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THE ASTORIAN • SATuRdAy, dEcEmbER 28, 2019
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
Founded in 1873
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circulation manager
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GUEST COLUMNS
What the timber lawsuit really means
A
fter a monthlong trial, after
hearing more than 100 hours of
testimony and reviewing hun-
dreds of exhibits, some going back to
the early 1900s, the Linn County jury
deliberated for only a few hours before
returning with a verdict. The jury deter-
mined that the state had indeed breached
a long-standing contract with the forest
trust counties and awarded full damages
of more than $1 billion.
Clatsop County commissioners opted
out of the lawsuit, although the major-
ity of their taxing districts decided to
stay in and are entitled to $243 million.
Judge Thomas McHill determined that
Klamath County forests operate under
a pre-2001 forest management plan and
removed them from the
lawsuit. This left 13
counties and 151 tax-
ing districts found to be
harmed and eligible for
compensation.
The 1941 Forest
Acquisition
Act created
DAVID
the
idea
of
greatest
per-
YAMAMOTO
manent value to mean
managing these forest
trust lands to return timber revenue to
the counties, taxing districts and the Ore-
gon Department of Forestry. It was in
1998 that the Board of Forestry decided
to change the definition of greatest per-
manent value, and for the last 20 years,
timber revenue suffered while the state
instead prioritized going far above the
mandates of the federal Endangered Spe-
cies Act and directing funds to increas-
ing recreational opportunities.
While these are admirable goals,
these shortfalls over the last 20 years
were being born entirely by the trust
counties. What the jury found is that the
trust counties have been shorted $1 bil-
lion to provide these additional services
to all residents of Oregon and it is only
fair that we be fairly compensated for
these services. Over the last 20 years,
trust counties have had to cut public
safety, education, emergency services,
road maintenance, health care, libraries
and other essential services.
When it comes to natural resource-
based industries, Tillamook County is
blessed with dynamic timber, dairy and
fishing opportunities. Some think that
increasing timber harvest will harm the
environment. As a Tillamook County
commissioner, I am proud to be able to
say that when it comes to clean water,
habitat restoration and fish recovery, no
Oregon county does these things better
than Tillamook County.
Over the decades, our timber, dairy
and fishing partners have collaborated
with our county public works depart-
ment, watershed councils, Oregon
Watershed Enhancement Board, Tilla-
mook Soil & Water Conservation, Til-
lamook Estuaries Partnership, Salmon
SuperHwy and others to provide con-
tinuing improvements to our watersheds.
We recently completed a 600 acre,
Hailey Hoffman/The Astorian
Clatsop County opted out of a timber lawsuit against the state.
$11 million habitat restoration project
called Southern Flow Corridor. In Tilla-
mook County, we have over 3,500 cul-
verts, which often, due to increased fish
passage rules, need to be replaced with
a bridge, which is an expensive prop-
osition. This is one of the reasons we
have a bridge for every 3 miles of road-
way. A difficult environment for a small
rural county, but a true success story in
Oregon.
Our victory in court does not mean
we can or should diminish our commit-
ment to our environmental responsibil-
ities. As I explained above, Tillamook
County is the state leader in clean water,
habitat restoration and fish recovery. The
Department of Forestry cannot disregard
the Endangered Species Act or Clean
Water Act, but I feel this jury verdict
clearly specifies that the state should not
go above and beyond to the detriment of
the trust counties.
Timber revenue is but one part of the
economic and social sustainability of
rural Oregon. It must also be understood
that jobs in the woods, mills and truck
transportation are some of our rural
counties best paying jobs with benefits.
In Oregon, the average annual pri-
vate-sector wage is $52,000. This same
classification of jobs in Tillamook
County is $37,000. Yet, when you look
at forest products industry jobs in Til-
lamook County, we have forestry and
logging at $55,000, wood products
manufacturing at $59,000 and truck
transportation at $47,500. These are
family wage jobs. Tillamook County has
852 forest products industry jobs, which
adds over $43.5 million to the county’s
economy.
In Oregon, there are over 60,000 for-
est products industry jobs paying an
average of $53,500. These jobs add
more than $3.2 billion to the state’s
economy. Every county in the state has
some economic activity generated by the
forest sector. Total wood product sales in
Oregon exceeded $10.3 billion in 2016.
The total number of wood processing
facilities in Oregon was 360 in 1988 and
was down to 172 in 2017. When look-
ing at sawmills in Oregon, number have
decreased by 53% during the period
1988 to 2017, down to 78 sawmills in
2017.
The jury award underestimates the
real social cost which was caused by the
state’s breach of contract. According to
the state’s own figures, each additional
million board feet of harvest results
in 9.8 family wage jobs, so 3.6 billion
board feet of foregone harvest meant
3,700 jobs lost. Imagine what those lost
jobs would have meant to the trust coun-
ties, not only in terms of the productive
lives of its residents, but of the economic
multiplier which would have attached
to all the purchasing power those jobs
would have resulted in.
It is important to note that interest at
the state-mandated rate of 9% accrues
on this damages award, which equates to
$260,000 per day. It is expected that the
state will appeal this verdict to the Ore-
gon Court of Appeals and then possi-
bly to the Oregon Supreme Court, taking
years for these court decisions.
