What year do you guess?
Wyden Says Pacific Northwest Forests in Trouble, Thinning Will Help Increase Forest Health, Reduce Fires, Increase Jobs
Medford, Or — Thinning the Pacific Northwest’s troubled federal forests will increase forest health, decrease the chances of catastrophic forest fires and create more timber industry jobs for Oregonians, Senator Ron Wyden said today.
“Thinning creates a healthier forest, a healthier economy and a healthier environment,” Wyden said during opening remarks at a roundtable discussion on how to improve federal forests in the Pacific Northwest. “Trees going up in smoke do nothing for the quality of our communities, our air or our families. As chair of the Public Lands and Forest Subcommittee, I am committed to finding a solution that protects our treasures while meeting our needs for healthy forests and providing timber for our mills.”
The roundtable discussion included representatives of federal forestry agencies, timber, recreation organizations, conservation groups and others. The roundtable in Medford and another earlier this week in Bend were are a follow up to a XXXXXX hearing in Washington, D.C. last month.
“It’s outrageous, even by federal government standards, that over half of the Forest Service budget is spent on fighting fires while tens of millions of acres of choked, second growth forests go un-managed, waiting to burn,” said Wyden. “Government inaction, endless appeals, and poorly allocated resources have put communities, jobs and forests at risk like never before. If we are willing to work together toward bipartisan, sensible solutions, we can restore our forests, reduce the risk of catastrophic fire, protect old growth and ensure good, family-wage jobs for decades to come.”
Wyden noted that XXXXXX authorized up to $760 million in new money to complete hazardous fuel reduction work on 20 million acres of federal forest land, but that only 77,000 acres had been treated.
“At that rate, it would take the XXXXX Administration more than 250 years to complete the Act’s mandate,” Wyden said. “I, for one, am not willing to wait that long.
2025
No, sorry, there would probably have been a mention of climate change…
2001 – 2002-era. Pre-HFRA.
Well, there are some clues here. Wyden is a Democrat, so I am guessing he is criticizing a Republican administration. There is reference to an Act, so I am guessing it is the Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003. Add a little time to expect something from it, and I am going to guess this statement is from 2004. Final Answer.
Getting warmer….
There was a proposal in late 2003 called the Healthy Forests Restoration Act that authorized $760 million per year, which would have been for FY Authorized may not mean funded, i don’t believeit was funded. The Healthy Forest Initiative was proposed in FY 2005 for that amount or clise to it. These were both during George Bush Administration, so yes, Republican Administration not Democratic. Not positive which legislation Wyden was commenting on … probably expressed similar sentiment both times
Super point.. authorization is not appropriation. I missed that one. And my memory is hazy as to whether those bucks were ever appropriated. I’m sure someone here remembers.
By process of elimination: 2003?
(I would have guessed 05 writing on a blamk slate.)
You’re the closest yet..
I would guess January 8, 2008. Of course, I have to admit being able to use a search engine!
And Wyden is definitely criticizing a Republican administration other than Trump 45 or Trump 47. If he were criticizing a Trump administration, he would have have surely revealed a strong Trump Derangement Syndrome. Wyden was more polite criticizing the Bush Administration.
That’s kind of cheating but maybe not.
Wyden is 30 years late commenting on the sad state of our national forests. He has to walk a tightrope commenting so he doesn’t alienate his Sierra Club, serial litigants crowd who have bankrolled his too long career in the senate.
Well it’s interesting that in this piece he calls out “endless appeals”, and he won’t support FOFA because (according to AI- therefore several grain of salt). OTOH we really don’t know why.
“Senator Ron Wyden opposes the ”
Fix Our Forests Act” (FOFA) because he believes it’s a deregulation bill disguised as forest health legislation, weakening environmental reviews, enabling massive logging without public input, and undermining true forest resilience for a “house-of-cards” approach that prioritizes industry over proven, science-based conservation and wildfire prevention like home hardening. He sees it as harmful to forests and public participation, not a real solution.
Key Reasons for Wyden’s Opposition to FOFA:
Erodes Environmental Protections: FOFA introduces “Categorical Exclusions,” allowing logging projects up to 10,000 acres without environmental review or public comment.
