July 28, 2010

With more than half of Oregon in federal ownership, the health of federal lands is extremely important to our state. Over the last century, an approach has evolved to managing these public resources that none of us would invent today. At the federal level, we can have dozens of agencies in four separate Departments responsible for what happens on a single acre.

At the state level, we can add up to a dozen additional agencies with some authority over this acre. In spite of well-intentioned people engaged in all of these agencies, the overall results are not positive. Federal forests are over-stocked, many are dying from bug damage or disease, and presenting a major risk of catastrophic fire. Public rangelands are infested with noxious weeds and sometimes overgrazed. The ranges of fish and wildlife species are shrinking, and ever-greater numbers are in danger of extinction. At the same time, the rapid development of renewable energy, critical for reducing our carbon footprint, is creating new tensions over land use and species protection.

I don’t believe we can afford the separate and competitive natural resource agency structure that has evolved in our country. I am interested in testing a model based on community collaboration, similar to the Oregon Solutions teams that my previous administration pioneered and which is also evident in the Collaborative Stewardship model currently being tested by the US Forest Service in select National Forests around the country and in Oregon. I would like to see us provide the structure and support for solving problems at the watershed or sub-basin scale, with relevant agencies and non-governmental organizations collaborating with local communities on desired outcomes.

Oregon’s industrial private forestlands tend to be managed under short rotation for commercial use. That is appropriate, as state and federal lands carry a higher burden of species protection that private forests. Small woodlot owners tend to retain older forest structure, and small woodlots have historically provided much needed respites for fish and wildlife. Nonetheless, as climate change alters local precipitation and temperature patterns, the health of private forests, both large and small, may be in jeopardy.

Private forestlands have a large role to play in carbon sequestration, watershed health, and species recovery. In a global commodity market that is increasingly difficult for forest landowners, efforts to expand markets that provide private forest landowners with more management options tied to more diverse revenue streams should be pursued. The State Department of Forestry should help monitor the health of private forestland and provide the kind of regulatory flexibility to maximize the health of these forests. In addition, the state should both monitor and discourage the conversion of forests.

Read more of my plan for the environment.

Photo courtesy of the US Forest Service.

http://www.johnkitzhaber.com/2010/07/28/management-vital-forestry-success/