A16
OREGON
East Oregonian
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
Deal sets course for overhaul of private forest management
By BRADLEY W. PARKS
Oregon Public Broadcasting
SALEM — Timber and envi-
ronmental groups have reached an
agreement that sets Oregon on a
course to overhaul management of
10 million acres of private forest-
lands.
The deal, announced Saturday,
Oct. 30, by Gov. Kate Brown’s
offi ce, concludes more than a year
of negotiations between often
at-odds sides to develop a plan to
boost protections for vulnerable
fi sh and wildlife while shielding
the timber industry’s ability to log.
The deadline for both sides to
either reach consensus, abandon
the process or move the deadline
was Oct. 29. Negotiators worked
through the day and wrapped up
business shortly after 1 a.m. Oct.
30. Brown and her staff helped push
the negotiations to completion.
“Today’s historic agreement is a
perfect example of the Oregon Way
— coming together at the table to
fi nd common ground, to the mutual
benefi t of us all,” Brown said in
a press release. “Together, this
agreement will help to ensure that
Oregon continues to have healthy
forests, fi sh, and wildlife, as well
as economic growth for our forest
industry and rural communities, for
generations to come. I would like to
thank everyone involved for their
role in making this agreement a
reality today.”
Jim James with the Oregon
Small Woodlands Association
similarly praised the compromise.
“We were able to put down
the contentious situations that
we’ve had in the past and we had
a continuous agreement to move
forward,” James said. “I think that’s
an extreme positive for the state of
Oregon.”
In 2020, the sides each planned a
series of competing ballot measures
that could have turned into a costly
political fight. Environmental
groups sought, among other prior-
ities, strict limits on spraying of
aerial pesticides and improved
protection for forest waters. Mean-
while, the timber industry sought
compensation for private landown-
ers when state regulations limited
their ability to log.
Brown instead pushed for the
two sides to negotiate, and their
agreement to do so was hailed as
historic even then, though it was
just a beginning.
Representatives from the
timber industry and environ-
mental groups were charged with
setting terms to pursue a state-
wide habitat conservation plan to
safeguard fi sh, wildlife and water
quality. A habitat conservation
plan, or HCP, is a tool that allows
practices like logging or irriga-
tion to continue while minimizing
damage to wildlife habitat.
The deal sets in motion what
could be a lengthy, possibly years-
long process to craft, approve and
adopt an HCP into law and begin
implementation.
“There’s no doubt that there’s
gonna be challenges ahead,” said
Sean Stevens, executive director
of the conservation group Oregon
Wild. “But I do think that this
agreement provides a different
sort of foundation than we’ve
ever had before for tackling those
challenges ahead.”
The next step will be to intro-
duce a bill in the Oregon Legisla-
ture to make signifi cant changes to
the Forest Practices Act to protect
riverbanks and streamsides,
improve forest roads and allow for
adaptive management of private
forests. The state will then pursue
an HCP, which will require a rule
making process overseen by the
Oregon Board of Forestry (which
just approved a new state forester).
After that, state leaders can pitch the
plan to federal regulators.
Speaking on behalf of the timber
coalition, Adrian Miller with the
Florida-based forest products
company Rayonier said the agree-
ment gives timber operators a sense
of security going forward.
“I think we’re all really proud to
be part of a new era of forestry in
Oregon,” Miller said.
STATE BRIEFS
Oregon school
board under probe
JOH N DAY — The
Oregon Government Ethics
Commission is opening an
investigation into whether
the Grant County School
Board broke the law during
an executive session Aug. 19.
The state ethics panel made
the decision Oct. 22.
At issue is whether the
fi ve school board members
who participated may have
violated the state law that
allows public bodies to go
into executive session —
where the public is barred and
reporters are instructed not
to report on the proceedings
— only in certain narrowly
defi ned circumstances.
The commission’s ruling
came in response to a
complaint fi led by the Blue
Mountain Eagle newspaper.
The Eagle is part of the EO
Media Group, which includes
the East Oregonian and the
Bulletin in Bend.
Turkey Bucks
Help families in our community
have a
great holiday!
Purchase Turkey Bucks to
provide a holiday dinner to
a local family in need.
Bend man arrested
after allegedly
luring a minor
BEND — A 35-year-
old Bend man was arrested
for allegedly luring a minor
after attempting to solicit sex
online, according to Bend
police.
A Bend police officer
posed as a juvenile on social
media and began communi-
cating with Shane M. Sexson,
according to police. Sexson
contacted the offi cer, believ-
ing the offi cer was a juvenile,
and sent messages about
performing sexual acts with
the juvenile, according to
police.
At 1:20 p.m. Friday, Oct.
29, Sexson agreed to meet the
fi ctitious juvenile to engage in
sexual acts. The offi cer, posing
as the juvenile, sent a location
where they could meet.
Several Bend police offi -
cers responded to the loca-
tion and contacted Sexson
when he arrived. Sexson
was arrested and booked in
Deschutes County jail on
charges of fi rst-degree online
sexual corruption of a child
and luring a minor.
New fi lings provide
possible causes of
Labor Day fi res
SALEM — A new fi ling
in a negligence lawsuit
against PacifiCorp over
last year’s Labor Day fi res
cites “confi dential” internal
emails from utility employ-
ees saying its equipment was
involved or may have been
involved in fi ve of the Labor
Day 2020 confl agrations that
ravaged communities around
the state amid a severe wind-
storm and extreme fire
conditions.
Emails obtained in the
lawsuit’s ongoing discov-
ery process also show in the
days before the fi re, the util-
ity’s contract meteorologist
was issuing dire warnings
to the company about condi-
tions likely to play out over
Labor Day.
Asked by the company if
he was erring on the side of
caution, the meteorologist
responded: “If anything,
it’s conservative. I just went
through every event over the
last 2 years and couldn’t fi nd
anything like this one.”
— EO Media Group
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containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine limited by law. Quantity rights reserved. SOME ADVERTISING ITEMS MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE IN ALL STORES. Some advertised prices may be even lower in some stores. On Buy One, Get One Free (“BOGO”) offers, customer must purchase the first item to receive the second item free. BOGO offers
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