Dear John,

Passing HB 2357 A, the bill to reform the Oregon Forest Resources Institute (OFRI), is the best thing we can do this legislative session to limit the undue influence of the timber industry in Oregon. Will you ask your state legislators to vote YES on HB 2357 A?

As you may know from stellar reporting from ProPublica, the Oregonian and OPB, OFRI has essentially become the propaganda arm of the timber industry in our state — spending millions of public dollars on ads aimed at misleading Oregonians about the quality of our forest regulations, despite having the weakest regulations in the West. The articles exposed decades of illegal actions, including lobbying (which OFRI is explicitly prohibited from doing), engaging in a dark money campaign against Governor Brown, and trying to silence climate science from Oregon State University. It is clearly time to reign in this problematic agency. 

That’s why the Reform OFRI Bill (HB 2357 A) is a Priority for A Healthy Oregon! This bill slashes this quasi-public agency’s budget in half, prohibits OFRI from promoting misleading ads, and directs the funds to a sound forest management account in the Department of Forestry—where the money can be spent on scientifically sound forest management, and climate-smart forest practices.  

The Reform OFRI Bill was voted out of the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources and has been in House Revenue ever since. It had a public hearing earlier this week and we’re getting ready for the bill to move soon (first to the House of Representatives, and then on to the Senate). This is where you come in! We need legislators in the House and in the Senate to know that this is a must pass bill for the 2021 session. One of the ways we do that is by showing them massive public support for the bill. 

Contact your representative and senator today to ask them to vote YES on the Reform OFRI Bill (HB 2357 A).

This legislative session this is the last forest policy bill standing that doesn’t require a ⅗ supermajority vote. We need everyone who supports limiting big timber’s massive influence in our state to take action on this bill. Please take action today to make sure your legislators vote YES on HB 2357 A!

As always, thank you for all that you do to help keep Oregon green and beautiful.

Sincerely,
Julia DeGraw
Coalition Director, OLCV