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Friday, March 12, 2021
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Opinion
Editor & Publisher
Managing Editor
Joe Beach
Carl Sampson
opinions@capitalpress.com | CapitalPress.com/opinion
Our View
W
e have long been skep-
tical of the initiative
processes in California
and the Pacific Northwest. Most
initiatives are proof that even good
concepts can make bad laws.
Oregon initiatives, for exam-
ple, have tinkered with laws gov-
erning marijuana and hard drugs —
even property taxes. Each initiative
has been fraught with unintended
consequences.
Because initiatives do not get a
thorough vetting through committee
hearings and public testimony, voters
need to be extra wary of what they
are putting into statute or adding to
the state constitution.
Idaho has an even bigger worry.
Most of the state’s population is con-
gregated around a few cities. Boise is
the largest metropolitan area by far.
EO Media Group File/East Oregonian
Idaho’s legislature is considering a bill that would make the initiative process more fair.
The current law states that an initia-
tive must get signatures from 6% of
the registered voters in 18 legislative
districts.
The problem: That can be accom-
plished by collecting signatures in
the four most populous counties —
Ada, Canyon, Kootenai and Bonne-
ville. The other 40 counties wouldn’t
matter.
In theory, this means an initiative
can get on the ballot without a single
signature from elsewhere in the state.
Talk about an urban-rural divide.
If the urban areas can drive the initia-
tive process — and presumably, pass
them — how can the many less-pop-
ulated areas of the state have a mean-
ingful say?
Sen. Steve Vick, a Republican
from Dalton Gardens, has proposed
a bill, Senate Bill 1110, that would
require initiative supporters to collect
the signatures of at least 6% of the
registered voters in all of the state’s
35 legislative districts in 18 months.
Opponents say this would enable a
single district to “veto” an initiative.
No, it would just require sponsors to
circulate their initiatives statewide
instead of in just a handful of cities.
That is only fair.
In our opinion, if initiative sup-
porters want a new law passed, they
should do it the old-fashioned way.
They should talk to their legislators.
It can be done, and the laws will
be better because they will have gone
through the legislative process.
Solution for lumber shortage
can be found in our own backyard
Oregon’s rural producers will benefit
from Bentz’s subcommittee leadership
I
E
n February a trade
association represent-
ing general contrac-
tors urged President Joe
Biden to provide relief
from record lumber prices.
Among their requests is to
import more wood prod-
ucts from other countries.
However, a much better
solution is available.
Contractors, consum-
ers and the American pub-
lic would be better served
if the federal govern-
ment increased timber
supplies from the forest
lands it manages. Doing
so would not only sup-
port our homegrown lum-
ber producers, it will also
help meet heavy demand,
support American jobs and
boost rural economies.
Much has been writ-
ten about soaring lum-
ber prices that have been
driven in part by pandem-
ic-era “do-it-yourself”
projects, as well as by a
resilient housing market
supported by low mort-
gage interest rates.
In the Pacific North-
west, our domestic lum-
ber producers are doing
everything possible to
meet this demand but are
hamstrung by workforce
constraints and, espe-
cially, an unpredictable
and unreliable supply of
raw material. The com-
mon thread for producers
is they are surrounded by
millions of acres of fed-
eral forests that are not
being managed for timber,
forest health or wildfire
mitigation.
The United States was
once capable of meet-
ing its own demand for
wood products. For much
of the 20th century, fed-
eral forests helped power
the nation’s post-war
economy. National For-
ests in particular pro-
vided affordable lumber
to meet domestic hous-
ing needs. They also pro-
vided a robust network
of forest roads for log-
GUEST
VIEW
Nick
Smith
ging, firefighting and later
outdoors recreation. And
they provided a source
of good-paying jobs and
economic opportunities
for many of our rural, for-
ested communities.
But the dramatic
decline in federal tim-
ber harvests starting in
the early 1990s severely
reduced our domes-
tic logging and milling
capacity across the west.
Today the country is a net
importer of wood despite
our advantages in for-
ested acres, modern mill-
ing technology and sus-
tainable forest practices.
Instead, we are outsourc-
ing jobs and supplies to
other countries, some of
which do not share our
environmental values and
standards.
