A4
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2022
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
Founded in 1873
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
SHANNON ARLINT
Circulation Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production Manager
GUEST COLUMN
Let’s fi x the habitat conservation plan
T
he Oregon Department of For-
estry is preparing to change how
the Clatsop State Forest is man-
aged. For those who might not know,
the department manages state forest-
land through a contract with 15 counties,
including Clatsop.
The Department of Forestry harvests
trees to provide revenue to the counties
and local taxing districts and, in return,
keeps a third of the reve-
nue to manage the lands,
provide public access
for recreation and fi ght
wildfi re.
Hoping to improve
both fi nancial and con-
servation outcomes on
COURTNEY
state forests, the Depart-
BANGS
ment of Forestry and
federal wildlife agencies
are developing the Western Oregon Hab-
itat Conservation Plan to comply with
the federal Endangered Species Act.
Unfortunately, as written, the plan fails
on both counts.
In negotiating this plan with the fed-
eral agencies, a process that took place
behind closed doors without county par-
ticipation , the Department of Forestry
quite literally gave away the farm.
Their plan would convert over half
of our productive state forestland into a
habitat preserve. This would result in an
estimated 38% percent drop in the har-
vest from current levels. Rather than
inviting local districts and counties into
the conversation to develop strategies
that protect both wildlife, local econo-
mies and social concerns, the department
prepared an unsustainable and fi nan-
cially unviable plan based on inadequate
models and incomplete information.
As a mother, teacher and a county
commissioner, I’m very concerned about
the impact this plan will have on work-
ing families and the long-term health
and vitality of our county. Each acre of
working forests matters for individual
taxing districts .
The ripple eff ect of the plan’s pro-
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Public comments are open for the Western Oregon Habitat Conservation Plan.
posed reduction in funding on county
programs, local taxing districts and
small family-owned businesses would
result in long-term negative conse-
quences for our residents. Our forest
sector businesses that harvest, trans-
port and process wood from working
state forests would take an even harder
hit from this proposal – and mills could
potentially close.
Roughly 5 acres of productive for-
estland harvest can pay a teacher’s sal-
ary for one year. A hundred acres is the
equivalent of two teachers for a decade.
It is for these reasons I do not support
this habitat conservation plan as cur-
rently drafted. It shifts state forest man-
agement toward priorities set by Port-
land-based interest groups, the costs of
which will be borne entirely by residents
of this county and neighboring counties .
If the Department of Forestry’s cur-
rent plan is adopted, environmen-
tal groups will no doubt celebrate the
decrease in harvest, but the cost of those
acres will be intimately felt on the N orth
C oast for decades. The result will be lost
jobs, shuttered family businesses, fewer
teachers, reduced public safety and
poorer quality of life.
I do not believe the people who sup-
port this plan want that to happen. How-
ever, I do believe they are out of touch
with the majority of people who actu-
ally live and work among these forests
and because of that, they do not fully
appreciate the true human cost of what is
being proposed.
We have signifi cant needs in this
county, from housing and homeless-
ness to health services and education.
Our fi nancial needs will only grow as
we prepare our communities to be more
resilient to winter storms, fl ooding, wild-
fi re and the potential for a Cascadia
earthquake event.
Based on the experience of other rural
counties who have lost major resource-
based industries, the path toward reve-
nue replacement and recovery is long,
steep and uncertain.
State forests make up just 4 %of total
forestland in Oregon and have diff er-
ent mandates than other public forests.
These forests cannot and should not be
expected to shoulder additional bur-
dens associated with wildlife habitat
conservation.
Sixty percent of forestland in Oregon
is federally owned and managed almost
entirely as habitat for species such as the
n orthern s potted o wl. Thirty years after
these forests were all but shut down to
harvest, spotted owl populations con-
tinue to decline. Habitat is not a silver
bullet and yet, the Department of For-
estry’s plan is following the same failed
conservation prescriptions that focus
solely on habitat creation and hope.
We need to make smart, sustainable
use of the few remaining acres of public
forest we have left. We can’t aff ord more
ineff ective nature preserves.
Let me be very clear, I am not
opposed to the concept of a habitat con-
servation plan or setting aside cer-
tain acres for wildlife when occupancy
occurs. What I’m opposed to is a plan
that disregards experience and science.
I’m opposed to a management strategy
that ignores the socio economic needs of
our communities.
The Oregon Board of Forestry has the
ability to request the Department of For-
estry make improvements to the plan . I
will continue to advocate for our coun-
ty’s long-term economic health and sus-
tainability and I urge you to join me.
Let the b oard overseeing the Depart-
ment of Forestry know the current plan
needs to be fi xed. The public comment
period has been extended to June 1.
Written comments can be submitted on
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration’s website. C omments
can also be sent to the Board of Forestry
at boardoff orestry@oregon.gov
Courtney Bangs serves on the Clatsop
County Board of Commissioners.
