Dear John,

We need your help to protect the Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests! Next week, on October 6th, the Board of Forestry is voting on whether or not to move forward with a plan that would protect 300,000 acres of state forestland. Send an email and urge the Board of Forestry to vote yes on the State Forest Habitat Conservation Plan, and protect our coastal forests!

The State Forest Habitat Conservation Plan is a balanced approach that values our state forests for habitat, recreation, and clean drinking water, while also allowing for a small, sustainable timber harvest. And yet, there are voices in the timber industry who are fighting back against it, and calling for more logging above all else. Please send an email, and speak up for our forests! 

As activists, environmentalists, and forest dwellers, we know that our state forests are important for so much more than logging. These forests are home to coastal rivers like the Wilson, Salmonberry, and Nehalem that provide cool, shaded habitat for salmon and steelhead, and clean drinking water for our communities. And, if you’ve ever hiked at Gales Creek, Kings Mountain, or other Coast Range trails, you know how valuable these forests are for recreation and wildlife. There’s nothing quite like wandering through carpets of wood sorrel, beneath Sitka spruce and hemlock giants, picking salmonberries, and salal, and huckleberries, and following the quiet footsteps of elk. 

These forests are also the home to the endangered spotted owl and the marbled murrelet, whose homes have dwindled after decades of logging and need to be protected. And they’re some of the best forests in the world at sequestering carbon. It’s critical—not just for Oregon, but for the world—that we protect these forests so they can keep absorbing carbon and fighting climate change. 

So please send a quick email to the Board of Forestry today, before their meeting on October 6th. We need to make sure that they continue moving forward and make this plan a reality! If passed, the State Forest Habitat Conservation Plan will last for at least the next 70 years. This is a great opportunity to protect our coastal forests for the next generation! I hope you’ll join me in sending an email today.

Thank you,

Julia DeGraw
Coalition Director, OLCV