Online Discussion on Oregon Coast Forestry Practices, April 29

Published 04/22/21 at 3:35 AM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Portland, Oregon) – Equally important to tourism and local economies as the beaches, Oregon coast’s forests require even more careful planning in the face of various changes, including climate change itself.

To that end, the Oregon coast group Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition presents an online panel discussion on forestry practices in the coastal region on Thursday, April 29, at 6 p.m.

“The Impact of Forestry Practices on Coastal Communities and Environments” is free and open to the public. The event is part of Oregon Shores’ year-long celebration of the organization’s 50th anniversary.

The panel will be moderated by Ernie Niemi, President of Natural Resource Economics, a consultancy in Eugene. He also is Co-Director of the Forest Carbon Coalition, a national organization that promotes climate-smart management of U.S. forests. For more than 40 years, he has investigated and described the relationship between the natural environment and local economies, in Oregon and elsewhere.

Speakers include:

Dr. John Talberth, President and Senior Economist for the Center for Sustainable Economy and Co-Director for the Forest Carbon Coalition, on “How Industrial Logging Corporations Damage the Coastal Economy.”

Overview: A review of the environmental-economic damages associated with conventional logging practices. i.e. water shortages and increased water filtration costs, increased fire risk, increased risk of harmful algae blooms, soil erosion and aggradation of estuaries, degraded scenic and recreation resources, increased risk of flooding, extinction of fish and wildlife, and, of course, climate change. The talk will focus on how these damages limit economic opportunities for coastal communities, and describe three key strategies to turn things around and help coastal communities thrive: reforming corporate land ownership laws, redirecting subsidies, and making timber corporations pay the full cost of their damages.

Dr. Shreejita Basu, Water Scientist at Sustainable Northwest, on “Oregon Coast Community Forest Initiative: Case Study of Arch Cape Water District.”

Overview: Sustainable Northwest is a regional nonprofit that uses a proven bottom-up, collaborative approach to overcome the rural West’s most difficult natural resources challenges. Since 2017, Sustainable Northwest has worked within a collaborative partnership of diverse organizations to support coastal communities in understanding the connection between their forested watersheds and their drinking water. Through scientific analysis, targeted outreach, and communications for public engagement, they seek to galvanize local community engagement and action, bringing together municipal leaders, tribal interests, private forest landowners, nonprofit land trusts, and marginalized farm and forest workers. The goal is to develop a plan to implement projects that protect coastal drinking watersheds and support a higher level of community control over the management of those watersheds into the future.

Dr. Michael Paul Nelson, Ruth H. Spaniol Chair of Renewable Resources and Professor of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy at Oregon State University, on the necessary, but often neglected, interactions of science and ethics in environmental decision-making and management practices.

To register, go to this link.

For more information, contact Ed Joyce, (503) 468-0995, edjoyce1590@gmail.com.

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