Today, we reported that Oregon’s legislature passed $218 million in added wildfire spending – spending the governor called them into emergency session for, and a bill she has now signed. The dollars aren’t for any kind of future need, they’re just what’s needed to payoff all the outstanding bills from this last year’s firefighting efforts.
For next year, there will probably be about $280 million in added state wildfire suppression spending. The very fact that these budget impacts around wildfire suppression have become fairly anticipatable also connotes another arising set of public policy questions – what to do after the fires are out. Below, one aspect of that question gets a deeper look, vis-à-vis a set of competing guest commentaries.
Guest Commentary: Forests will burn, but logging them right after delays recovery
The fires that burned down the Santiam Canyon over Labor Day weekend in 2020 were a disaster for the communities from Idanha all the way to Stayton. Recovery started right away, but rebuilding homes and public infrastructure has been tragically slow, delaying the healing of the community.
Likewise in the burned forests; healing started right away, but logging those burned forests delayed healing.
Oregon forests — from the coast to high desert — need fire to be healthy. When those Labor Day fires swept through on the force of a hot, dry and very fast wind, the forests didn’t stand a chance. That’s because forests in Oregon burn. When we tend a forest, log it or choose not to tend it, we accept (maybe unconsciously or without really thinking about it) that there’s a chance it will burn. Sure, when the fire does come, it might burn bright and consume everything or it might burn with a light touch, knowing it will come back again.
We even try to stop the fires. But the forest will burn.
It is what happens in the forest afterwards that’s up to us. A post-fire forest is still a forest; it still does stuff. And it can and will regrow as the forest that it needs to be, if we let the forest be. That means not logging it.
But in many Oregon forests, the fire-killed and fire-damaged trees get logged just when the forest needs them in order to heal. It is like peeling off a scab too early; we punch in roads, cut vast swathes of trees and take the root stock of a future forest just when the forest needs snags, conifers seeds, downed wood on the forest floor and trees crashing into streams. Dead trees are food for bugs, while bugs are food for woodpeckers that rely upon the fire-killed forest. Dead trees are food for the forest, too, standing as shade for emerging tree seedlings, falling as slow-rotting, moisture-holding wood for the forest floor, and tumbling into streams as homes for fish and water-living insects. There is tremendous life in a fire-killed forest.
We log when we need to let the woodpeckers, ants, butterflies, flowers and seedlings do their work. We have to let the forest heal after fire, and that means keeping the trees. In fact, it is harder for trees themselves to grow on these denuded lands with hotter, drier soils and fewer seed trees present.
It is going to take a lot longer for Santiam Canyon forests to heal after the 2020 wildfires because fire-damaged trees were logged on private, state and federal forests. Much of Monument Peak and surrounding private forestland was mowed clean off by logging after fire. Wide swathes of forest on either side of gated roads in the Mount Hood National Forest on the north side of Oregon 22 continue to be logged after a fire in the name of safety.
The Santiam State Forest was logged by the state Department of Forestry, where snags have been replaced by blackberries and Scotch broom.
Rather than healing, those forests that have been logged too soon now adorn the underside of Portland Airport’s glorious new terminal, holding up the roof as Mass Plywood Panels made by Freres Lumber, plywood that was named coolest new product in Oregon in 2023. Oregonians traveling inadvertently pay for that degraded forest as we walk under that beautiful roof to and from our plane travels.
While the federal government primarily logs wildfire-killed trees along forest roads, the Forest Service may expand this logging to more of our forests. The Northwest Forest Plan, adopted 30 years ago to protect old-growth forests for threatened animals, is in the process of being amended and the plan will likely allow post-fire logging on 5.5 million acres (the draft is set for release November 15th). That means an area of public land 50% larger than the Willamette Valley is at risk of being denuded after fires, like a scab peeled too early, delaying healing.
Wildfire on private forestland destroys investments when it kills trees. And yet, the appraised value of the land is based upon its ability to grow trees for the long term. Logging trees post-fire degrades the ability to grow trees and thus the value of the land, but it also degrades the natural resources that we all depend upon and which landowners have an obligation to not pollute, like air and water. The Oregon Board of Forestry has twice delayed adopting stronger rules for post-fire logging that would protect streams, drinking water and fish habitat.
In a hotter and drier world, every tree we log after a fire is one fewer tree to store carbon, create habitat, accelerate regrowth and clean our water.
