Page 13
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, July 30, 2003
Knopp asks
for revised
state budget
House Majority Leader
Tim Knopp (R-Bend) has
called on Gov. Kulongoski
to issue a revised budget
that shows how he intends
to pay for his spending
proposals.
The last budget issued
by Kulongoski was on
April 18. Since then, the
economy has continued to
decline, setting revenue
projections back by more
than $800 million, and the
governor has indicated a
desire to increase spending
by more than $250 million,
according to Knapp .
“House Republicans
were attacked by the gov-
ernor for trying to move
this process forward,” said
Knopp.
“After (last week’s)
letter, it is clear the gover-
nor wants to re-engage in
the debate. Our caucus
showed an incredible
amount of leadership by
laying all of our cards on
the table and producing a
balanced budget plan. I
call on him and the De-
mocrats to put forth their
balanced budget plan so
we can move ahead. Any-
thing less would show a
lack of leadership,” he
said.
According to Knapp,
House Republicans took
steps last week to fulfill
their constitutional respon-
sibility to pass a balanced
budget. They are working
to pass both budgets and a
revenue package through
the House of Representa-
tives in order to give the
Senate an actual budget
package.
The governor
issued a letter last week
condemning the House for
this action, Knapp said..
“The governor,” he
said, “put forth a revised
budget that called for
$5.05 billion for education.
Since then, our economy
has slumped and our state
is in a deeper hole, yet the
governor is demanding
increased spending with no
specific proposal to pay for
it,” said Knopp. “He owes
it to Oregonians to support
a budget based in the real-
ity of today’s economic
environment.
“We are working
within the parameters the
Governor set forth for the
session,” Knopp said. “We
are funding education at
the level he asked for, not
once, but twice. We are
trying to restore the confi-
dence and accountability in
government by forcing
government to live within
its means. And we have
proposed a balanced
budget that funds vital
public services without
asking Oregonians for a
general tax increase.
“Gov. Kulongoski has
changed the goal posts
since April and he needs to
show Oregonians how he
plans to accomplish his
goals of increased spend-
ing without over burdening
taxpayers. Our state needs
consistency and leadership
from our executive office,
not empty rhetoric.
Republicans will join
with the governor to dis-
cuss further reductions in
budgets to meet his spend-
ing goals, if that is the di-
rection he wants to move.
But we need to know
where he stand,” Knopp
said.
He pointed to the gov-
ernor’s own website which
states, “I’m not going to
ask the Legislature, and
I’m not going to ask the
citizens of Oregon to raise
taxes. We will make do
with what we have.”
Forestland covers almost half
of Oregon, says forestry dept.
Of the 62 million acres
of land in Oregon, approxi-
mately 28 million acres --
45 percent -- are classified
as forestland.
The Oregon Dept. of
Forestry defines forestland
as at least 10 percent cov-
ered with live trees or for-
merly having such cover,
and not currently devel-
oped for non-forest use.
During the past four
centuries, the amount of
forestland in the state has
remained fairly constant,
with about 8 percent hav-
ing been lost to human
development -- agriculture,
urban growth, highways,
electric transmission lines
and other infrastructure --
since Europeans first vis-
ited the Northwest.
Of the 30 million acres
of forestland present in
Oregon in the 1630s, ap-
proximately 2.5 million
acres have been converted
to non-forest use. Oregon’s
landmark land-use laws are
helping to keep the state’s
forestland intact while in
many other states forests
often are converted to non-
forest uses.
The federal govern-
ment owns 57 percent of
Ore gon’s for estlan d.
“Federal government” is
comprised of the U.S. For-
est Service, Bureau of
Land Management, Na-
tional Park Service, and
the Dept. of Fish & Wild-
life.
The state, counties and
municipalities own 4 per-
cent. Large commercial
land owners own 22 per-
cent; non-industrial private
land owners 16 percent;
Native American tribes 1
percent.
All of Oregon’s forests
have some level of legal
protections -- laws and
rules that include restric-
tions on management ac-
tivities.
About 23 percent of
the state’s forestland (6.3
million acres) is classified
as “reserved.” This is for-
estland not open for timber
production, and includes
wilderness areas, old-
growth reserves, and na-
tional parks and monu-
ments.
Another 18 percent
(some 5 million acres) is
incapable of producing
significant wood for com-
mercial purposes, gener-
ally due to adverse site
conditions.
The remaining 59 per-
cent (16 million) acres is
available, though not nec-
essarily used, for wood
production. This includes
federal and non-federal
public ownerships, tribal
forests, non-industrial pri-
vate forests and large com-
mercial forests.
It is important to note
that the 38 percent of Ore-
gon’s forestland that is
privately owned currently
produces most of Oregon’s
commercial timber,
whereas most of the 57
percent that is federally
owned is managed primar-
ily to emphasize mature
forest habitat or other con-
servation and recreation
values and not wood pro-
duction.
As a result, actual an-
nual harvest on federal
land has declined from
around 5 billion board feet
ni the 1980s to less than
0.2 billion board feet dur-
ing 2001.
Oregon’s wood and
paper products are sold in
all 50 states and some 40
foreign countries. More
than 5,000 products we use
every day are made from
wood, and perhaps you
walked on it, wore it,
brushed your teeth with it,
slept on it, were in a build-
ing constructed from it, or
read a newspaper, book or
computer printout made
with it.
Oregon’s Total Indus-
trial Output (TIO) for its
natural resource areas --
forest, agriculture, recrea-
tion and tourism, and ma-
rine -- amounts to $25.9
billion, which is nearly 13
percent of the state TIO.
(Editor’s Note: The pre-
ceding article is based on
information contained in
a booklet, “Forest Fact
Book,” published by The
Oregon Forest Resources
Institute).
Senior Nutrition Menu
Sponsored by
592-3562
(541) 592-2126, 474-5440
Meals are served in the
CJ County Bldg.
FRIDAY, AUG. 1
*Pasta salad with ham,
carrot pineapple salad,
cucumber/tomato/onion
salad, whole wheat roll,
Grace’s chocolate
cookie
MONDAY, AUG. 4
*Beef Swiss-style steak,
whipped potatoes with
gravy, Florentine
vegetables, wheat oat
bread, gingerbread with
topping
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 6
*Beef Spanish rice,
whole kernel corn,
marinated zucchini
salad, cornmeal roll,
ambrosia fruit cup
(541) 476-2127
Meidinger Concrete Construction
Serving the Valley since 1974
Licensed - Bonded - Insured
Closed
Tuesday & Wednesday
Specializing in all types of Concrete and Masonry
New - Foundations - Walks - Drives - Patios
Mobile Home Runners and Foundations
Bridges and Abutments - Slabs - Large or Small
Exposed Aggregate - Retaining Walls and Basements
Stamped & Colored Concrete
Phone 592-4485
Mike Meidinger License #93173