Join Oregon Wild and Help Save our Forests
I am proud to live in the beautiful State of Oregon. My family and I enjoy our natural surroundings and lovely forests. To walk amongst the great trees brings my heart so much joy! It would be a terrible tragedy to destroy the delicate ecosystem in which we Oregonians have fought so hard to protect. Please read the letter below from Oregon Wild to see the danger our Oregon forests face today…
Dear Teri,
Last fall, we told you about Oregon’s 10 Most Endangered Places. Coming in at #8 on the list were the Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests, threatened by a proposal to ramp up clear-cut logging.
Now, the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) is set to approve this logging increase, and they need to hear from you! Tell them our state forests are vital for the salmon, wildlife, clean water, and recreational opportunities they provide!
Oregon prides itself on protecting its natural heritage, but what is being done to our state forests should be an embarrassment to every Oregonian. Instead of a legacy of abundant wildlife and clean water, we are leaving our children a heritage of clear cuts, mud slides, and wrecked rivers.
For decades, all forests in Oregon (including the Tillamook, Clatsop, Elliot, and Santiam state forests) were managed primarily for industrial timber production. As a result, most of our old-growth is gone and the species that rely on complex native forests are still vanishing.
Finally, in the 1990s, forest managers began using science to determine how their logging activities would impact things like salmon populations and water quality. Not surprisingly, clear-cutting doesn’t do wildlife and favors and doesn’t keep streams more pristine. Recognizing this, ODF refocused some of their management plans towards restoring more old-growth forest habitat, calling for an even 50/50 split between timber emphasis and forest protection.
Now, they plan to do away with any sense of balance and ramp up clear-cutting on up to 70 percent of State Forest land.
We need to tell them that protecting only 30 percent of our state forests isn’t enough. Write a letter before the January 29th comment deadline here.
With approximately 50% of Oregon’s forests in private hands (and subject to a constant rotation of industrial logging), it is imperative that we protect the small portion of forest land that we all own as Oregonians.
Thanks for standing up for the Tillamook and other state forests.
For wild forests,
Sean Stevens
Communications Associate
Oregon Wild
Salmon survival is at stake in the ODF decision to ramp up clear-cutting. (photo courtesy Wild Salmon Center)
Forests and Trees
While “General Sherman” may be the world’s biggest tree, the world’s tallest tree is another giant sequoia named “Harry Cole.” Harry measures over 112 meters from base to crown – the height of a 37-story building!
29.6 per cent of the world’s land area is covered by forest. About 10 per cent of that is in Canada. Rain forests generate about 40 per cent of the world’s oxygen. A 30 meter tree with 200,000 leaves can suck up 43,000 litres of water and breathe it into the air in just one growing season. Medicine in aspirins originally came from the bark of a willow tree. One acre of trees can absorb over 2.5 tons of carbon dioxide in a year. Every ton of recycled paper saves approximately 17 trees and saves 4,100 kilowatt hours of electricity – enough energy to heat the average home for six months.
“We cannot win this battle to save the species and environments without forging an emotional bond between ourselves and nature as well — for we will not fight to save what we do not love.”
Can you even imagine how many products are used each day, in which are created from harvesting trees? The paper we use to write on, the books we read, as well as the paper products being used in our household create an unbelievable demand upon our forests. Not to mention the dozens of other products derived from trees, from furniture to houses. There is a serious imbalance being created through the rampant destruction of our forests, which is not only affecting wildlife, yet is creating a serious danger to human life as well. Unless one wishes to wear an oxygen mask to live and breathe in safety, we need to take action and realize how important it is to be proactive in replanting our forests, and preserving the existing forests before some very necessary natural resources are totally lost forever. And the loss of the medicines derived from the Plant Nation is a very sad tragedy to contemplate.
