County must speak up for state forests

County commissioners should protest efforts to weaken environmental protections

By Bob Van Dyk

, Nov 5, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

ADVERTISEMENTS

<< Prev. Page 1 | 2

This time of year, it's easy to find mushroom pickers and hunters roaming the state forests, too. Or families fishing or watching the coho salmon returning to spawn. Last week, a group of elementary students from Forest Grove spent a morning monitoring fish habitat on private timberland used for sustainable logging.

The headwaters of the Tualatin and Trask Rivers are in state forests, and they supply much of the county's drinking water. Barney Reservoir, high in the Coast Range, is surrounded by state forests, and state forests cover much of the Scoggins Canyon, upstream of Hagg Lake.

Today these state lands - which amount to a full 10 percent of the total area of Washington County - are managed to deliver a mix of environmental protection, recreational opportunities and timber production.

Finding a balance

The key environmental mandate in the current plan for the state forest is for half of the landscape to grow into older and larger trees, which provide critical habitat for a wide range of native species. Because half of the Tillamook State Forest is designated to grow older forests, there is a balanced approach that includes thinning of forest stands and limited clear-cutting.

But that balance is in jeopardy. The latest proposal from the Department of Forestry designates only 20 percent, not 50 percent, of the forest to grow older trees.

Washington County's commissioners need to raise their voices about the future of these forests and keep the balance between logging and other forest assets in place. We need more trails and campgrounds on the state forests, not more clear-cuts. We need watersheds designated for long-term protection for water quality and wildlife habitat, not more roads and tree farms.

No one envisions the closure of the state forests to timber harvesting. Indeed, our state forests should be a showcase for sustainably produced lumber. But the state forests should also provide a place to quickly escape our high-tech world, to go camping and hiking with our families, and to provide habitat for wild salmon and the full range of native forest species.

Our Washington County commissioners would serve us well by speaking up against increased clear-cutting on our state forests, and advocate for maintaining environmental balance on the state-owned watersheds and forests of Washington County. They should make their voices heard this week at the State Board of Forestry meeting.

Bob Van Dyk lives in Forest Grove, Oregon. He works part-time as a consultant on forest policy for the Wild Salmon Center (www.wildsalmoncenter.org), based in Portland, Oregon.

<< Prev. Page 1 | 2