To: NCCWP Members and Area Residents
From: North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection
Re: Comments to ODF Board about Drinking Water and Pesticide Moratorium
The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) is accepting comments about both its Forest Management Plan (FMP) and its Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). Since there’s a Board of Forestry meeting on Wednesday, September 8, ideally comments should be submitted to them by Thursday, September 2, 2021. At the beginning of your message, state that it’s specifically for the BOF meeting on September 8. There are new BOF members; therefore, we want them to read our comments. (As soon as it’s available, we’ll send out more information about the meeting.)
These ODF plans cover dozens of forestland issues that are worthy of comment, but they do not prioritize safe drinking water. Also, they fail to adequately recognize the role that forestry practices can play in threatening our water supplies. They do not underscore the urgency many of us feel as we experience less rainfall as well as more pollution in the water that we do have. Timber harvesting is ODF’s top goal, and it’s hard to see where protecting drinking water gets more than a mention.
You can see more about ODF’s plans at: https://www.oregon.gov/odf On that website, look under Hot Topics for: (1) Western Oregon State Forest Management Plan and (2) Habitat Conservation Plan.
You can email the Board of Forestry https://oregon.gov/odf/board/Pages/CommentsBoard.aspx
You can send snail mail to: Board Support Office; Department of Forestry; 2600 State St.; Salem, OR 97310. Also, their Fax # is 503-945-7512.
We are encouraging people to focus their comments on drinking water, because we are trying to raise a red flag. We must protect our watersheds. Coastal water sources are particularly threatened, because of all the clearcutting that is happening in our watersheds. That directly affects both the quantity and quality of water that’s available for drinking. After logging, watersheds are sprayed with untested combinations of pesticides.
We also want a two-year moratorium on the use of these chemicals in watersheds while we study and map water sources, and while we have independent analyses of water quality done. As stated, please focus your comments on drinking water and this request for a moratorium. (Your comments don’t need to be long; short and to the point would be O.K.) If you wish, send me a copy of your comments so we know how many people respond to the BOF. With your help, we’ll raise our voices about drinking water concerns. Thank you for standing up and speaking out. Please share this request for comments with people you know. If you have questions, you may call or email me.
Nancy Webster
503-355-2516
rockawaycitizen.water@gmail.com
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