From the Forest Service to the Port of Portland and the Department of Forestry to the Board of Forestry, decision-makers need to stop peeling the scab and end rampant post-fire logging. Our future and the future of the forests demand better.
Casey Kulla coordinates forest policy at Oregon Wild. Kulla is a first generation vegetable farmer, a former Yamhill County Commissioner and a forest ecologist by training.
Guest Commentary Counterpoint: Removing dead trees after a severe wildfire is often the right thing to do
The scars left by severe wildfires across Oregon’s forests are not only a reminder of nature’s power but also of the critical need for immediate and decisive action to prevent future disasters.
Dead and dying trees — referred to as snags — pose severe risks to public safety, firefighter effectiveness and long-term forest health. Yet, contrary to claims, post-fire removal of dead and dying trees on state and federal lands is minimal, hindered by relentless litigation that threatens lives, compromises recovery efforts and delays the natural regrowth of our treasured forests.
The 2020 Labor Day wildfires burned more than 1 million acres across Oregon, leaving vast expanses of dead timber in their wake. In federally managed lands alone, approximately 280,000 acres burned at moderate to high severity. Shockingly, less than 3% of these burned areas received treatment to remove snags and mitigate future risks. It doesn’t take much effort to find thousands of dead trees in impacted areas like the Santiam Canyon.
Such inaction is not due to lack of need or awareness but because environmental litigation has tied the hands of federal agencies. The result is a landscape riddled with hazardous snags that jeopardize firefighters’ ability to access and control future wildfires. We are also losing access to our public lands. Many forest roads damaged by the 2020 wildfires remain closed and will probably never re-open.
Snags are far from benign. They fall unpredictably, endangering those working in or passing through these areas. When ignited, these dead trees burn intensely, creating spot fires and releasing embers that exacerbate the spread of wildfires. As they decay, snags create dense brush fields — a dangerous cocktail of highly flammable fuels.
Some models suggest these risks can persist for decades if proactive management is not implemented. The unmanaged Kalmiopsis Wilderness in southwest Oregon serves as a grim example, with reburns growing larger and hotter with each successive fire.
The presence of snags along roadsides amplifies these dangers. Roadside hazard trees not only obstruct safe public access but also limit the ability of first responders and firefighters to perform their duties. Fire suppression strategies are often compromised in areas with significant snag hazards, as safety concerns prevent direct attack approaches.
While federal agencies struggle with litigation, private landowners in Oregon demonstrated what effective post-fire management looks like. Many acted swiftly after the 2020 wildfires to remove dead and dying trees, ensuring their lands remain accessible and ready for reforestation.
Such actions not only protect these lands from future fires but also support local economies by providing usable timber for construction and funding for replanting efforts. In stark contrast, federally managed lands are left choked with snags, setting the stage for even more destructive fires.
Proponents of leaving snags untouched argue for “natural recovery.” However, this hands-off approach overlooks the compounding risks these snags pose. The potential for catastrophic reburns, loss of wildlife habitats and prolonged degradation of public lands far outweighs any perceived ecological benefit. Indeed, the loss of northern spotted owl habitats due to the 2020 fires vastly exceeded the impact of 12 years of timber harvesting under the Northwest Forest Plan. Failing to act now will ensure these lands remain a tinderbox for decades, perpetuating cycles of destruction.
Oregon’s forests need a path forward, one that prioritizes public safety, ecological recovery and economic sustainability. Removing dead and dying trees is an essential first step. Salvaged timber can be processed into long-lived wood products that store carbon while generating revenue for reforestation. Hazard tree removal along roadsides will reopen public lands, ensuring safe access for recreation, management and emergency response. Most importantly, proactive management will create safer conditions for firefighters tasked with protecting our communities from future wildfires.
In the future, federal and state agencies need to be empowered to implement post-fire treatments without the threat of litigation stalling their efforts. By supporting post-fire salvage operations, we can ensure our forests recover more quickly, safely and sustainably. This is not just about restoring the land — it is about protecting lives, preserving our natural heritage and preventing the next catastrophic fire.
Nick Smith is executive director of Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization supporting active forest management on federal lands. He also serves as public affairs director for the American Forest Resource Council, a trade association representing the forest industry in six Western states.
These guest commentaries are from news partner Oregon Capital Chronicle, and it may or may not reflect the views of The Corvallis Advocate, or its management, staff, supporters and advertisers.
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