Walden to introduce forest legislation

Rep. Greg Walden chose the pine- and juniper-studded forest at the edge of Buck Run in Sisters as the backdrop for his announcement of new legislation to make it easier to treat forests to reduce the risk of wildfire.

Walden was in Sisters on Friday, August 28, to tout bipartisan legislation he and other Western congressmen will introduce in September to extend and expand the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA) and encourage the use of slash from thinning projects as biomass fuel.

HFRA streamlined the process to green-light projects in the urban/wildland interface to reduce wildfire fuels. Such projects, including thinning around Black Butte Ranch, have measurably increased the security of local communities from wildfire.

Walden's proposal would extend HFRA's streamlining process into forests further away from the interface so that the Forest Service can undertake projects to thin forests in areas where fires start.

However, Walden noted, the process would not allow logging in wilderness areas or any area where it can't be done now.

"All those areas that are off limits remain off limits," he said.

The bipartisan team Walden leads in introducing the new legislation includes Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Oregon); Rep. Brian Baird (D-Washington); and Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-South Dakota).

Walden believes new legislation could create 1,000 jobs in the region by encouraging use of woody materials from thinning projects as biomass fuel. He noted that the Harney County Hospital in Burns is using biomass for heating instead of heating oil and anticipates a five-year payback based on $60/barrel oil (oil is currently at about $75).

Walden said his legislation would level the playing field for biomass energy by providing the same tax incentives provided to other forms of alternative energy. The legislation would also encourage public schools, hospitals and Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management buildings to use biomass fuel for heating.

The Sisters School District has looked into biomass heating for several years, but has for now shelved the concept as the cost of conversion of equipment is high.

"We think we can create jobs, generate revenue while creating clean, renewable energy," Walden said.

He also believes that the streamlining of projects will save time and money.

The congressman argues that Central and Eastern Oregon must act to generate new revenues.

"The county timber payments program is phasing out," he said. "It's gone in 2011. Between now and then we need to be doing things to bring revenue into our counties."

As for the health of the region's forests, Walden said there is a lot of catching up to do. He estimates that even under his proposed legislation and the undertaking of landscape-scale treatments, there is 30 or 40 years of work to be done to restore forests to healthy conditions.

"We are way behind the curve," he said. "We can't keep up with the law that we have today."

Walden sees forest health and economic health as dependent on each other. A market for biomass fuel could allow projects to pay for themselves.

"If we can create markets for this, we can get a lot more of this work done," he said.

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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