The mill closures in Philomath, Banks and Springfield resulted in a loss of 183 jobs, as reported by the . The mill owners pointed to market factors like high log costs, but they also called out state policies around species protections, including the .
The habitat conservation plan was on Friday鈥檚 agenda for the Forest Trust Land Advisory Committee, which is made up of seven county commissioners from different parts of the state who advise the Board of Forestry and state forester.
鈥淚n Columbia County, practically all of our mills have closed,鈥� said Columbia County Commissioner Margaret Magruder. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got a couple left, but it is just devastating.鈥�
State Forester Cal Mukumoto told the committee that he had trouble connecting the mill closures to the state habitat conservation plan, since the plan has not yet been finalized.
鈥淚 do believe it鈥檚 probably linked to high log prices,鈥� Mukumoto said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 always a problem from production facilities when those things collapse.鈥�
Linn County Commissioner Will Tucker took issue with Mukumoto鈥檚 statement.
鈥淵our comment came across as not compassionate for those 183 people who won鈥檛 have their careers anymore, whose employment plans and insurance policies, their medical care, all of that stuff is going to stop, and that is a big deal,鈥� Tucker said.
Multiple commissioners said they were unhappy with the current draft of the habitat conservation plan and called for a 鈥渕iddle ground,鈥� without specifying what that could look like.
Mukumoto is scheduled to give his recommendation on the draft plan at the .
The Western Oregon State Forests plan promises to protect certain vulnerable species 鈥� like the Northern spotted owl, salmon and the marbled murrelet 鈥� by limiting timber harvesting activities in some forest lands managed by the state. It also allows species to be harmed in other areas where timber harvesting does occur.
Many conservation groups see it as a compromise. State officials see it as a way to avoid litigation.
Each time the forestry department plans to harvest and sell timber on state land, it undergoes a time-consuming and expensive process called 鈥渢ake avoidance,鈥� which involves surveying the area for endangered or threatened species.
Oregon Department of Forestry officials say this process has historically opened the agency up to legal challenges that allege the department harmed protected species despite its survey efforts. By admitting that some species will be harmed during the logging process through a habitat conservation plan, there are fewer avenues for lawsuits.
The habitat conservation plan also seeks to provide some certainty about how much timber the state could harvest, explained state forest division chief Michael Wilson. He said as more animal and plant species become listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, more regions could become off-limits to logging. So without a conservation plan, the state can鈥檛 guarantee that timber harvesting won鈥檛 decline.
鈥淲hat the [habitat conservation plan] really does would bring stability to these things,鈥� Wilson said.
One thing is also certain with the plan: Timber harvests on state lands will decrease.
鈥淲e know that鈥檚 going to happen with this current HCP, and we have a good idea of what that鈥檚 going to be,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淲ithout an HCP, it is unknown.鈥�
During Friday鈥檚 meeting, Clatsop County Commissioner Courtney Bangs questioned whether the forestry department鈥檚 spending on take avoidance was really a major burden to its budget, which has increased every year.
鈥淚t actually shows that you might have a spending problem,鈥� Bangs said.
Wilson said that, despite Bangs鈥� assessment, the department is 鈥渘ot financially solvent.鈥�
鈥淭he only way we managed to build our budget was through austerity measures for a number of years,鈥� Wilson said, adding that the department has cut several things while other costs have risen rapidly, including wildfire management. 鈥淓verything has gone up. So, yes, we are currently deficit spending.鈥�
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