To: Governor Kate Brown

No more Oregon clearcuts

A drive through Oregon's Coast Range is enough to provide anyone with a vivid illustration of the toll industrial-scale logging takes on the landscape, and the environment. In most cases, these cuts are occurring on private or state land, and are therefore regulated by a different, less strict set of rules (the notoriously lax Oregon Forest Practices Act) than the logging which occurs on federal lands managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.

Why is this important?

Unfortunately, recent proposals offered in Congress and promoted by the timber industry would increase logging on federal public lands to supply funding to counties. A portion of these lands could be transferred to a “timber trust” to be managed under private logging rules and exempt from federal environmental laws. This means increased clearcutting on lands currently managed for restoration and wildlife habitat.

After decades of abuse, Oregon's forests need less clearcutting, herbicide spraying, and logging road runoff - not more. It is time for Oregon to move on from the era of clearcuts across the landscape. Our public lands should be managed as a legacy for future generations, not a sacrifice zone for logging interests impossibly stuck in the past. Visit clearcutoregon.com for more information.