Oregon Legislature Passes Bipartisan Private Forestry Reforms
On Friday, June 26th, the Oregon legislature passed bipartisan legislation that adopts common sense reforms for current practices on private industrial timber lands in Oregon.
This vote is the result of decades of hard work by community members, organizers, and scientists calling for change. It is also just the first step in what will be a long process over the next two years to secure lasting protections for healthy forests and clean drinking water for all Oregonians.
What does this bipartisan bill do?
This bipartisan legislation (SB 1602) is the result of an agreement that Rogue Riverkeeper joined with other conservation groups and timber companies this winter to support common sense reforms of current forest practices. The bill passed out of the Senate with 24 - 2 voting in favor and passed out of the House with 57 - 0 voting in favor.
In summary, SB 1602:
Requires the Board of Forestry to apply the 2017 salmon, steelhead, and bull trout (“SSBT”) stream buffer requirements to the Siskiyou region, which includes much of the Rogue watershed;
Reforms aerial pesticide spraying practices including a ban on aerial pesticide spraying within 300 feet of schools and homes, within 300 feet of all drinking water sources, and within at least 50 feet of tens of thousands of miles of small streams. It also includes increased notification for Oregon residents, specifically real-time alerts, during pesticide spraying on forestlands; and
Establishes the basis for a mediated process through the Governor’s office to develop a federally approved plan to protect salmon and other aquatic species in the state, known as a Habitat Conservation Plan.
What happens now?
After the Governor signs the legislation, the immediate changes to stream buffers in the Siskiyou region and aerial pesticide spray reforms will be implemented. Then, the hard work of the two year mediated process facilitated by the Governor’s office between conservation organizations and timber companies will begin.
Rogue Riverkeeper will continue to work with communities in southern Oregon to drive the conversation around improved protections for clean water, thriving forests, and healthy communities over the next two years in this process.