Promotes Logging Over Restoration: It favors widespread logging, even on sensitive forest types, under the guise of fuel reduction, rather than proven methods.
Delays Review & Justice: The bill allows logging to occur before environmental reviews are completed, hindering community challenges.
Ignores Real Solutions: It bypasses funding for effective wildfire prevention like home hardening and science-based forest management.
Creates a “House-of-Cards”: Wyden argues it creates a fragile system where public input is minimal, leading to poor outcomes.
In essence, Wyden views FOFA as a deregulatory bill that uses the threat of wildfires to push through policies that benefit logging interests at the expense of environmental integrity and public oversight, a position consistent with his long history of fighting for greater transparency and privacy in government surveillance.”
Who would trust the judgement and intellectual integrity of Wyden, who is a Stanford undergrad, and Uof Oregon Law School grad. Sadly, he failed the Oregon bar exam three times and never took the year grace period allowed, and the extra law tutoring to try a fourth time. Quitter. St Louis screw worm: finds the weak spot, the opening, and burrows in. Better, dumped the wife and kids from first marriage to do the heroic Senator Kerry “marry up” deal and actually is a NYC resident if only that is where his wife runs her business and is raising his second family children. Foghorn Leghorn. I see he gave up on the Strom Thurmond and Arlon Spector Senate Barber shop Red Buttons hair dye attempts. Do I sound sarcastic? Hopefully. The Senate delicatessen evidently has bacon for New Mexico but not Oregon, because freshman congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez had a USFS origin prescribed and planned Pecos Wilderness fire in New Mexico escape and burn 340,000 acres of mixed use and ownerships and in June of 2022, with fire still smoldering, Rep. Fernandez offered a bill to pay NM residents’ damage claims to the tune of $3.95 Billion. Speaker Pelosi accepted the bill and sent it to committee with ‘do pass.’ It did on a voice vote, went to the senate, midterm elections in November, Schumer got a voice vote to pass it and sent it to the President, as a rider on the Dept of Defense Emergency Aid to Ukraine. Biden, the record claims, “signed” it on September 30, 2022. Last moment. Why? At midnight, all bills die and the new fiscal year begins October 1, 2022. Later, a NM US District Court judge found for a class claim for “non economic damages” from the Hermit’sPeak-CalfCanyon fires, for $`1.5 Billion to assuage the mental anguish of having a smoke cloud overhead for two months. FEMA was tasked in the bill’s language with distribution and vetting of the award, and, this is RICH, takes their “costs” off the top of the damage award money pile. And the end of fiscal 2025, the estimate of the to date FEMA charge was $377,492,581 to distribute somewhere near $2.3 Billion by FY 2025 end. It gets only better. Their accounting, according to Source New Mexico, a statewide internet paper, and reporter Patrick Lohmann, $292,361,835 was for “Miscellaneous.” LMAO. 77.44% of the FEMA spending was for Miscellaneous.
“My Dear, what is this miscellaneous spending I am reading on the company P/L sheet? I want a detailed accounting, by next week, or you can talk to my attorney at Dewey, Dickim , and Howe.” When ya got Otto Penn “takin’ care of business,” there are no limits. As some would believe from reporting.
And I have never read (likely looking on all the wrong places) how a government agency can attribute 77.44% of its spending to an account named “Miscellaneous.” Is she a new Greek appraisal vendor in town?
FEMA did hire one in Maryland. Set the pay rates for loss valuations. And, of course, the new total pot is up to $5.45 Billion, and I have read concerns that it is not enough.
Ask Senator Wyden how much Oregon fire victims from the Lionshead and Beechie Creek fires that combined and became the “Riverside fire” received. He can slobber platitudes endlessly but these fires trespassing on the private 40% of Oregon are costly in treasure and jobs. Fuels grow each year because of carbon dioxide, sunlight and water. The absolute best example is “roadside” trees. Road prism is a large area of open sky above the road, and the adjacent trees spread their limbs to occupy the space with no competition except from the other side of the road. And their roots are under the road bed and in the right of way, getting a king’s share of the water and nutrients under the road protected from evaporation by the road bed. Run a one chain strip from the center of the road to the adjacent land. Drop two chains into the adjacent land and run another strip, both sides. See how much the road prism is harming the total tree growth for the strips with road and the ones without.
