Take Action on the Board of Forestry Now!
The climate crisis is accelerating, causing death and destruction. Oregon’s forests could store more carbon per acre than any forest in the world, but current practices are turning our forests into deadly carbon emitters instead!
The Oregon Board of Forestry (BOF) has regulatory power over almost half of all forests in Oregon. But the BOF has allowed forestry practices that are devastating to the climate, communities and increase risk of wildfire.
Currently, the BOF has vacancies--a rare chance to force them to change! Gov. Brown has nominated three strong nominees: Ben Deumling, an ecological forester, Chandra Ferrari, a fish, and wildlife advocacy lawyer, and Karla Chambers, who leads Stahlbush Farms. If this slate were approved, there would be a majority of climate-focused people on the Board.
To use our forests to fight the climate crisis, lower risk of fire, and protect communities, tell your senator NOW to confirm Ben Deumling, Chandra Ferrari, and Karla Chambers to the Board of Forestry!
The record-breaking temperatures, winter storms, and wildfires in the last year are all a result of the greenhouse gas emissions, mainly CO2, causing the climate crisis. Oregon’s forests have the potential to store more carbon dioxide per acre than any other forest in the world--including the Amazon--but the current widespread industrial logging advanced by the Board of Forestry, a powerful governmental agency in Oregon, is turning our old-growth trees into deadly carbon emitters and exacerbating the climate crisis. Because of this, the logging industry is Oregon’s single largest carbon emitter, causing 35% of emissions. Ending harmful timber practices is an essential part of a Green New Deal and an equitable and sustainable world.
The Forestry Campaign is currently working to get Senate approval for the newest slate of nominees for the Oregon Board of Forestry (BOF). The BOF is a seven-member board that has regulatory power over all state and private forest lands in Oregon--about half of all forests in Oregon. However, the Board has long been controlled by the timber industry and has prioritized corporate profits over our communities and climate. Currently, the Board has four vacancies--a rare chance to change the DNA of this powerful board, and force them to change the harmful practices they endorse!
The mechanized wall-street controlled forestry practices supported by the Board of Forestry in Oregon’s private forestlands are destructive, toxic, and unsustainable. Currently, timber companies clear-cut vast swathes of land on extremely short rotations, replant monoculture timber plantations, spray poisonous herbicides and fungicides, and allow logging extremely close to rivers and streams. These BOF-supported practices are devastating to the climate, communities and increase the risk of wildlife. These practices:
Cause logging to be the single largest cause of emission in Oregon. Industrial timber plantations only sequester around one-third as much carbon dioxide as native old-growth forests, and the very short cut cycle of 40 years kills trees frequently, releasing their stored carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Increases risk and severity of wildfires. Industrial timber plantations lead to drier and thinner forests, where all the trees are the same type and size, causing wildfires to spread easily from trees. The frequent logging leaves behind large piles of dead wood and prevents forests from becoming fire-resistant--seventy-five percent of the devastating Holiday Farm Fire occurred on frequently logged forests.
Causes pollution of essential watersheds. The lack of regulation by the BOF causes runoff of toxic pesticides and fungicides into rivers, poisoning fish, animals, and the communities that depend on those watersheds. These small communities have gone millions of dollars into debt trying to restore their polluted watersheds.
Under the current rules, Oregon’s forests transform from havens of biodiversity that protect the climate and communities into polluting monocultures. However, by confirming the proposed nominees to the Board of Forestry we can change that.
New nominees to the Board of Forestry are selected by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. Before the Senate can vote, however, nominees must pass through the Rules Committee. The five-member Rules Committee has the power to reject candidates before most Senators even get a say, and as a result more than half of the seats on the Board of Forestry are empty -- even though the Governor has been trying to get nominees confirmed for a year!
Governor Kate Brown has nominated Ben Deumling, Chandra Ferrari, and Karla Chambers to fill three of the vacancies on the Board of Forestry. Ben Deumling, the owner of Zena Forest Products, is a forester and small business owner who is leading the way in sustainable forestry practices. Chandra Ferrari is a senior policy advisor and staff attorney at Trout Unlimited and an advocate for fish and wildlife. Karla Chambers is a member of the council for wildfire response and is on the Board of Directors at Hampton Lumber. Due to her financial interest in the timber industry, Karla Chambers is not an ideal nominee, but because of how difficult it has been to put forward new nominees, and the strength of Ben Deumling and Chandra Ferrari, it is essential that the senate approves this slate. With this slate approved, there would be a majority of climate-focused people on the board, which would ensure that fighting climate change would be a priority during the process of deciding the future of our forests.
To ensure that we use our forests to fight climate change, lower the risk of fire, and protect communities, tell your senator NOW to confirm Ben Deumling, Chandra Ferrari, and Karla Chambers to the Board of Forestry!