WE MUST RECONSTRUCT THE TIMBER INDUSTRY

THE TIMBER INDUSTRY NEEDS TO BE RESTRUCTURED

BY PORTER WHEELER

The timber industry has been exploiting Oregon for decades. Restructuring it will allow for environmental protections and local communities to live and grow harmoniously.

(Rachelle Hacmac/Ethos)

Along Mckenzie Highway, activists have hoisted themselves to the canopies of old-growth trees in protest of the Flat Country Project: a Forest Service proposal that aims to clearcut 74,000 acres of Willamette National Forest to provide a continuous supply of timber products.

While originally proposed in 2018, harvest has increased in response to the wildfires prompting protesters from Cascadia Forest Defenders: a grassroots organization based in the Pacific Northwest committed to activism against the Timber Industry in favor of environmental justice.

The release of the Intergovernmental Panel on 2021’s Climate Change report showed that Eugene’s heat and smoky sky are not isolated seasonal occurrences; they are the accelerating manifestations of climate change in Oregon.

Our forests act as immense carbon sinks — they pull carbon from the air and use it to grow. Without them, that carbon floats to the atmosphere, contributing to global climate change. Removing Oregon forests is to remove “our last and best defense against climate change," an unnamed defender said. And, while a complete halt to timber is unfeasible in an industrial world, a new balance must be struck between environmental and industry demands. As such, I do not call for the end of Oregon Timber, rather the nationalization of the industry to bring the sector’s power and wealth back to the communities they exploit.

The Oregon Timber industry is ubiquitous and controversial; it is the sector that helped found our state, finance our governments and name our soccer team. However, the narrative pushed by the industry since 1990 is one of environmental hostility.

According to timber agents, the ecologically conscious are to blame for declining revenue and lost Oregonian jobs. Yet, today’s logging industry enjoys record profits all while its investment companies own 40% of private forests.

Meanwhile, the state and its citizens foot the bill as lumber barons maximize profits by increasing exploitation of local communities. The severance taxes corporations used to pay logged communities are gone; instead, your tax dollars are left to subsidize their robbery.

Of the $67 billion extracted in 30 years, communities should have received $3 billion in compensation, yet counties have received barely a third of that. Towns, like Fall City, fall victim as clear-cut kings bankrupt them and move on. Though Oregon developed in cooperation with Timber, the industry is now hostile to state residents. Fall City locals pay $412 an acre in taxes; logging corporations pay $4.60.

These corporations cannot be their own arbiters, for a CEO will never understand the financial and environmental plight of local communities when their salary depends on their ignorance. Even Oregon’s liberal lawmakers regulate around the logging giants, focusing on reactive legislation to fight fires rather than preventative measures. The most radical of the mainstream policies, the Coast Range Association’s Green New Deal, calls merely for a tax-funded buyout of the sector.

While transitioning the land to public ownership is necessary, why should our tax dollars buy back the wealth and land these corporations extract? Why should we support those who exploit our communities? If it is truly Oregon Timber, why do we have to pay for it?

Ineffectual changes made in moderation are not enough. If the fires could be solved with a reinstatement of the severance tax, California and Washington would be unburnt. It is only reasonable environmentally and economically – and for the benefit of all Oregonians – this industry is nationalized and brought under public ownership. Where local populations can democratically distribute resources and profits, as without the need to satisfy industry profits, the well-being of Oregon towns and environmental protection can be harmonious.

Thus, timber and its wealth are harvested solely for the sustainment of the state, rather than extracted under the pursuit of infinite profit in a finite forest.

Such actions are not un-American or contrary to our system of laissez-faire capitalism; Roosevelt called for publicly owned utilities in 1932, steel mills were brought under state control throughout the 20th century and the bank bailout of 2008 was nationalization in everything but name.

In a time of emergency, the federal government holds the power to bring industries under public ownership with the ability to allocate profits more evenly. This restructuring will once again allow Oregon cities, schools and roads to be funded by timber – rather than your tax dollars – to create a mutually beneficial state where our environment is protected and communities are paid the full value of their labor.

UO CAN BE A GUIDE WHEN CONFRONTING CLIMATE CHANGE

There needs to be an increased awareness surrounding our local environment in order for our future actions to lead to certifiable outcomes.

BY BEATRICE BYRD

(Emerald Archives)

The southernmost corners of the Willamette Valley burst with stunning views and thriving agriculture. Yet, during the wildfire season, Eugene’s sky fills with an ominous and all-too-familiar West Coast staple: thick, yellow haze. With each passing day, the world changes, plummeting further into the depths of climate change. The annual smoke and air quality warnings are prominent reminders of what Oregonains have to lose as climate change continues to progress — but what is there, besides panic, that the average Oregonian can do?

Leaders, such as Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, have proposed initiatives to counter climate change’s threats. According to the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the state of Oregon should take major steps over the next few months to help deliver the fate of our forests.

These steps include: strengthening the resilience of forests by creating a larger biodiversity in these ecosystems; reducing hazardous fuels currently released into the environment by using organic alternatives when possible; being mindful of chemical product disposal and creating a stronger defence through a youth-based conservation workforce.

While these ideas hold promise, they often lack immediate actions communities yearn for while living in danger zones. These aspirations, meant to increase the state’s ability to prevent wildfires, describe long-term planning and improvements. They fail, however, to recognize smaller communities that long to take a stand in the fight against wildfires.

According to Around the O, UO’s wildfire research has shown that fires can help forests stay healthy. The Karuk Tribe of southern Oregon and northern California use wildfires to care for the land and provide a healthy landscape. The same Around the O article expresses that the Karuk people consider fires to be medicine to the land.

While the number of fires has not necessarily increased, the danger and severity has. The best thing Eugenians can do is prepare for future crises.

I argue that the most important step in keeping our environment healthy is staying educated. As simple as it may sound, only a well-informed society can prevent hazy futures. Make sure you stay up to date with current weather and drought conditions. Knowing the climate will create a further understanding of what activities are safe to perform in the environment.

Vehicles can emit dangerous amounts of heat and sparks, so be aware of your surroundings to keep brush areas protected from facing harsh flames. These strategies and more are all outlined by the U.S. Department of the Interior and should be reviewed to ensure communities can remain safe.

Change doesn’t come from the top down. Rather, it rises from people and from grassroot movements to create and sustain lasting change.

Though Pacific Northwesterners will always have to live through annual fire seasons, we can work together for a less smoky future. Educate yourself and your community because new ideas take shape through informed minds. The most vital step into a better tomorrow begins with the simple, but profound, determination to save our burning world.

Learn to trust and take care of the air you breathed while reading this. It has never been your own, and it is a gift we all share.