No one should blame the trust coun-
ties for this situation. Had the state per-
formed the contract as originally prom-
ised, the counties would be in a much
better financial condition and the Depart-
ment of Forestry would also have had
the financial means to properly manage
the state forests. It is not right to expect
rural counties to shoulder the burden to
benefit the entire state.
We in rural Oregon have a great story
to tell when it comes to our magnificent
forests and the sustainable forestry prac-
tices that bring so much to so many. It is
unfortunate that the urban-rural divide is
so poignant in Oregon. Most rural coun-
ties will never be the home of a Nike,
or Intel, or Columbia Sportswear. Long
before these companies came into exis-
tence, rural counties and their natu-
ral resource-based industries were the
growth engines of Oregon.
We can continue to be vibrant, sus-
tainable, self-reliant rural counties if
given a level playing field, and our suc-
cess will not come at the expense of the
environment if we have reasonable har-
vest policies.
david yamamoto is a Tillamook
county commissioner and the chair-
man of the council of Forest Trust Land
counties.
Leading the fight for salmon habitat
T
reaty Indian tribes in west-
ern Washington state are greatly
encouraged by Gov. Jay Inslee’s
recent commitment to challenge the sta-
tus quo and take steps needed for salmon
recovery.
It happened in November at the
annual Centennial Accord meeting. Cre-
ated in 1989 to mark the 100th anniver-
sary of statehood, the gathering brings
together the tribes and state in a govern-
ment-to-government forum to address
issues of mutual interest,
such as health care, educa-
tion and natural resources.
Salmon are declining
across western Washington
for one main reason: Their
habitat is being damaged
and lost faster than we can
LORRAINE
fix it.
LOOMIS
The treaty Indian tribes
have been leading the fight
for salmon habitat for decades. We know
that to recover salmon we must hold our-
selves accountable and do what is neces-
sary to halt and reverse the ongoing loss
and damage to their habitat.
Tribes have documented the decline of
salmon habitat through the State of Our
Watersheds report series, which details
habitat conditions and limiting factors
for recovery. We have developed solu-
tions through gw∂dzadad, our strategy
for restoring salmon habitat that takes its
name from the Lushootseed word that
means “teachings of our ancestors.”
This work calls out a handful of imme-
diate recommendations:
• Protect streamside habitat through a
consistent science-based approach across
the region. That means creating and pro-
tecting healthy streamside buffers with
plenty of mature trees that keep water
temperatures low, stabilize riverbanks and
contribute to diverse instream habitat for
salmon.
• Revise the state’s Growth Manage-
ment Act and other resource protection
guidelines from one of no net loss to one
of net gain — working to better protect
and enhance the ecosystems that salmon,
orcas and we all depend on.
• Develop a statewide permit tracking
system to create transparency, account-
ability and efficiency in understanding the
cumulative effects of our collective land
use decisions.
• Reduce toxic contamination of water
and salmon through improved water qual-
ity standards, source control and stormwa-
ter management requirements.
At the Centennial Accord meeting,
Gov. Inslee acknowledged the impor-
tance of healthy streamside areas as crit-
ical to both our region’s salmon recov-
ery efforts and our resiliency in the face of
global climate change. In a strong move,
he directed his state environmental and
natural resources agencies to develop a
proposal for a consistent approach by the
end of the year. State data show that more
than 1,700 miles of streams and rivers in
western Washington do not meet state and
federal water quality standards for water
temperatures.
Spawning chum salmon splash in the water
of Greenhead Slough.
Ecology Director Maia Bellon and
Fish and Wildlife Director Kelly Susew-
ind echoed Gov. Inslee’s support and rec-
ognition for the need for clear and unified
action across all sectors.
Bellon, who is stepping down this
month, said the state will stay the course
in the fight to stop the U.S. Environmen-
tal Protection Agency from rolling back
Washington’s hard-fought water qual-
ity standards that are the most protective
of human health in the nation. The EPA
is moving to rescind the standards based
on a complaint by some industry groups
claiming the rules increase their cost of
doing business while ignoring the health
risks to everyone who lives here.
Susewind and I have committed to
working cooperatively as co-manag-
ers through the annual North of Falcon
salmon season setting process to embrace
the actions outlined in the gw∂dzadad
habitat restoration strategy and include the
issues of habitat protection in our manage-
ment discussions.
These are the actions that are going
to recover salmon and orcas, preserve
our health and protect us from climate
change while also addressing tribal trea-
ty-reserved rights. To its credit, Washing-
ton was the first state to establish a gov-
ernment-to-government relationship with
tribes through a formal agreement like the
Centennial Accord.
We know there are those who oppose
our efforts. They are the same people who
want to lock us into the status quo. We
know that path does not lead to salmon
recovery. We don’t have to argue about
what needs to be done. We’re past that.
We know what the science and our hearts
tell us are the right things to do.
Right now, we are witnessing leader-
ship, cooperation and commitment on a
scale we have not seen in a long time. This
is how we will recover salmon.
Lorraine Loomis is the chairwoman
of the Northwest Indian Fisheries
commission.