ࡱ> KMJ "bjbjcc .vvDK :````@````o%L`|$0````` E:   Testimony To the Ways and Means Subcommittee on the Environment and Natural Resources May 20, 2009 By Bob Van Dyk, Wild Salmon Center  HYPERLINK "mailto:bvandyk@verizon.net" bvandyk@verizon.net 503-504-8471 Thank you for the opportunity to address you today in opposition to House Bill 3072, which makes timber production the primary purpose of state forests. In my view, and the view of many of this states conservation and fishing organizations, this bill would damage important values that most Oregonians cherish, and it would also be a significant set back to attempts to find balance in Oregon forest policy, a balance that we desperately need. The primary lands affected by this bill are the Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests of Oregons northern Coast Range. Approximately one-half million acres in size, these lands lie within an hours drive of over a million Oregonians. Three major state highways cross these state forests, connecting coastal towns such as Tillamook, Cannon Beach, Seaside, and Astoria with the burgeoning Portland metropolitan region. Crucially, these lands are the only significant block of publically owned lands in the northern Coast Range. Unlike the Cascade Mountains to the east of the metro area, where the Mt. Hood National Forest dominates the landscape, there are very few federal lands in the area: the forests between the coast and Portland are almost entirely in state or private ownership. The management of these lands is vital to the provision of a wide variety of values that Oregonians hold dear. Among the values provided by these forests are water supplies for over 400,000 people, high levels of timber and other forest products, a nursery for globally important runs of wild salmon, bountiful recreational and commercial fisheries that bring millions of dollars into coastal communities, rich hunting grounds for elk and deer, a refuge for dwindling populations of endangered species, and a recreational destination for hikers, campers, off-road vehicle enthusiasts, mountain bikers, and wildlife viewers. Moreover, these lands are one of the best places on Earth to sequester carbon. Managing these lands primarily for timber production, as directed by this bill, will clearly undermine the attempt to attain a balanced provision of these values and will degrade key environmental assets. The environmental costs of a timber-first approach are clearly demonstrated in a recent document produced by the staff at the Department of Forestry and the Department of Fish and Wildlife. In response to the demand for more timber from the state forests, the Board of Forestry directed the Department to model and assess the effects of a major timber harvest increase. This assessment will be before the Board at their June 3 meeting. The assessment notes quite clearly that a major increase in timber harvest will do the following:  Result in some salmon anchor habitats with very high levels of cumulative clearcut harvesting (e.g. 59% to 71%) in the first 40 years (p. 26). Result in a low probability of maintaining and enhancing hydrologic function (p. 27). Increase forest fragmentation, thereby increasing risk to several species of concern (p.21). Decrease the amount of complex stream habitat identified as desirable in the ODFW Coho Assessment as compared with the current plan (p. 34). Given the great concern in the legislature regarding climate change, it is important to note that moving toward a short-rotation industrial model will also significantly decrease the rate of carbon sequestration on these lands. According to Prof. Mark Harmon from OSU Forestry, One can gain a 50% increase in C stores by extending rotation from 40 to 100 years. Making timber production the primary purpose of the lands would shorten, not extend, rotation age. And while state forest policy should not be driven by fluctuations in the housing and timber markets, making this move at a time when timber prices are at historical lows seems especially unwise. Recent news of layoffs in the state forestry program despite efforts to cut more illustrate the problems associated with attempting to log more when the market is saturated fewer timber sales sold, and those that do sell go for a much lower price than anticipated by the Forestry Department. In closing, I would like to add that in my view the worst aspect of this bill is that it severely undermines attempts to build a balanced center in Oregon forest policy. Federal lands and private lands represent two extremes in the scale of management options. Oregonians are crying out for a third way that successfully moves beyond the owl wars of the past two decades to develop a model of forests that produce a wide range of goods for today and for the future. Though only 3% of the forested land base, the state forests of Oregon, with their broad mandate for greatest permanent value, are the right place to build that policy center. Instead of mandating a single value over all others, the state should be striving to attain a difficult but sustainable balance among the competing values, for both the long and short term. I urge you to please oppose HB 3072. Thank you for the opportunity to address you today. I would be pleased to answer any questions you have. Attachments: Map of the land ownership in Oregons North Coast Map of the Salmon Anchor Habitat on the Tillamook and Clatsop State Forest Map of the Wilson River Watershed under a major timber harvest increase Fishing, Hunting, Wildlife Viewing, and Shellfishing in Oregon: 2008 State and County Expenditure Estimates, Feb 2009, prepared by Dean Runyon and Associates for ODFW and Travel Oregon Chart, Average Annual Stumpage Values in 2008 Dollars, prepared by ODF The Influence of Modeled Management Scenarios on Habitat for Species of Concern, ODF, cover sheet only Memorandum, Department of Justice, Existence and nature of fiduciary relationship between Forestry and the counties with respect to conveyed forest lands, October 16, 2006. First page only. Testimony of Washington County Commissioner Dick Schouten in opposition to HB 3072. April 21, 2009 hearing of the House Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Rural Communities County Permanent Tax Rates, from Governors Task Force on Federal Forest Payments, December 19, 2007, page 5 Cassandra Profits, Daily Astorian, Forestry Department to cut jobs, May 19, 2009.  Oregon Department of Forestry, The Influence of Modeled Management Scenarios on Habitat for Species of Concern. May 2009. Produced for the June 3 meeting of the Oregon Board of Forestry.  Mark Harmon, Forest Carbon Basics: The Biological Part. September 2008. Presentation at H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest. Page 16.  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