FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                     
July 1, 2025                                                                                                       

Contact: Amanda Sullivan-Astor, CF

Forest Policy Manager

503-364-1330

aastor@oregonloggers.org

State Forestry Workforce Study Confirms Vital Role of Forest Sector, Urges Targeted Investment in Oregon Talent

Salem, OR – The Oregon Forest Operations and Management Workforce Study (Study) was accepted on Friday and released today with input from many forest sector partners, including state agencies, public institutions, and industry employer representatives. The comprehensive report is a detailed analysis confirming Oregon’s forest sector is central to the state’s economic, environmental, and public safety goals and home to some of the state’s most essential, high-demand, and technically advanced jobs.

The Study was authorized by the Oregon Legislature in SB 1552 (2024) and completed by the Higher Education Coordinating Commission. It identifies a strong need to modernize training pathways and expand access to forestry and trades worker careers. It also underscores the importance of workforce readiness in addressing Oregon’s wildfire risk, housing demand, and forest health crisis.

The Study underscores that forest workers are not only economic drivers, but they are critical public servants too. Forest operators are critical first responders during fire season, and their ongoing capacity to operate in forests to maintain healthy, productive landscapes is tied directly to investments in professional development, continued education, recruitment, and the availability of experienced forestry operations crews.

The Study also affirms forest operators and managers help deliver clean drinking water, valuable forest habitat, renewable forest products, and restored forest health through a variety of proactive forest management interventions and tactics.

Associated Oregon Loggers (AOL) Executive Vice President, Rex Storm, highlighted, “Oregon’s loggers don’t just power the economy, they protect it.”

The report acknowledges, “Forest operators build and maintain roads that enhance emergency access, and they provide firefighting and emergency response resources—including equipment and crews—through contracts with ODF, USFS, and BLM.”

It further supports that, “The workforce contributes to climate resilience by supporting carbon storage and reducing the likelihood of high-emissions wildfire events.”

However, the report found the forest sector is facing a critical workforce shortage that cannot be ignored.

According to the Study, “retirement and other job turnover mean that the sector will require a robust flow of newly trained workers for the foreseeable future,” resulting in the need to, “replace at least one in eight workers in these positions every year” or a 3,400 employee need annually. This replacement would maintain current capacity, but the Study indicates if the state aspires to carry out and fully implement the 20-Year Landscape Resiliency Strategy, the Oregon Housing Production Goal, and other stated objectives, then significantly more workers need to be developed and supported.

There is a better way, and we do have solutions. Thankfully, “Oregon’s forest operations and management workforce continues to evolve alongside emergent technologies such as mechanized harvesters and aerial drones,” states the report and, “These tools require new skills, with employers seeking professionals who have technical skills and training in operating advanced machinery.”

Despite these demands, the Study notes Oregon’s education system is failing to produce enough job-ready graduates stating, “Oregon’s postsecondary forestry pathways appear relatively small compared to comparison states … [there is] a need to rely on skilled workers trained in other states … [but this] could also indicate opportunities to expand programs to better support the industry.”

Overall, the report emphasizes opportunities for Oregon to lead in supporting the forest sector’s workforce development through expanded education and training capacity, improved career alignment in public education, and leveraged in-state expertise.

 AOL remains committed to supporting workforce development programs that lead directly to employment.

“Oregon can and should be a leader in forestry workforce development. With smart investment, we can equip the next greater skills to steward forests and employ prosperous communities,” said Storm.

AOL urges state leaders and education administrators to act on the Study recommendations. The path forward is clear, Oregon must:

• Promote the forest sector and reduce the size in awareness gaps of its social benefits;
• Better understand forest sector workforce contributions that would achieve state goals around housing, mass timber, wildfire risk mitigation, and forest health concerns; and
• Invest in targeted, technical education that supports rewarding careers in forest operations and management, not just adjacent industries.

Salem, OR – January 16, 2025 – Associated Oregon Loggers proudly endorses the Fix Our Forests Act, a forward-thinking, bipartisan measure that addresses the urgent need for increased forest management. With millions of acres of federal forests in Oregon and across the nation overstocked and increasingly vulnerable to wildfire, this legislation offers critical reforms to help forest operators and contractors do the work necessary to restore these lands to health and safety.

The Fix Our Forests Act directly addresses the barriers that hinder forest management efforts, including excessive environmental review timelines and frivolous litigation, which delay vital projects. By streamlining regulatory processes and expanding tools like Good Neighbor Authority, this legislation allows forest contractors to plan and execute projects more efficiently, creating jobs and delivering the forest treatments essential to increase forest health and community vitality. Provisions that promote the use of local expertise in restoration and prioritizing high-risk areas are particularly valuable to Oregon’s logging and contracting businesses, who know these forests best.

Active management is not only essential for reducing wildfire risks but also for revitalizing the forest economy. The Fix Our Forests Act prioritizes real, actionable solutions like increasing project sizes, using utility corridors as fuel breaks, and adopting advanced technologies to expand the pace and scale of forest restoration. These efforts align with the expertise and capabilities of our members, who are ready and able to perform this critical work. Associated Oregon Loggers urges Congress to swiftly pass this legislation to empower forest operators to restore our forests and protect Oregon’s rural communities.

For further information, please contact:

Amanda Sullivan-Astor, CF

Forest Policy Manager, Associated Oregon Loggers

Email: aastor@oregonloggers.org

Phone: 503-364-1330

Salem, OR – January 8, 2025 – Associated Oregon Loggers welcomes the U.S. Forest Service decision to withdraw the National Old Growth Amendment (NOGA) process, an ill-conceived effort championed by out-of-touch environmental politics that threatened to undermine both forest health and the American economy. This deeply flawed proposal ignored realities of modern forest management and would have imposed disastrous consequences on Oregon’s rural communities, forestry sector, and the national forest role in addressing carbon and climate.

