Walden visits Sisters

With the saws poised to go into action on burned trees in the B&B Complex Fire area, Congressman Greg Walden visited Sisters arguing that it should be easier to launch salvage logging after catastrophic fires.

Walden spoke at a Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon hosted by Bronco Billy’s Ranch Grill & Saloon.

The congressman praised the Healthy Forest Restoration Act for “exponentially” increasing the funding available for fuels reduction, though it is not clear how much of that money has made it to Central Oregon.

But Walden argued that it is necessary to streamline the public process to allow timely salvage of timber after fires such as the 2002 Eyerly Fire and the 2003 B&B Complex Fire.

“If we wait more than another year (to harvest trees), that’s another $1 million in lost value of the trees,” he said.

Walden also praised the biomass subsidy provisions of the recently passed federal energy bill, noting that there is some synergy between reduction of wildfire fuels in the forest and the production of energy from biomass.

A biomass site is being created on the Warm Springs Reservation and “they’re concerned about getting a long-term commitment for fuel,” Walden said.

That’s an area of interest for City Manager Eileen Stein, who attended the lunch.

Stein noted that Warm Springs representatives have looked at Sisters’ municipal waste treatment facility as a possible source of biomass. She sees a new wave of possibilities for a resource-based economy in Central Oregon — this one built on forest management and alternative fuels.

“It’s nice to know that the federal government is trying to restore the resource economy in Oregon through fuel reduction and biomass,” she said.

Walden also has an interest in rural health care.

He has recently supported legislation that would help small businesses group together to seek better insurance prices.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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