By Pete Danko | Portland Business Journal | Apr 2, 2020
** This story originally appeared in the Portland Business Journal. See that story here.
The big agreement between environmental groups and the forest industry that was waylaid by the Republican legislative walkout — remember that? — is still on.
Gov. Kate Brown put out the word in a news release Tuesday, wedged into a steady stream of announcements related to the COVID-19 response.
The parties had agreed in February on a process to develop forest-practice regulations that industry can live with while meeting federal standards to protect threatened and endangered species, including salmon.
As part of the memorandum of understanding, each side said it would drop competing initiative petitions once the 2020 Legislature passed a bill to create an aerial pesticide spraying notification system and buffer zones around homes, schools and water sources.
But Republicans blew up the Legislature with their opposition to a cap and trade bill, and the pesticide bill didn’t pass.
There was talk that it could be quickly included in a special session, but the pandemic soon became all-consuming.
Nonetheless, the signatories reaffirmed to Brown they will still move to withdraw the initiatives, which might have faced a signature-gathering challenge anyway, given restrictions on public activities. In a March 25 letter released by the governor’s office Tuesday, they wrote:
The MOU envisions coordinated actions by signatories, the Governor’s office, the Board of Forestry, and – importantly – the Legislature. We remain very committed to meeting the terms of the MOU, including legislation, at the nearest possible time that circumstances related to the coronavirus pandemic allow.
Given our mutual commitment to the key elements of the MOU, and also recognizing the priorities of Oregon at this time, we will make efforts to assist the respective petitioners with the formal withdrawal of the competing ballot measures.