The NOGA process, initiated more than two years ago, was rooted in a misguided agenda to restrict active management under the guise of “protecting old growth.” The result would have been a catastrophic chain reaction: suffocating forest restoration efforts, cutting timber supplies critical for the forest products industry, slashing forestry jobs, removing wildland firefighters, and escalating costs of management projects. These impacts would have worsened conditions in overgrown, unhealthy forests, leading to more smoke pollution from catastrophic wildfires.

“The NOGA withdrawal is a victory for science, common sense, and Americans who understand that solutions to healthy national forests and communities come from modern forestry management and professionals. Solutions do not result from environmental politics that lose the forest for the trees,” said Rex Storm, Executive Vice President, Associated Oregon Loggers.

The NOGA's proposed restrictions would have gutted access to wood, the most sustainable, climate-friendly fiber and building material. This misguided policy would have made forest products more expensive, destabilized rural economies, and crippled the forest sector's ability to maintain healthy forests and fight wildfires.

This NOGA proposal failed to grasp that modern forest management and our forestry workforce are the backbone of wildfire prevention, forest resilience, and renewable wood fiber.

Associated Oregon Loggers supports policies that prioritize forest management science, protect rural livelihoods, and ensure America’s forests are healthy and resilient for future generations.

For further information, please contact:

Amanda Sullivan-Astor, CF

Forest Policy Manager, Associated Oregon Loggers

Email: aastor@oregonloggers.org

Phone: 503-364-1330

Salem, OR – Associated Oregon Loggers (AOL) was honored to attend the ceremonial signing of Senate Bill 1552 by Governor Tina Kotek on May 29th. This new law, enacted on April 4, 2024, includes a pioneering ‘Forestry Workforce Study’ aimed at advancing forest workforce development in Oregon.

The law allocates $300,000 for the study, to be completed by July 1, 2025.

AOL Forest Policy Manager, Amanda Sullivan-Astor, highlighted the importance of this study, stating, “Comprehensive workforce and economic data will enable informed decision-making and address industry challenges. This study will benefit our forest sector and connect our urban and rural communities.”

The Forestry Workforce Study addresses critical gaps in workforce data, supporting Oregon's economic goals and enhancing rural community stability. The collected data will inform strategic planning and improve Oregon's competitiveness for federal, state and private funding for the forestry workforce to be further developed, enhancing the state’s ability to deliver on key priorities such as housing, wildfire mitigation, and environmental justice.

We extend our gratitude to Governor Kotek, Senator Dembrow, Senator Weber, and the Higher Education Coordinating Commission for their support and collaboration.

For further information, please contact:

Amanda Sullivan-Astor, CF

Forest Policy Manager

Email: aastor@oregonloggers.org

Phone: 503-364-1330 

About Associated Oregon Loggers:

Associated Oregon Loggers is the statewide trade association representing logging companies, forest operators, and small businesses in Oregon's forest sector. AOL promotes sustainable forest management and supports the economic viability of its members.

Salem, OR – In a recent decision that has sent shockwaves through the forestry sector and rural communities of Oregon, the Board of Forestry      passed a controversial State Lands Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) that stands to drastically reduce state forest timber harvests by 34 percent, leading to significant economic and job losses across the state.

The plan, narrowly approved despite a backdrop of increasing concern and opposition, is expected to result in the loss of billions of dollars in revenue over the next 70 years, critically endangering the livelihoods of thousands and the health of our rural communities.

Despite years of public comment andardent feedback from counties, taxing districts, businesses, residents, and several Board members to improve outcomes and balance the HCP, State Forester Mukumoto and Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) staff remained steadfast in their initial proposal, overlooking the significant socio-economic and conservation consequences of their actions.

Even more troubling is the clear red herring argument Board of Forestry Chair, Jim Kelly, made stating, “Projected harvest volumes for the next three years are quite healthy. […] So, I encourage all of you to keep focused on the big picture.” Chair Kelly tried to divert attention from the reality of significant timber reductions for the next 70 years by discussing projected future harvest volumes over the next three years, assuring job reliability without directly addressing the negative long-term impacts of the decision.

“This decision is not just devastating; it's a glaring example of short-sighted policy-making that disregards the intricate balance between our ecosystems and economic vitality,” said Rex Storm, Executive Vice President of the Associated Oregon Loggers. “This plan doesn't just affect timber harvests; it has profound downstream effects on our capacity to manage and respond to wildfires, compromises our ability to protect Oregonians, and severely limits restoration projects, stream enhancements, and road maintenance critical for recreation access.”

The approval of the HCP signals a troubling shift towards more restrictive forest management practices, reminiscent of federal policies from the 1990s that devastated local communities without yielding significant environmental benefits. The new plan will see vast tracts of land set aside as 'no touch' zones, effectively preventing forests from being properly managed and contributing to a constrained regional timber supply. Associated Oregon Loggers maintains that logging is conservation - protecting Oregon’s forests from the dangers of wildfires and insect borne disease.

Considering these developments, the Associated Oregon Loggers calls for immediate action to revisit and revise the HCP to ensure a more balanced approach that can meet both conservation and economic objectives. The Associated Oregon Loggers remains committed to working alongside community leaders, forest operators, and community residents to ensure ODF maximizes allowable harvest volumes under the HCP and that our voices are heard in the ongoing development of a Forest Management Plan for State Forests.

For further information, please contact:

Amanda Sullivan-Astor, CF

Forest Policy Manager, Associated Oregon Loggers

Email: aastor@oregonloggers.org

Phone: 503-364-1330