The Forestry Smart Policy Podcast
We are unapologetic advocates for the forest sector who believe forestry is part of the solution to Oregon’s biggest challenges.
We’re subject matter experts who take pride in our ability to distill complex forestry topics into manageable information. We may challenge what you think you know. You may not like what you hear, and we’ll talk about issues that make us uncomfortable, too. Trust our information is grounded in science, facts and practicality about the forest sector.
Send questions to podcast@ofic.com.
Facts Optional: A Case Study in DEQ’s Data Spin
In this episode, Katie Murray returns to the podcast to host a conversation with Isabella Nelson, recent OSU graduate and Dr. Kim Anderson. They discuss how the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s flawed data analysis and misuse of environmental monitoring results make broad regional conclusions that inflate concerns over pesticide use and undermine trust. Isabella and Kim provide recommendations to refocus the program by applying sound science, improving data transparency and ensuring environmental policies are based on accurate, meaningful analysis that truly benefits both water quality and communities as the program was intended.
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Advancing Mass Timber in Oregon
In this episode we interview Chris Evans, president of Oregon’s newest mass timber manufacturer, who played a major role in the new mass timber ceiling at the Portland International Airport (PDX). We talk about everything from what mass timber is, the history of using large wood in construction, the construction speed advantage of wood buildings that utilize cross laminated timber, mass plywood or other mass timber, the environmental benefits, challenges to larger scale adoption and what policymakers can do to advance this emerging technology. For more information on mass timber, visit the Oregon Forest Resources Institute or visit Think Wood.
Busting the Top Six Myths About the Timber Industry
This episode with Sara Duncan, Director of Communications for OFIC, takes on the top six myths about the timber industry, including:
- Tree farms are not forests.
- Clearcuts are unnecessary.
- Older trees sequester more carbon than young trees.
- The timber industry cuts down trees for toilet paper.
- All timber companies in Oregon are TIMOs and REITs.
- The listing of the owl didn’t cause job losses .
The 2024 Wildfire Funding Proposal: Getting the Story Right
In this episode, Senator Elizabeth Steiner, Senate co-chair of the full Ways and Means Committee in the Oregon Legislature, discusses a work group she convened that OFIC’s Kyle Williams participated in after the end of the 2023 legislative session. The work group was tasked with exploring ways to address Oregon’s wildfire funding crisis that has been building for years, and resulted in a concept that will be put forward as a bill (House Bill 4133) under consideration in the upcoming 2024 legislative session. Sen. Steiner and Kyle discuss the elements that led to formation of the work group, who participated and why, how they developed ideas, and the details of the proposal (including one element that will not move forward). Toward the end of the episode, Sen. Steiner also addresses the incomplete reporting about the workgroup by the media.
Two short clips (here and here) can be found on our YouTube channel.
Free to Grow: How Pesticides Help Trees Grow
This episode with Katie Murray, executive director of Oregonians for Food and Shelter, and Seth Barnes, director of forest policy for OFIC covers all things related to pesticide use in forestry, including: how pesticides (primarily herbicides) are applied either aerially or with a ground crew roughly two to four times in the first few years of a new forests’ life to hold back invasive species and noxious weeds. We also cover the regulations in the Oregon Forest Practices Act related to reforestation and water quality protection (including new protections put in place by the Private Forest Accord), what happens when applicators don’t follow the law, the process for notifying the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) and neighbors about forest activities, water quality monitoring studies, how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assesses health risks and registers pesticides, what’s on a pesticide label, the carcinogenicity of glyphosate (Roundup), and impacts to pollinators.
It All Starts in the Dirt Soil
This episode with Dr. Tom DeLuca, dean of the Oregon State University College of Forestry, focuses primarily on carbon sequestration and storage in forestry and forest soils. We also discuss a whole range of topics surrounding carbon, including the history of forestry as a practice, the carbon cycle of forests, how long carbon is stored in wood products, the carbon benefits of mass timber like cross laminated timber and mass plywood panels, the human connection to trees and wood products, the impact of active management on carbon stored in soil, the symbiotic relationship between soil and trees, and the impact of different land uses on carbon in soil.
What is the Oregon Forest Resources Institute?
This episode with Jim Paul, the newly appointed Executive Director of the Oregon Forest Resources Institute, discusses the institute’s three primary program areas (public education, K-12 education, and landowner education), as well as how OFRI is funded, the institute’s response to former Governor Kate Brown’s request for a 2021 audit by Oregon Secretary of State Shamia Fagan, and implications of a bill in the 2023 Oregon legislative session.
Are We Putting the Forest to Sleep? An Update: Coho Lawsuit and a Minor Correction
As a follow-up to our two previous episodes that focused on the history of state forest lands in Oregon and the state’s pursuit of a Habitat Conservation Plan, this episode discusses the recent terms agreed to by the state to settle a lawsuit filed by environmental organizations over alleged impact the state’s forest management activities have to coho salmon habitat. The episode also includes a minor correction to statements made in the first episode on this topic (Are We Putting the Forest to Sleep? Part 1) that clarifies when former Governor Kitzhaber challenged the Oregon Department of Forestry to achieve twin goals of increased revenue and increased conservation.
Are We Putting the Forest to Sleep? Part 2: What Went Wrong
This is the second in a two-part series on Oregon’s state forests, including the current controversy surrounding the Department of Forestry’s pursuit of a Habitat Conservation Plan for western Oregon state forests, the plan’s failure to provide adequate projected timber harvest levels to keep the Department of Forestry’s budget afloat for the next 70 years, and the mounting pressure on the Board of Forestry to change course.
Are We Putting the Forest to Sleep? Part 1: History of State Forests
This is the first in a two-part series about Oregon’s state forests, including the history of how the state acquired over 600,000 acres of forest from 15 forest trust land counties in the 1930s and 1940s, the progression of management approaches and issues on those forests over the last seven decades, and what lead the state to pursue a Habitat Conservation Plan for western Oregon state forests that aims to both protect threatened and endangered species like the northern spotted owl and coho salmon and increase financial stability for the Department. ** please note: there is a minor correction to this episode here
One Foot in the Black: Part 2 – The Deep Dive into Oregon’s Firefighting System
This is the second in a two-part series on wildfire in Oregon, including the unique and world-class elements of Oregon’s wildland firefighting system (known as the complete and coordinated system), it’s unique and complex funding mechanism paid in part by private timber companies and in part by taxpayers through the General Fund, and ways the state can work with the federal government to address our wildfire crisis.
One Foot in the Black: Part 1 – Why Are Oregon’s Skies So Smoky?
This is the first in a two-part series on wildfire in Oregon, including what’s causing the wildfire crisis in Oregon, what role climate change plays in our smoky skies, the different firefighting and land management approaches of private landowners and federal landowners, and how we might begin to take on treating Oregon’s forests with thinning and controlled burns, and creating defensible space and hardened homes in our communities to make Oregon more fire resilient.