Thanks everyone for participating! it was 2008.. here’s the link https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-says-pacific-northwest-forests-in-trouble-thinning-will-help-increase-forest-health-reduce-fires-increase-jobs
And so it goes..
To be fair, Wyden is no mere woke troll. He sponsored the (admittedly self-aggrandizing) “Wyden amendment” which provides … well, let’s see what the FS says:
81.35 – Use of Wyden Authority
Projects can be developed and funded to include lands both on and off the National Forest by utilizing both the authority under the Wyden Amendment and good neighbor authority. The Wyden authority authorizes the Forest Service to enter into a variety of cooperative agreements to benefit resources on National Forest System lands (work can be conducted on Forest Service and non-Forest Service lands). Agreements may be with willing Federal, Tribal, State, and local governments; private and nonprofit entities; and landowners to conduct activities on public or private lands for the benefit of National Forest System lands for the following purposes: protection, restoration, and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat and other resources; reduction of risk from natural disaster where public safety is threatened; or a combination of both. If working with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on projects, ensure BLM processes are included in the project design.
When integrating Wyden authority funds associated within good neighbor projects, funds must be in proportion with project size both on and off Forest land.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/im/directives/fsh/2409.19/wo_2409.19_80-Amend%202022-4.docx
I wasn’t thinking that.. being an elected official in Oregon is complex.. I posted that more in the sense of “the more things change…”
It’s interesting to me that Colorado and California have two D senators, one which voted for FOFA and one who did not. In fact, D Senators Padilla of CA and Hickenlooper of CO seem to be cosponsors! Clearly Oregon politics is different from other states.
In 2008 Senator Wyden floated his own “Oregon Forest Restoration and Old Growth Protection Act” focused on eastside federal forests. A version was introduced in Dec 2009. https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/senate-bill/2895/titles
I once hunted the area of the Bootleg fire on the Fremont-Winema and the successor to Weyerhaeuser’s Bly holdings land. I went to see the outcome of the fire the next summer. It made no difference. Much of the landscape was even age reproduction PPine. 30-50 feet tall. Maybe half thinned. Thrifty trees. Great crown area putting on wood in the thinned stands. Un-thinned was maybe a few feet taller and a lot of stems per acre. Both were reduced to black sticks and total stand removal fire. Wind driven the fire raced through either. What was not totally burned were the selective logging on USFS land and the 100 foot or taller PPine, white fir, sugar pine surprisingly survived more than you would think. Or were at the time. I have not been back. Now three or four years not drawing an Interstate buck tag. The east side of the fire burned in private Collins Pine and Fremont FP lands. Or were in those ownerships a while back. There had been a treatment that was dedicated to removing ladder fuels and competition for “Yellow Belly PPine.”
and some monster burn piles that were scheduled to be burned with snow pack in winter. That ain’t happening so far this year. No snow. None. Cascades are being pummeled by atmospheric river originating SW of Hawaii. Inches of rain daily. Thank the heavens there was so little snow to melt. Here. Oregon. North, in WA, getting butt kicked by 100 year flood waters on the Westside of the Cascades to the Sound. People moving all they have to the attic or second story.
We need the water. And more of it. Riparian homeless camp removal flooding. The garbage gyre in the Pacific will get a West Coast addition the East Asian conveyor chain of plastics to the Central Pacific. Skiing? HaHa. Maybe next month. Headwall failures to create more natal rock for gravels to form from. Sedimentary geology mid slope slumps and steep hillsides with 24″ dbh and bigger 100 year old doug fir will have mass failure torrential slides and more flat land created in the deflation plains. Regular order of the Ring of Fire and the lee shore of the eastern Pacfic Coast. The birth of coarse woody debris following stand removal fire. Will be a big deal if the USFS is sorely understaffed in forest engineering expertise. No congresswoman from the West Coast will have any interest in repairs. Or victims of the floods resulting from “needed fire.” All these event storms are no more than an urban inconvenience in urban dominated America.