Listening sessions for controversial Oregon timber plan to be held in Eugene, Astoria

Oregon is entering the home stretch of debate over a controversial plan that would scale back logging on state forests, but before making a final recommendation, state forester Cal Mukumoto wants to hear from the public.

Mukumoto is hosting three listening sessions to hear final thoughts on the Western Oregon Forest Management Plan and Habitat Conservation Plan, which will guide timber harvest on 640,000 acres of state forest for the next 70 years.

In-person sessions will take place in Eugene Thursday night, online on Jan. 29 and in Astoria on Jan. 31.

Oregon's Habitat Conservation Plan a contentious issue

The HCP in particular has turned into a political hot potato that was scheduled to be adopted last autumn but has dragged into the new year due largely over disagreements on how much timber to harvest and how much forest to protect.

The HCP was crafted to bring the state in line with the federal Endangered Species Act — and avoid costly lawsuits — but it would scale back logging and revenue generated on state-owned forests. Counties that rely on timber revenue to fund county services, like Clatsop and Tillamook, have worried the plan will bring significant hardship while putting some timber operators out of work.

As constructed, the HCP would bring harvest projections to between 173 million and 187 million board feet of timber annually. That’s down from 252 million board feet over the past decade and early projections of 225 million board feet.

If the habitat plan is adopted, annual timber revenues to eight counties could decline by as much as $18 million compared to the past decade’s averages, according to the forestry department’s latest figures, the Capitol Chronicle reported.

What environmental, timber groups are saying about the HCP

Environmental groups have called the declines “a necessary adjustment" after overharvesting the forests for years, and that the HCP will protect mature forest and endangered animals that call it home.

Thirteen environmental groups said in a letter earlier this month that the HCP will “begin to restore some balance to state forest management by protecting an adequate amount of habitat for listed species while allowing more sustainable levels of timber harvest after decades of over-harvesting.”

Timber groups said in their view, the plan won't deliver enough logs to mills and “dramatically under-delivers on economics and wildly over-delivers on habitat, unequivocally confirming the concerns rural Oregonians have been voicing about this plan — repeatedly — for years,” said Sara Duncan, spokeswoman for the Oregon Forest & Industries Council.

“We hope state forester Mukumoto will truly hear the concerns of the rural Oregonians who will be affected by this plan and recommend the Board not move forward with this plan,” she said.

Earlier this month, Hampton Lumber cited the HCP’s reduced harvest level as the reason it was closing its mill in Banks.

In person sessions

Eugene: 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Lane Events Center, W. 13th Avenue, meeting room #4

Astoria: 5:30 p.m. Jan. 31 at The Loft at the Red Building, 20 Basin St.

For both in-person sessions, doors open for signup at 5 p.m., with meetings starting at 5:30 p.m. Comments will be taken in the order the speakers’ names appear on the signup sheet.

Virtual session

The virtual meeting will start 1 p.m. on Jan. 29. Advance registration is required and speakers will be called upon in the order they register.

A Zoom link and other information on giving comment will be provided by email following registration. More information on the listening sessions is available on ODF’s website.

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 15 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon Habitat Conservation Plan listening sessions planned