The decimation of the timber industry in Oregon seems to negatively affect many in Oregon, sadly, and this includes endangered animal species such as the Northern Spotted Owl, which makes it's habitat in Oregon, California, and Washington.

According to a video produced by the Congressional Western Caucus,who claim to be a voice for rural America, the industry has seen lost revenue in the figure of several millions, and killed countless jobs. And that is only part of the problem that comes from the lack of proper forest timber management.

Chairman Dan Newhouse (WA-04) and Rep. Cliff Bentz (OR-02) hosted the virtual forum to highlight the mismanagement of the Northern Spotted Owl in the Pacific Northwest.

The video forum featured three panelists who spoke on the impacts of the protections and restrictions imposed by the Endangered Species Act:

• Commissioner Tim Freeman, President for the Association of O&C Counties
• Commissioner Todd Nash, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners in Wallowa County and President-Elect for the Oregon Cattlemen's Association
• Mr. Heath Heikkila, Director of the American Forest Resource Council

It turns out that the same forces that are driving the industry to neglect the harvesting of timber resources may be resulting in some unintended consequences, such as threats to a beloved environmental causes such as endangered species habitat preservation. Proper stewardship of public land is something that elected leaders of Oregon seem to be failing at for some time, if one considers the devastation and loss caused by wildfires in recent years. Elected leaders seem to be failing to protect the mentioned habitat by letting it burn instead of harvesting the precious resource. The Democrat party who alleges to "care about the environment" seems to be dropping the ball in actually doing so.

The video points out that the Endangered Species Act of 1973 may be in need of modernization, as the recovery rate of identified species is only 3 percent. The Trump administration did make efforts to do so, but efforts by the Biden/Harris administration are working to stall those efforts.

The Endangered Species Act seems to have been weaponized over the years by "environmental justice" warriors, yet justice through losing life and property to wildfires may not be what activists actually want. Political balance in Oregon offers some hope of policy change in this area.

"The weaponized concept could not be clearer or more accurate as to what's happened", said Douglas County Commissioner Tim Freeman. "The constant protest and litigation and stopping of any sort of reasonable or practical forest management has really become the normal"


--Bruce Armstrong

Post Date: 2021-08-03 16:15:01

Last Update: 2021-08-03 18:11:01