At the same time,
much of our federally
owned forests are unnat-
urally dense and over-
grown. Millions of acres
of these lands need active
management to reduce the
risks of wildfire, insects
and disease. The opportu-
nity exists for the federal
government to expand
its traditional partnership
with the private sector to
mitigate these risks while
providing a supply of tim-
ber that meets the public’s
need for wood products
and affordable housing.
Through proactive, sci-
ence-based forest manage-
ment, we can reduce the
intensity of today’s mega-
fires, protect communi-
ties and save millions of
taxpayer dollars in wild-
fire suppression costs.
A reliable and sustain-
able supply of federal tim-
ber would also encourage
domestic lumber produc-
ers to increase investments
in their manufacturing
facilities and workforce,
thus increasing supply.
In addition, increas-
ing domestic wood pro-
duction can align with the
Biden administration’s cli-
mate agenda. Forest man-
agement reduces fuels and
helps reduce the risks of
severe wildfires that can
emit carbon long after a
fire is out. In addition to
providing sustainable tim-
ber, forest management
can also boost the resil-
iency of forests to climate
change impacts, and thus
maximize the ability of
these forests to sequester
and store carbon.
Further, wood prod-
ucts lock up carbon for
life, and provide a natural,
renewable and less ener-
gy-intensive alternative to
other building materials.
Through the development
of advanced wood prod-
ucts such as Cross Lam-
inated Timber, architects
and builders are increas-
ingly turning to wood to
help meet sustainability
goals.
When it comes to
increasing lumber sup-
plies, the solution can be
found in our own back-
yard. By improving man-
agement of federal for-
ests, we can improve the
health and resiliency of
these lands, reduce wild-
fire risks while support-
ing affordable housing
through American-made
and climate-friendly wood
products.
Nick Smith is direc-
tor of public affairs for the
American Forest Resource
Council, a regional trade
association representing
the forest products sector.
He is also executive direc-
tor of Healthy Forests,
Healthy Communities, a
non-partisan grassroots
coalition that advocates
for active management of
America’s federally owned
forests.
astern Oregon scored a
big victory last month
with the selection of
Congressman Cliff Bentz as
the ranking member of the
Water, Oceans and Wildlife
(WOW) Subcommittee on
the House of Representatives
Natural Resources Commit-
tee. This is quite a feat for a
freshman Member of Con-
gress, but Rep. Bentz is well-
suited to the task at hand.
For more than half of
his professional and polit-
ical career, Rep. Bentz has
fought for Oregon agriculture
and communities that rely on
water resources and are feel-
ing the effects of real and
regulatory drought.
He began work as a prac-
ticing attorney in 1977, spe-
cializing in water and busi-
ness law. Before being
appointed to the Oregon
Legislature in 2008, Mr.
Bentz was appointed to the
Oregon Water Resources
Commission, serving from
1988 to 1996, chairing the
commission his last year on
the panel. He was appointed
to the Oregon Legisla-
ture from District 60 in
2008, and was re-elected
four times. He resigned
his House seat in 2018 and
moved over to the Senate,
also by appointment.
In the Oregon House,
Cliff Bentz served on sev-
eral committees, includ-
ing the Energy and Environ-
ment Committee. He was
also co-vice chairman of the
Joint Committee on Trans-
portation Preservation and
Modernization.
Many who have worked
with him praise him for his
ability to work with lawmak-
ers from both political par-
ties. We both have witnessed
Cliff Bentz devour infor-
mation and carefully assess
complicated issues and
areas like Klamath Basin
water challenges. He works
to understand issues before
acting. He’s a deep thinker,
and appears to be open to
all opinions. The fact that he
GUEST
VIEW
Dan
Keppen
&
Paul
Simmons
is a top expert in water law
speaks for itself.
These traits and his expe-
rience will serve him well
in his new role. The WOW
Subcommittee has jurisdic-
tion over the laws that gov-
ern the Bureau of Reclama-
tion and U.S. Geological
Survey, two federal agen-
cies which play a vital role
in the American West. The
relations of the United States
with Native Americans and
tribes is of interest to this
subcommittee.
The subcommittee also
has jurisdiction on issues
related to fish and wild-
life (including research, res-
toration, refuges, and con-
servation), marine affairs,
including coastal zone man-
agement, and public lands,
including entry, easements
and grazing.
