The “Private Forest Accord” bill passed this winter by Oregon lawmakers is a shape changer for the state’s forests. When enacted, 10 million acres of private land will have bigger buffers near streams and rivers, less logging on steep slopes, better roads that won’t add sediment to streams, and more.
Chris Edwards is the President of the Oregon Forest Industries Council, which represents forest products companies and private landowners. He explained at today’s (Thursday’s) Springfield City Club how timber interests and environmental groups decided to come together rather than continue to spend a lot of money fighting each other in court:
“It’s a powerful coalition of advocacy," Edwards said, "when you have groups that are practically mortal enemies, arm in arm in a legislator’s office saying, ‘look, we both feel good about this.’”
Senate Bill 1501 passed with a bipartisan vote in early March. It’s set to be implemented by the Oregon Board of Forestry in October.