OPINION
4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017
Founded in 1873
DAVID F. PERO, Publisher & Editor
LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor
BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager
CARL EARL, Systems Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager
DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager
OUR VIEW
County, others
should opt out
of timber lawsuit
C
latsop County commissioners face a tough, potentially
divisive meeting Wednesday when they are scheduled to
decide whether to stay in or exit a $1.4 billion class-ac-
tion timber-management lawsuit against the state.
A state judge gave the lawsuit, initiated by Linn County,
class-action status in September, automatically adding 14 coun-
ties, including Clatsop, and 130 other taxing entities to the case.
Each has until Jan. 25 to decide whether to opt out.
Paid for by timber industry groups and private companies,
the lawsuit contends the counties turned over ownership of more
than 640,000 acres of forestland to the state decades ago with an
expectation the state would maximize timber revenues.
The contentions
The suit contends that in the late 1990s the state changed for-
est-management practices by placing greater emphasis on envi-
ronmental, conservation and recreational values.
As a result, the lawsuit asserts, the state breached its contract
with the counties because there has been insufficient logging that
has collectively cost the counties $1.4 billion in past and future
damages.
At the heart of the case is wording within the state’s tim-
ber-management rules to provide the “greatest permanent value”
in its practices, and how those rules — in place for decades —
should be interpreted. The state’s attorneys say timber interests
funding the lawsuit want the rules changed to emphasize timber
harvest over other values.
The county’s decision will have lasting impacts. Monetary
damages could be a boon to regional budgets.
Opting out
But for a variety of reasons, we believe the best course for the
county and other entities is to opt out.
Clatsop County currently has 147,000 acres of state forest-
land. That is about 23 percent of the acreage in the lawsuit.
Harvesting in our county generates about $15 million a year,
disbursed regionally. State statistics for Clatsop County show
annual harvesting between 1990 and 1998 averaged 32.8 million
board feet. After the state’s rules changed in the late 1990s, it
increased to an average of 74.9 million board feet between 1999
and 2014. At the same time, timber payments nearly doubled —
from an average of $8 million to an average of $15.2 million.
Those same trends hold true for the state as a whole.
It’s important to note that the period in which harvesting and
payments increased included the Great Recession when the
housing boom went bust. So clearly the state’s forest-manage-
ment practices haven’t hurt the region, although the plaintiffs
assert the returns should have been much greater.
Commissioners should consider that while a potential $262
million regional payday could be at stake by opting out, much of
the suit is pegged on future damages, and there’s no certainty an
award will be anywhere near that level. And 15 percent of any
award will go to the private attorneys handling the case for Linn
County, not to the taxpayers.
The lawsuit is also likely to be tied up in court for an extended
period, especially with potential appeals. It conceivably could
disrupt the current revenue stream from the state.
Who pays?
Importantly, if the counties win, it would likely give taxpay-
ers the burden of footing at least a portion of the state’s bill for
financial damages, which will diminish any windfall the taxing
entities expect to receive.
And while many say it’s important to have a seat at the table,
Linn County, with little comparatively at stake, is the primary
plaintiff, not Clatsop. But our county is one of the biggest dogs
in the fight. Opting out doesn’t preclude our county from filing a
lawsuit on its own at some future point.
In 2015, the county adopted an initiative called Vision 2030
Together, a plan designed to guide public policy decision-mak-
ing into 2030. The plan contains these points: “Our natural envi-
ronment is a key contributor to our quality of life. … Our for-
estlands are sustainably managed, with portions permanently
protected for their inherent natural value.”
State forests are a public asset, and while a breech of contract
and financial damages are the base of the case, it’s public policy
that would change through any outcome that could increase har-
vesting and allow private interests to run the show. That could
result in less accountability and less attention to environmental
and recreational values.
The place to change that policy — or to make it more clear —
is in the Legislature, not the courts and not at the expense of the
taxpayers. The county and other taxing entities should steer clear
of the case.
Wellville climbs toward lofty goals
Way to Wellville
after two years
By SUSAN CODY
For The Daily Astorian
E
nvision a place where all
kids have high-quality edu-
cation, where their social
and emotional needs are met,
where they have
access to healthy
food and medi-
cal care. What if
there were a way
to improve the 70
percent graduation
rate in Clatsop County? What if
obesity, drug use, alcoholism and
crime could be reduced?
Those are lofty goals that are
built on ideas identified by par-
ticipants at community forums
when Clatsop County was cho-
sen as one of The Way to Wellville
communities.
A community forum will offer
updates on Way to Wellville initia-
tives Wednesday, Jan. 11. Speakers
include Way to Wellville founder
Esther Dyson and Clatsop County
Strategic Council members Dan
Gaffney, Debbie Morrow, Stacey
Brown, Paulette McCoy and Jea-
nette Schacher.
The event is free and open
to the public, 6:30 to 8 p.m. at
the Holiday Inn Express, 204 W.
Marine Drive in Astoria.
Clatsop County is one of only
five Way to Wellville communi-
ties nationwide chosen to improve
health by investing in wellness
and disease prevention rather
than spending endless dollars on
chronic health care. Two years into
the five-year program, infrastruc-
ture and a business plan are nearly
completed and many initiatives
have been launched.