All of these issues and
areas are critically important
to Rep. Bentz’s constituents
in Oregon’s Second Congres-
sional District, the seventh
largest district in the coun-
try. Rep. Bentz has vowed to
take an active role in the con-
sideration of all water issues
coming before the panel. Hot
button issues include regula-
tions under the Clean Water
Act; encouraging responsible
water storage policies, and
promoting low-cost, renew-
able electric power from fed-
eral water projects.
The rural producers in
Oregon’s Second Congres-
sional District and other
parts of the West are fortu-
nate to have someone with
Cliff Bentz’s skill set in
the ranking member seat
on the WOW Subcommit-
tee. Should Republicans one
day become the majority
party in the House, there is
a very strong possibility that
Cliff Bentz could chair that
subcommittee.
For the time being, we
will benefit from the rank-
ing member’s new leader-
ship role, as well as the key
positions held by our Ore-
gon senators in the upper
house of Congress. Senator
Ron Wyden chairs the influ-
ential Senate Finance Com-
mittee and serves on several
other committees, including
the Senate Energy and Nat-
ural Resources Committee,
which has jurisdiction over
the Bureau of Reclamation.
And Senator Jeff Merkley
earlier this year assumed the
chairmanship of the powerful
Appropriations subcommit-
tee that funds the U.S. Depart-
ment of Interior, the Environ-
mental Protection Agency,
and the U.S. Forest Service.
Overall in the past 20
years, the bipartisan support
and track record of Con-
gressional Democrats and
Republicans, and the focus
by the George W. Bush,
Barack Obama and Donald
Trump administrations here
in the Klamath Basin have
been consistently strong. We
are fortunate to have this
type of political attention,
and it says a lot about our
local community’s ability
to effectively engage with
Washington, regardless of
which party is in control.
We anticipate further
attention from President
Biden’s Administration, and
we know the congressional
delegation for Oregon’s Sec-
ond District will continue to
serve well the needs of its
farmers and ranchers.
Dan Keppen is executive
director of the Family Farm
Alliance, which represents
irrigated agricultural inter-
est in 16 Western states. Paul
Simmons is executive director
of the Klamath Water Users
Association, which represents
irrigation and other local dis-
tricts served by the federal
Klamath Project. Both work
in Klamath Falls.
READERS’ VIEW
Improving access
to mental health
services in rural
Washington
Depression and suicide are an
overlooked health crisis in our
rural communities. Washingto-
nians living outside urban cen-
ters are left with fewer resources
to address mental health issues
and face unique hurdles in
accessing those resources that
are available. House Bill 1196
and its companion Senate Bill
5325 will help to expand behav-
ioral health services available to
our rural communities.
According to 2017 statis-
tics from the Washington State
Department of Health, the sui-
cide rate in small towns/iso-
lated rural areas was 21.2 per
100,000 people. This was about
24% higher than the average for
the entire state. Rural commu-
nities are challenged with isola-
tion, lack of access to care, and
cultural stigmatizations around
depression and suicide.
While Washington state has
an overall higher rate of behav-
ioral health providers per popu-
lation than the U.S., 35 of Wash-
ington’s 39 counties are federally
designated as Mental Health Pro-
fessional Shortage Areas.
Farmers and agricultural
workers face additional stress-
ors due to unpredictable weather,
crop failures, impacts of global
trade policies and many other
factors beyond their control. This
further compounds existing men-
tal health challenges in rural
communities.
To address these challenges,
Washington has begun requiring
telehealth services be reimbursed
at the same rate as in-person
care. Unfortunately, many rural
Washingtonians lack adequate
broadband access needed to
take advantage of these services
and current legislation excludes
audio-only services from these
requirements. An Emergency
Order, issued by the Office of
the Insurance Commissioner in
response to the COVID-19 pan-
demic, has temporarily allowed
audio-only services, but a perma-
nent change is needed to ensure
Washington’s rural communities
continue to have needed access
to mental health services.
House Bill 1196 and Sen-
ate Bill 5325 recognize the
unique needs of Washington’s
rural agricultural communities
and expand our telehealth pro-
gram through the inclusion of
audio-only services. This legis-
lation has the potential to save
lives and improve the health of
farmers and farmworkers across
the state. Those interested in this
issue can help raise awareness by
contacting your representatives
and urging them to support this
legislation.
Jerod Morris
Spokane, Wash.