Rep. Diehl: Explaining wildfire crisis, Special Session

Oregon lawmakers will hold emergency session to pay wildfire bills
The Oregon Department of Forestry is insolvent. This is an epic failure of Oregon leadership, starting with the Governor.
BY Oregon State Representative Ed Diehl,

How did we get here?

First, by not standing up against the extreme environmentalist who are determined to not just limit, but to eliminate, timber harvesting. And second, because of completely unbalanced federal legislation that is being abused through lawfare. The result is our forests are neglected and left to burn, and Oregon taxpayers are expected to foot the bill.

Oregon has some of the most beautiful and productive forests in the world. Our forests can provide recreation opportunities in addition to jobs, small business opportunities, and tax revenue for our schools and emergency responders. They should be a model of stewardship, management, and productivity.

But instead, Oregon leadership has failed us. They have shut down our forests, denying Oregonians of their livelihoods and creating tinderboxes in the process. What were once prosperous, self-sufficient, rural communities must now beg the state and feds to fund essential services.

And the Oregon Department of Forestry, once a model for active forest management, is in shambles. The Board of Forestry, in an attempt to fend off lawsuits, approved a misguided Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) that eliminates logging on thousands of acres of Oregon forests. I know some good and hard-working people at the ODF, and they are as frustrated as I am about the direction of their agency.

Before I can approve spending a dime of taxpayer money on the ODF we must know exactly how the money will be spent. I am fully prepared to reimburse the many small businesses that contracted with the state to fight wildfire; they have bills to pay and entered into a contract with the state expecting to be paid in a timely fashion. Many of these businesses have yet to be paid after months of waiting; some of them are in my district. Many of them have taken out loans or home mortgages to pay their own employees and are now paying interest. This is simply unacceptable and embarrassing.

Finally, I am calling on the incoming Trump administration and our new congress to fix the broken Endangered Species Act and to revise the Equal Access to Justice Act. These two acts have created a lawsuit factory that is hurting Oregonians, all at taxpayer expense. We all want clean air and water. We all want healthy, vibrant forests. But the ESA and EAJA have created a situation that is way out of balance and must be corrected.

I know Oregon can do better; Oregon needs to work for all of Oregon. I’m committed to making it happen.