. One
factor has been state coro-
navirus restrictions, which
have drawn sharp public
criticism and even Cap-
itol protests. State police
troopers turned away all
but a handful of unmasked
people who sought to enter
Oregon’s Capitol as the
Legislature opened its 2022
session on Tuesday.
Brown lifted most of her
executive orders on COVID
back on June 30. But
her emergency authority
remains in place, as does
a requirement for wearing
masks indoors.
More than 6,000 Orego-
nians have died of COVID-
19. But Brown said it could
have been far worse.
“Oregon has fared better
than most,” she said. “We
remain third in the nation
for lowest cumulative case
counts. If our response to
COVID matched that of the
average state, more than
4,000 Oregonians wouldn’t
be with us today. We con-
tinue to be among the top
states for getting shots in
arms and administering
boosters.
“And all three branches
of government came
together to get money to
renters in need. In less than
a year, we have helped more
than 90,000 Oregonians
stay safely in their homes.
“That’s not to say it
hasn’t been hard. It has been
utterly heartbreaking at
times.”
But Brown — who said
last week she does not plan
to endorse a candidate in
the May 17 Democratic
primary — had a closing
message.
“To all the future gov-
ernors of our state. To the
elected leaders who will
come next. To our future
business and community
leaders, and youth who will
follow our footsteps. Let me
leave you with this: Find the
opportunity, even in times
of crisis. Especially in times
of crisis.
“That’s how we con-
tinue on this journey of
transformational change
for Oregon. That’s how we
pursue justice. That’s how
we heal divides and collab-
orate in ways that serve our
state. That’s how we honor
this beautiful place we call
home.”