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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Council goes after abandoned houses Suspected counterfeiter arrested after hitting music stores Medford police arrest suspected carjacker who drove through Stewart Meadows Golf Course 'I was terrified' Fire District 5 seeks input on new chief hiring Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Suspected counterfeiter arrested after hitting music stores Medford police arrest suspected carjacker who drove through Stewart Meadows Golf Course Weather helps firefighters in battle to contain 4,000-acre Onion Mountain fire Weed blaze 65 percent contained Emergency Services Politics and Elections Jim Brock: You go, Madam Senator Mark L. 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GUEST OPINION Transparency is essential in O&C debate By Tony Hyde, Faye Stewart and Simon Hare MailTribune.com By Tony Hyde, Faye Stewart and Simon Hare Posted Sep. 14, 2014 @ 12:01 am By Tony Hyde, Faye Stewart and Simon Hare Posted Sep. 14, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Social News One of the most important issues facing Oregonians is future management for 2.6 million acres of O&C forests. Under federal law, these lands are required by the O&C Act to be managed for sustained timber harvests for the economic benefit of nearby communities and to produce revenue for the 18 O&C Counties. Conflicting federal policies and environmental litigation over the last 20 years have caused a steep decline in timber harvests. With little economic activity and plunging timber sale revenue, county governments have struggled to maintain basic public services, and thousands of jobs have been lost. U.S. Reps. Peter DeFazio, Greg Walden and Kurt Schrader have worked hard for several years to pass legislation that would improve management on the O&C lands. More recently, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden has become active in the effort. The Association of O&C Counties has been involved in every federal action concerning the O&C lands since 1926. As elected county commissioners, we have a direct stake in how these lands are managed, as any policy change would have a dramatic impact on the Oregonians we represent. That’s why we were disappointed when Senator Wyden’s spokesman recently referred to the Association as an “extreme lobbying group” simply because we asked for independent experts to objectively determine the sustainable harvest and revenue for counties that would be produced under the senator’s O&C proposal. Our request for transparency is very reasonable; the name-calling by the senator’s staff is not. Senator Wyden recently announced he intends to pass his O&C proposal through the Senate Finance Committee he chairs. To the casual observer, this might sound like good news. Yet at 163 pages, the legislation is laden with inconsistencies, new and untested regulatory requirements, undefined terms and ambiguities. Preliminary reviews from foresters suggest the bill would actually reduce future sustainable harvest levels to below current levels, further threatening businesses and jobs in our communities. The federal government controls much of the land in the 18 O&C Counties, constraining our ability to develop and diversify our local economies. We need legislation we can be confident will increase economic activity, not further hamper our economies and the ability of counties to provide minimally acceptable levels of public services. We would like to be able to support Senator Wyden’s proposal, but we are being asked to give up the O&C Act in exchange for a pig in a poke. His proposal must receive independent analysis by qualified forestry experts, just as several other proposals have already been analyzed in Gov. John Kitzhaber’s O&C Lands Report (2013). Everyone deserves to know the harvest and revenue levels that experts confirm would result from any proposed legislation. We stand ready to work with Senator Wyden on the basis of mutual respect to accomplish the principles supported by the counties, Governor Kitzhaber and Congressmen DeFazio, Walden and Schrader: Sustainable harvest volumes to support our communities, shared revenue with counties to support basic services, protection of environmentally sensitive lands, and legal certainty. Together, we can pass a solution that works for all Oregonians. Columbia County Commissioner Tony Hyde is president of the Association of O&C Counties.  Lane County Commissioner Faye Stewart is AOCC vice president, and Josephine County Commissioner Simon Hare is AOCC treasurer.     By Tony Hyde, Faye Stewart and Simon Hare MailTribune.com By Tony Hyde, Faye Stewart and Simon Hare Posted Sep. 14, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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