“The Way to Wellville contin-
ues to gain momentum through
stronger collaboration across
the county’s government, non-
profit and business sectors,” says
Marya Stark, a national Wellville
team member who is the naviga-
tor for the local Strategic Coun-
cil. “We’re nearing completion of
a plan to create a trauma informed
community.”
The latest result of collabora-
tion is a $350,000 grant to Clatsop
County from the U.S. Department
of Education to identify the needs
and assess the feasibility of uni-
versal preschool. Way to Wellville
Strategic Council members worked
many hours with the county and
other partners to craft the grant
application.
“In 2017, we will begin build-
ing our business plan for universal
preschool,” Stark says, as part of
an international movement to pub-
licly fund quality preschool for all
families.
What is Wellville?
Instead of investing in health
care, investor Esther Dyson offered
a challenge to communities to
work together to create a health-
ier environment. The Way to Well-
ville prompts communities to com-
bine their resources, cooperate and
invest in healthy living. The Well-
ville 5, all communities of fewer
than 100,000 people, make a five-
year commitment to create strate-
gies to improve health locally, and
ultimately attract investment.
“The whole point of The Way
to Wellville is to help communi-
ties apply well-known techniques
in sustained initiatives that are
accountable, measurable and ulti-
mately fundable,” Dyson says.
The Way to Wellville in Clatsop
County is sponsored by the Colum-
bia Pacific Coordinated Care Orga-
Susan Cody/For The Daily Astorian
Students at Warrenton Grade School practice yoga as part of the
Clatsop Kids Go program sponsored by The Way to Wellville. The in-
structor is Sarah Brown, right.
ONLINE
For more information visit WayToWellville.net or the Facebook page Way to
Wellville Clatsop County. The James Heckman study is The Lifecycle Bene-
fits of an Influential Early Childhood Program. A related article can be found
at http://bit.ly/W2Wheckman2
nization and has technical support
from CareOregon, two local health
care nonprofits.
Clatsop County’s Way to Well-
ville Strategic Council, composed
of county employees, health care
professionals, educators business
and recreational leaders, uses a
multi-pronged approach to address
issues arising in four focus areas:
Community Wellness, Emotional
Health, Health Care Access and
Financial Opportunity.
Early childhood ed
The council decided it could
make the biggest impact in early
childhood education. That turns
out to have been a good call.
A study released in Decem-
ber shows early childhood educa-
tion returns 13 percent per child in
cost benefits through better earning
power, less crime, improved social
behavior and reduced need for spe-
cial education and health expen-
ditures. The study was based on
children who entered preschool at
age 3 or 4, and were followed until
about age 35.
One of the authors, Nobel Prize
winner and economics professor
James J. Heckman says, “Investing
in the continuum of learning from
birth to age 5 not only impacts
each child, but it also strengthens
our country’s workforce today and
prepares future generations to be
competitive in the global economy
tomorrow.”
Projects
Working with community part-
ners and about $90,000 in grants,
the local Way to Wellville has cre-
ated programs that focus on child-
hood health and development, and
healthy activities for adults.
Rx 4 Play: Designed to increase
physical activity for residents at
risk for obesity and other health
problems, physicians and other
providers prescribe play for their
patients. Incentives include park
and recreation passes and free
parking at state and national parks.
Local providers have written 3,000
prescriptions.
2,000 Mile Challenge: Team-
ing with the National Park Ser-
vice, more than 400 people logged
73,000 miles during the one-year
challenge.
Early Childhood Clinic: Chil-
dren were assessed for hearing,
physical, visual, development,
speech and nutritional benchmarks,
while parents were interviewed
and offered support materials.
Passport for Wellness or Clat-
sop Kids Go: This program for
Clatsop County third-, fourth- and
fifth-graders is designed to reduce
and prevent obesity. The goal is
to create a culture of positive atti-
tudes, knowledge and behaviors
around nutrition, physical activity
and emotional well-being.
Paper Tigers: “Paper Tigers”
is a film of hope, possibilities
and courage. It features the Walla
Walla, Wash., community and Lin-
coln High School, an alternative
school that specializes in educating
traumatized youth. It gives an inti-
mate look at their challenges and
shows how changing the approach
to problems has a dramatic effect
on success. A showing at the Lib-
erty Theater attracted 300 people.
Pocket Full of Feelings: This
educational kit is designed to teach
children from pre-kindergarteners
to teenagers how to deal with their
feelings and change their behav-
ior. Tools include interactive cards,
coloring books, workbooks, teach-
ers’ tools and more to help raise
emotional intelligence for aca-
demic success.
Tall Cop Says Stop: Two
community education forums
addressed drug and alcohol
abuse and how to recognize
paraphernalia.
FamilyWize: The Way to Well-
ville and United Way of Clat-
sop County partnered to bring
free FamilyWize prescription sav-
ings cards to the community. The
community has saved more than
$6,000 in medical prescription
costs.
Susan Cody is the communica-
tions lead for the Clatsop County
Way to Wellville. She is also a for-
mer deputy managing editor for
The Daily Astorian.