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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 3, 2017)
leave legacy trees. They create habitat such as snags, which are often missing in plantation ecosystems, and use existing skid trails and roads whenever possible to minimize their impact on the forest soil. “It’s still active management,” Miller explains. “But we’re growing older, more varied forests and keeping reserve areas with more habitat. You can both generate income and protect important features of the forest.” Sales of timber from the city-owned property help pay for other projects like habitat enhancement. Trout Mountain’s plan for Corvallis has a 50-year outlook and, according to Miller, will see an increase in the timber on the property that can be harvested without diminishing other management objectives. PETER HAYES AT THE CONTROLS OF THE MILL AT HYLA WOODS WORTH MORE THAN WOOD “My dad instilled in me that you should be able to eat the fish out of your river and swim in your river,” Paul Engelmeyer says. Engelmeyer, who has a thick walrus- like mustache and wavy gray hair, lives in Yachats and focuses his conservation work in communities on the Oregon Coast. He works with conservation partners like the Audubon Society and the Siuslaw National Forest to connect landowners with opportunities to protect healthy forests. Engelmeyer says easements and acquisitions are a new tool to help landowners preserve their forests. By tapping into different funding pots, including habitat funds from the Bonneville Power Administration, federal endangered species funds, gambling revenues and taxes on oil extraction, Engelmeyer can help people get compensated for preserving forestland. “It’s a big pile of money and people aren’t hip to it,” Engelmeyer says. He says his work is gaining traction because “there’s a mindset change where people are dedicated to the land, not just using it to make a living.” Strategies to protect forests for their habitat and impact on water quality also extend to municipalities. Unlike Corvallis, which owns much of the forest in its watershed, Eugene has little say in how the forests in its watershed are managed. In order to promote stewardship that keeps water clean and treatment costs down, Eugene Water and Electric Board and the McKenzie River Trust work with landowners to set up conservation easements and recruit “clean water partners.” The program connects landowners with resources and incentives to protect habitat and water resources. “It’s hard to look at and quantify what the forest provides besides timber,” says Karl Morgenstern, the source water protection coordinator for EWEB. “Healthy forests reduce the costs of water treatment.” By incentivizing landowners to either keep their watershed intact or restore degraded watersheds, the program works to keep down costs associated with treating water. Natural resource economist Ernie Niemi says, “When you have abundance and you diminish supply, consequences are minimal.” He says that because we don’t PHOTO COURTESY PETER HAYES typically think of forest goods like fish, habitat and clean water in economic terms it’s harder to understand the role they play in the economy. “The challenge is understanding the trade-off and making it.” For Niemi, branding and marketing activities such as those embraced by Zena Forest Products and Hyla Woods are a good start, but are limited in their ability to restructure the market. He sees a market intervention as having more potential to transform the forest products industry. “We can create markets that would create movement towards positive outcomes,” Niemi says. A tax on carbon polluters that funds green initiatives like conserving forests could compensate forest owners for responsible management, he adds. “Money communicates clearly in a message that can be heard.” John Talberth, president and founder of the Center for Sustainable Economy (CSE), says that carbon markets are “small potatoes” in their impact on the forestry industry. He says a more direct forest carbon tax and reward legislation could transform the timber industry and benefit both rural economies and the environment. Talberth says that research from CSE and data from the Oregon Global Warming Commission shows the forestry industry is the number one emitter of greenhouse gases in the state. He says the argument that forestry is carbon neutral is built on a fallacy that gives the industry credit for carbon capture on public and small forest owner lands and fails to address the deforestation and emissions generated by industrial forestry. “What we really need is to reform forest laws to make carbon-smart forests,” Talberth says. He proposes taxing the forestry industry for the emissions and carbon capture reductions they are responsible for and investing the money from that tax into more sustainable and diverse forestry models. Cutting on a smaller scale and managing for diversity is more labor intensive than industrial clearcuts and would create more jobs in rural communities, he says. “Oregon would be investing in a highly skilled workforce that knows how to cut for timber and leave a climate smart forest.” Because other countries are interested in fighting climate change through smarter forestry, “Oregon could be a leader in spreading this technology,” Talberth says. A FOREST FOR THE FUTURE Healthy forests can provide a wide range of economic and ecological values. Businesses such as Zena Forest Products, Hyla Woods and Trout Mountain Forestry are working to create forestry models that value forests for more than timber, while economists and conservationists figure out how to make those models economically and ecologically feasible. The natural forests of Oregon’s Coast Range are among the most important ecosystems for trapping carbon and muting the effects of climate change. In a state with a growing population and burgeoning tourism industry, the value of forests for clean and cold water and as places to recreate continues to grow. Forestry that produces timber while increasing biomass and habitat can create more jobs because it requires a more hands on process than clearcutting. Zena’s Ben Deumling, a fifth-generation Oregonian, says we need to slow down our thinking and take a longer view of the value of forests. He calls the industrial model of short tree rotations “a race to the bottom of how fast can we grow small trees.” “We’re shifting that and trying to stretch that back out again to grow big high quality trees that not only make really high quality lumber — but also build diverse forests with old trees and young trees.” “It is a labor of love but hopefully a labor of love that will continue to be appreciated and worked with for future generations,” Deumling says. “I feel a lot of pride in being from Oregon, and hopefully I can help continue that legacy.” ■ EWALK S A L E 6th SI d D . , Au g e nesday, Aug. 2n W d thru Sunday Big bargains on Pink Wheels, Tianello, Dressori, Italian linens and lots of summer merchandise! Sale starts at 10 a.m. *This coupon must be presented to receive discount. Coupon applies to in-stock merchandise only, including sale items. Cannot be used on special customer orders, consignment merchandise, layaway pick-ups, gift certificates, or be applied retroactively for refunds on prior purchases. Limited to one coupon per customer per day. One coupon only per transaction. Coupon expires 8/31/17. Bring in this coupon* for 18th and Willamette Meridian Building 541-431-3411 $5 off any purchase of $10 or more. Valid Aug. 2017 eugeneweekly.com • A ugust 3, 2017 13
