A18
News
Blue Mountain Eagle
by federal regulations, right?”
Trump said. “Oregon lost three-
fourths of its timber mills since
Cause for concern
1980. Is that possible? Three-
The worry among environ-
fourths? That is a lot of timber
mental groups contrasts the
mills, right?”
optimism of timber interests
Since then, Trump has pro-
in regards to how Trump and
vided no specifics about how he
the officials he appoints will
would change regulations.
manage public forests.
Protection of the northern
Possibilities for agricul-
spotted owl — which the U.S.
ture secretary, who oversees
Fish and Wildlife Service listed
the U.S. Forest Service, in-
as a threatened species under
clude Texas Agriculture
the Endangered Species Act in
Secretary Sid Miller, and
1990 — and old-growth timber
possibilities for interior
contributed to the timber indus-
secretary, who oversees the
try’s drastic decline in Oregon.
Bureau of Land Manage-
Ruling in a lawsuit brought
ment, include former Alaska
by environmental groups, a
Gov. Sarah Palin and Lucas
federal judge
Oil
co-found-
Timber is a crucial industry but it has been halted most
er Forrest Lu-
cas,
according
hammered by — oh, why are we surprised? — by logging on
federal lands
to news reports.
federal regulations, right? Oregon lost three-fourths west of the
All of them lean
toward resource
of its timber mills since 1980. Is that possible? C s u a s m c m a d i e t s .
extraction rather
Three-fourths? That is a lot of timber mills, right?”
Then, the fed-
than preservation.
eral govern-
Federal forests
President-elect Donald Trump
ment put the
in western Oregon
Northwest
are split between
the Forest Service and the through the power of the peo- es would take 60 votes in the Forest Plan in place to protect
Senate, and those votes aren’t the owl and other wildlife, pri-
ple.”
BLM.
there. However, federal timber oritizing preservation of old-
“We don’t think Trump
harvests can be meaningful- growth forests on which the
Oregon’s delegation
has a mandate to weaken en-
Both senators and four out ly increased in a manner that owl relies.
vironmental protections or
The plan also, on paper, al-
return to old-growth clear- of five Oregon congressmen is entirely consistent with the
lows for considerable logging,
cutting on public lands,” Ar- are Democrats. U.S. Rep. ESA and Clean Water Act.”
The GOP held onto its slim but those logging levels have
ran Robertson, spokesman Greg Walden, R-Hood River,
for Oregon Wild, wrote in an is the lone Republican repre- majority in the Senate in last never been met because of the
week’s election. Republicans environmental damage they
email. The Portland-based senting Oregon.
Some in the past have have 51 out of the 100 seats were expected to cause. That
nonprofit group advocates
carefully calibrated their po- and may win one more in a has prompted increased criti-
for old-growth protection.
“Clearly, those were not sitions, calling for more log- December run-off in Louisi- cism of the Northwest Forest
major issues in the presi- ging on federal lands, but ana. Democrats have 46 seats, Plan.
Experts differ on how much
dential campaign,” he wrote. also increased environmental and independents hold two.
harm the federal logging cut-
“However, there are certainly protections — two seemingly
backs did to timber employ-
Trump talks timber
folks in the logging industry contradictory goals.
During his May visit, Trump ment. Some studies found that
“Sen. (Ron) Wyden will
who feel the time is ripe to
repeal the Endangered Spe- continue to stand up for clean read to the audience at the Lane jobs were lost because of mill
cies Act, Clean Water Act, air and clean water, will keep Events Center facts his statisti- automation not environmental
etc. … and prioritize their working to find real solutions cians compiled for him about rules.
Federal officials have be-
interests in public lands over to bring jobs back to rural ar- Oregon. Timber topped the list.
“Timber is a crucial industry gun to consider revisions to
other values (like tourism eas and continue fighting to
and recreation, clean drink- protect Oregon’s and the na- but it has been hammered by — the Northwest Forest Plan,
tion’s treasured public lands,” oh, why are we surprised? — Geisinger said. “It’s an-
ing water and wildlife).”