OUR ENDORSEMENTS
The Astorian made several endorsements for Tuesday’s election
• Clatsop County Board of
Commissioners/District 3 (Astoria):
Commissioner Pamela Wev
• Clatsop County Board of Commis-
sioners/District 5 (South County):
Commissioner Lianne Thompson
• State House District 32/
Republican primary:
Cyrus Javadi
• Measure 4-213/Gearhart
fi rehouse bond: Yes
• Measure 4-214/
Knappa fi re tax levy: Yes
GUEST COLUMN
Reinstate federal recognition of Chinook Indian Nation
he Pacifi c Northwest is shaped by
the culture and history of Indige-
nous peoples who have called this
region home since time immemorial.
As leaders of foundations explic-
itly focused on racial justice working in
the states of Washington and Oregon,
it is impossible for us to ignore one of
the country’s most profound injustices
unfolding right in our backyards: the his-
torical oppression of the Chinook Nation
and the ongoing roadblocks to restore
federal recognition.
Federal tribal recognition allows for
Native American tribes to
possess a measure of sov-
ereignty in the eyes of
the federal government,
and ensures access to fed-
eral and state resources
to fund housing, pub-
lic health and educational
CARMEN
opportunities.
ROJAS
After more than a cen-
tury of hard work, the
Chinook Nation was for-
mally recognized at the
end of the Clinton admin-
istration more than 20
years ago. This rightful
recognition was rescinded
by the George W. Bush
JESSE
administration just 18
BEASON
months later in 2002.
Rescinding federal recog-
nition was a declaration that the tribe’s
sovereignty no longer existed in the eyes
of the government, and this decision has
led to unconscionable realities for the
Chinook people.
The present-day impacts of the histor-
ical oppression of the Chinook commu-
nity are clear: stolen lands, removal from
villages, forcing children to attend board-
ing schools and denial of access to sub-
sistence on their own lands are all part of
our story as a nation. And we refuse to let
this ongoing oppression continue.
Each of our foundations has a deep
T
Amiran White
A small group from the Chinook Indian Nation gathered in June at Tansy Point for an
abbreviated version of their annual salmon ceremony.
commitment to Washington and Oregon.
Through this work we have each found
our way, through varying paths, to part-
nership with the Chinook Nation. Too
often, we ask ourselves a familiar ques-
tion: “Why must the work of justice,
healing and reconciliation always rest on
the shoulders of those oppressed?”
With so many lives on the line, federal
recognition shouldn’t be this diffi cult to
achieve. In fact, every tribe that partici-
pated in the Chehalis River Treaty nego-
tiations, the 1855 negotiations asking
tribal representatives to leave their land,
is recognized by the federal government
today. All except the Chinook.
Yet the story of the Chinook peo-
ple persists, even through unjust treat-
ment by the United States government,
as documented by our nation’s lead-
ing law experts on this matter — includ-
ing the U.S. Department of the Interior.
We have collectively seen the eff orts
and resilience of the Chinook Nation,
and the decision to remedy this histori-
cal wrong now lies with Congress. The
nation drafted a bill and garnered pro-
found support from local leaders, non-
profi ts, elected offi cials and tens of thou-
sands of people across America.
This includes the unanimous support
by all county commissioners govern-
ing Pacifi c County, Wahkiakum County,
Clatsop County, and at various points,
all neighboring tribes, including but not
limited to, the Cowlitz Indian Tribe,
Shoalwater Bay Tribe, Chehalis Tribe,
Quinault Indian Nation, the Confederated
Tribes of Grande Ronde and many more.
This commitment is in partnership
with Marguerite Casey Foundation,
Arcora Foundation, Group Health Foun-
dation, Schultz Family Foundation, Sat-
terberg Foundation, Northwest Health
Foundation and Empire Health Commu-
nity Advocacy Fund. As foundations that
partner and work primarily with organi-
zations focused on communities of color,
we are encouraged and excited to see
incredible support and advocacy from
grantees and organizations serving Black,
Latinx, Pacifi c Islander and Asian com-
munities across the Northwest.
It is long overdue for Congress to con-
sider the Chinook Nation restoration leg-
islation — legislation that would restore
the nation to its rightful place as a feder-
ally recognized tribe in the United States.
This legislation will also benefi t the
broader communities that also call the
Chinook lands home. The restoration
will assure a much-needed economic
boost, enhancement of critical resources
and protection of the Pacifi c Northwest’s
environment that can only happen from
having a recognized tribe properly seated
at the mouth of the Columbia River.
We are urging U.S. lawmakers repre-
senting Washington and Oregon to take
action, but this restoration legislation and
bill has yet to be championed through
passage and implementation.
Congress has the power to make this
legislative change. We urge people every-
where to stand with us and urge Congress
to correct this historic injustice. With the
growing number of Americans across
the nation who support this eff ort, it will
be impossible for our representatives to
ignore the Chinook Nation any longer.
Carmen Rojas is the youngest and only
Latina president of a nationally endowed
U.S. foundation — the Seattle-based
Marguerite Casey Foundation — and a
nationally recognized leader in economic
and worker justice.
Jesse Beason is president and CEO
of Northwest Health Foundation, which
seeks to advance, support and promote
healthy communities in Oregon and
southwest Washington state.
Their guest column was originally pub-
lished in the Seattle Times.