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GUEST OPINION Guest Opinion: Working forests are good for the environment Comment By Russ McKinley MailTribune.com By Russ McKinley Posted Aug. 9, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Russ McKinley Posted Aug. 9, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News There are so many questionable assertion’s in Tim Palmer’s recent guest opinion about Oregon’s forest practices that’s it’s difficult to know what to rebut ("Forest Practices Act can (but doesn't) do the job," July 13). Perhaps the most troubling aspect is its central premise: that having 20 percent of Oregon’s forest owned and operated as private forestland is somehow bad for the state. When it comes to environmental protection, the reality is there is no better use for the land than healthy, working forests that protect water quality, create wildlife habitat, remove carbon dioxide from our air, and create economic opportunity for rural communities through sustainable harvest every 40 years. That hasn’t always been the case, of course. In 1975, a hallmark study on Oregon’s Alsea Watershed analyzed the impact on stream temperatures from then-standard forest harvest practices. The results were disturbing and helped drive four decades of research and reform that dramatically altered harvest practices and restored habitat for fish. This chain of events was not unique. Research, adaptation and the protection of environmental values are at the core of Oregon forest practices. There is perhaps no industry that brings together so many scientific disciplines to dictate its practices the way forest management does. Today's forest management within Oregon's many forest ecosystems relies on hydrologists, fish and wildlife biologists, soil scientists, ecologists, silviculturists and others in order to adhere to the strict requirements of the Oregon Forest Practices Act. The combination of modern forestry practices and a commitment to fixing forest roads is creating great environmental benefit. According to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, regulatory policies have led to private forestland having the highest water quality of any other land-use type in Oregon. This improvement did not come overnight. The 1975 Alsea Watershed study found a stream temperature increase of 12.7 degrees Celsius following harvest. Today, changes to harvest practices, forest road management, the retention of standing trees for shade and careful insertion of woody debris for in-stream habitat have nearly eliminated water temperature as an impact during harvest. It is now common for water temperature variations as small as 0.7 degrees Fahrenheit, an amount difficult to even measure with modern instruments. Even if a less than 1 degree increase occurs at the point of harvest, a 2012 Oregon State University study on several watersheds found that there were no perceptible temperature increases downstream from harvest activities. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has also found substantial increases in water quality on private forestland. In 2009, ODFW weighed in on the best habitat for juvenile fish, concluding that "[t]he highest rearing potential among land uses was on private industrial forest land. This corresponded with a high percent of pool habitat, slack water pools, and large wood. Urban and agricultural lands had the lowest capacity for winter rearing habitat. Federal and state forest land had a moderate capacity of winter rearing habitat, but were limited by the amount of pool habitat available.” In data produced through the Coastal Landscape Analysis and Modeling Study, ODFW found that “only 68% of the area in coho salmon buffers is currently being managed for forest uses.” So, while some continue to focus on a forest-centric solution to stream temperatures, state fish biologists remind us that a third of the land base where salmon reside have lower quality habitat for their survival. If advocates for stream quality are sincere about improving habitat for fish, they would do well to focus on areas that have been identified by state agencies as having lower quality than forestland. Opposition to forestry will always be a part of our public discourse, but we should differentiate between those who want to stop forestry and those who want to improve forestry. Every time foresters have been approached with scientific evidence of environmental impacts, we have led the way in designing solutions to minimize those impacts. To suggest otherwise is to ignore the history of Oregon’s forestry sector and the body of evidence pointing to the critical role working forests play in protecting our environment. Russ McKinley is a former member of the Southwest Oregon Regional Forest Practices Committee, a past president of the Rogue Forest Protective Committee, worked for Boise Cascade for 33 years and retired as their Western Oregon timberlands manager. He now manages 90 acres as a small timberland owner and is a member of the Oregon Small Woodlands Association. By Russ McKinley MailTribune.com By Russ McKinley Posted Aug. 9, 2015 at 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. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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