For decades, environ-
mental groups brought and
won lawsuits based on the
Endangered Species Act, the
Clean Water Act, the Na-
tional Environmental Policy
Act and other environmental
laws. “Everything appears to
be on the table at this point,”
said Josh Laughlin, executive
director of environmental
group Cascadia Wildlands in
Eugene. “I would like to think
that the decades of progress
that have been made, in terms
of safeguarding the values
that these unique landscapes
in the Northwest and that the
laws provide, will be upheld
affect the industry.
TIMBER
Continued from Page A1
National Environmental Pol-
icy Act were key in the late
1980s and early 1990s to halt-
ing the intensive, widespread
logging that had prevailed
for decades on federal forests
in western Oregon, western
Washington and Northern
California.
The Northwest Forest
Plan, implemented by the
Clinton administration in
1994, has severely restricted
logging on federal lands in the
region ever since.
But undoing the North-
west Forest Plan and rolling
back environmental laws are
not necessarily easy tasks —
even with a Republican in the
White House and a GOP-con-
trolled House and Senate.
‘Cautiously optimistic’
Timber interests in Oregon
welcome Trump as president.
“We’re cautiously optimis-
tic it’s going to present some
opportunities for us to put
people back to work in rural
communities and certainly to
improve the health of our for-
est,” said Jim Geisinger, ex-
ecutive vice president of the
Associated Oregon Loggers.
“For the last two decades,
we’ve just seen too many cat-
astrophic wildfires, too many
mills close, too many rural
communities fall apart so-
cially and economically, and
I think this will be an oppor-
tunity to restore some of that.”
The Salem-based trade
association represents 1,000
logging companies in Oregon.
For 40 years, Geisinger
has been a voice for log-
ging in the state, traveling to
Washington, D.C., to speak
about how federal policies
AWARD
Continued from Page A1
She said people with fam-
ily or neighbors who are el-
derly or immobile should take
care to look out for them.
Part of her service includes
training local volunteers to
set up disaster shelters and
responding to house fires, in-
Keith Chu, a spokesman for
the Oregon Democrat, wrote
in an email.
Resistance in Congress
could be enough to stop chang-
es to environmental laws, Tra-
vis Joseph, president of the
American Forest Resource
Council, wrote in an email.
The Portland-based as-
sociation advocates for sus-
tained-yield timber harvests in
public forests.
“Even under Republican
control, it’s difficult to imag-
ine Congress will make ma-
jor revisions or changes to
(the) ESA or the Clean Water
Act,” he wrote. “Those chang-
“
cluding the September 2015
Mt. Vernon Motel fire, which
displaced seven people who
resided there.
“That was probably the
biggest residential fire we’ve
had,” she said.
“There have been very few
instances where I didn’t just
have a good feeling about the
service that was being done,”
she added. “You walk away
Christmas in Mt. Vernon
Bazaar
Nov. 25 - 26 • 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Crafters are having a special “Christmas in Mt.
Vernon.” Opening our homes and businesses to
give you the opportunity to continue to shop for
those special gifts.
Look for red & green balloons outside
our shops and businesses.
Maudean’s - 1/2 mile N on Hwy. 395 on left
Patricia’s Art Studio - 311 Ingle St.
Shiny Thimble - Corner of 26 & 395
Julie Powell’s Home - 1/4
mile N of Mt. Vernon on right
Silver Spur - Hwy 26 & Ingle
Suds Pub - Behind Shiny
Thimble
04840
the
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
corner’s
HOT
feeling you’re a better person
for doing it.”
Bowling said the blood
drives have brought in some
“top notch” people.
“I’ve enjoyed the associa-
tion with the people who’ve
come in,” she said. “I’ve
come to enjoy the many
things the Red Cross does to
try to prepare us which has
been part of my life, all my
life. Looking back, I can see
where Red Cross is trying to
prepare people — that’s what
got me started, and I have to-
tally enjoyed it.”
The president wrote in
his award letter to Bowling,
Contributed photo
“Thank you for helping to
address the most pressing
needs in your community
and our country. ... we need
a new era of responsibili-
ty — a recognition on the
part of every American that
we have duties to ourselves,
our Nation, and the world.
These are duties that we do
not grudgingly accept, but
rather seize gladly, firm in
the knowledge that there is
nothing so satisfying to the
spirit than giving our all to a
difficult task. Your volunteer
service demonstrates the kind
of commitment to your com-
munity that moves America a
step closer to its great prom-
ise.”
