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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 Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Rogue River man held on murder charge ... Coast Guard calls off search for overboard Oregon man ... Wyden fields questions during Medford town hall meeting ... Rogue River man held on murder charge ... Coast Guard calls off search for overboard Oregon man ... Wyden fields questions during Medford town hall meeting ... OUR VIEW Our View: Meeting in the middle keeps a mill open Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted Jan. 2, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted Jan. 2, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News Just when it seems the decades-long feud between environmentalists and the timber industry will never end, a glimmer of light appears through the trees. It was shared concern for the risk of catastrophic wildfire that brought the two sides together in northeastern Oregon. Lawsuits filed by environmental groups had stymied timber sales on the Malheur National Forest and, by 2012, the Malheur Lumber Co. sawmill in John Day was preparing to close for lack of logs. But years of meetings and forest tours organized by a group called Blue Mountain Forest Partners helped build trust between timber executives and conservationists. Out of those meetings and others, friendships evolved, and eventually those connections led to agreement on the need to thin overgrown stands to reduce fire danger and provide logs to the local mill at the same time. Andy Kerr, a familiar name to many in Southern Oregon as a founder of the Oregon Natural Resources Council, was one of the players, accepting an invitation to meet with Ochoco Lumber Co. managing partner John Shelk starting in 2008. The key to breaking the impasse was a recognition on the part of environmentalists that wildfire posed as much of a threat to forests as logging, and that the risk of fire could be reduced by thinning dense stands while generating enough logs to keep mills operating. The situation in this part of the state is somewhat different, of course. On the east side, little private timber exists, and mills are dependent on national forests for logs. In addition, the former O&C Railroad lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management are unique to Western Oregon, and battles over harvest levels on those lands have kept the two sides far apart. But the success of the collaborative approach in John Day should offer hope that middle ground can be reached. The U.S. Forest Service hopes that example can serve as a model across the West. No one wants to go back to the unsustainable clearcutting that devastated forests in the 1970s and 1980s. But saying no to all timber harvests everywhere isn't realistic either. The results in John Day show there is another way.     MailTribune.com Writer Posted Jan. 2, 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... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events 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 Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site 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. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501