Michael B. DesJardin
Dentistry, PC
Preventive, Restorative & Endodontics
New Patients
Welcome!
He will bathe in an ADVERTISED TUB, shave with an ADVERTISED RAZOR,
have a breakfast of ADVERTISED JUICE, cereal and toast, toasted in an
ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his
ADVERTISED WATCH. He’ll ride to work in his ADVERTISED CAR, sit at an
ADVERTISED DESK and write with an ADVERTISED PEN. Yet this person
hesitates to advertise, saying that advertising doesn’t pay. Finally, when his
non-advertised business is going under, HE’LL ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE.
Then it’s too late.
AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK?
DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE
Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it!
208 NW Canton
John Day
541-575-2725
mbddental@live.com
michaelbdesjardindmd.com
Blue Mountain Eagle
MyEagleNews.com
Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710
EEK
OF THE W
There’s No Place Like Home
For The Holidays
Timber Truckers
L ght Parade
TREJAN SPETH
December 10th at 6:00 pm
School: Grant Union
Grade: 12
Parents: Steve and Shae Speth
Sport: Cross Country
Downtown John Day
What I like best about my sport: “I enjoy
running with my team. I like running through
different areas around Oregon and getting to
see all the beautiful wildlife in our state.”
Coach’s Comment: “Trejan has been a great
team leader this year. He stepped up and
took charge to get the athletes to
the starting line up. He finished the
season strong and had a personal
best at the district meet.”
-Coach Sonna Smith
e
e Them
Parad own
Homet
as
Christm
331 W. Main, John Day
541-575-2710
1-800-575-2710
Fax 541-575-2610
www.RMLS.com
eastoregonrealestate.com
cbjohnday@centurytel.net
We’d like to deliver our sincere best wishes to your door
this holiday. May the season bring much happiness,
health and good fortune to you and your loved ones.
If you’re looking for a home for the holidays and
beyond, please keep us in mind. We’ve been
helping area residents find the perfect place to
call home for over 10 years.
PROUD SPONSOR OF GRANT COUNTY ATHLETES
100 E. Main • Stoplight in John Day
541-792-0425
Facts ‘incomplete’
Trump’s choices for pub-
lic-lands posts will lead that
revision.
“It’s too early to tell what
a Trump administration will
look like, who will serve in key
positions and what the prior-
ities will be,” wrote Joseph of
the American Forest Resource
Council. “But the Northwest
Forest Plan is already being
revised by the Forest Service,
and the Trump administra-
tion will play a significant role
in the development of a new
plan.”
The numbers Trump used
about timber when he visited
Oregon — three-fourths of the
mills closed since the 1980s
and half of the timber jobs cut
since 1990 — are reasonably
correct, “but they are incom-
plete,” said Ernie Neimi of
Natural Resource Economics
in Eugene.
For decades, Neimi has fol-
lowed the timber economy in
Oregon. He said the state used
to have many more smaller
mills. As the industry moved to
larger mills and more automa-
tion, the number of mills and
jobs dropped. Even if Trump,
his Cabinet and lawmakers
change federal forest regula-
tions, Geisinger said he doesn’t
expect to see new mills opening
around Oregon.
Instead, he said timber com-
panies would likely first add
shifts and then upgrade their
existing mills if the federal
government allows more har-
vest on public lands. It typical-
ly costs millions of dollars to
build and equip a new mill.
“People are not going to
make that investment with a
veiled promise that the timber
is going to be there,” he said.
This is the President’s
Volunteer Service
Award that Joan
Bowling received for
her volunteer work for
Grant County through
the American Red
Cross.
A MAN
WAKES
UP in the
morning
after sleeping on...
an advertised bed, in advertised
pajamas.
SH T
tiquated,” he said of the
plan.
04849
Amy Denman
Principal Broker
503-577-7029
Mike Moore
541-620-1645
Al Denman
503-709-0425
Fred Winegar
541-820-3589
Preregistration is encouraged by calling
Leslie Talor at 541-620-4032 or
Register day of
541-575-1862
3-5:30pm@ Grant
$10 entry fee
Western
Winner’s will be announced
at the Elk’s Lodge following the parade.