Talk:Oregon Forest Resources Institute

message: OFRI currently lacks a forum for the presentation of dissenting views and information. The legal structure of OFRI, as required by statute (https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_526.610) and stated in OFRI literature (https://oregonforests.org/people), suppresses fair debate of issues relevant to the people of Oregon, and affirms OFRI's reputation as a de-facto corporate timber lobby. Relevant issues which are absent from OFRI's literature and public education include environmental concerns regarding the effects of intensive forest practices on 4 million acres of corporate forest land in western Oregon logged over the past 30 years. The vast majority of this acreage has been helicopter-sprayed and planted to a single species, Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), which is the species most beneficial to corporate forestry and most promoted by the Oregon Department of Forestry (see https://www.oregon.gov/odf/documents/workingforests/seedling-catalog.pdf.) This conversion of diverse forests to a single species has both environmental effects (https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2002549117, https://entomology.rutgers.edu/graduate/docs/papers/Wagner2020InsectDeclinesAnthropocene.pdf, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320719317823) as well as economic effects, by reducing log supplies for specialty products which depend on other species, such as Western redcedar (Thuja plicata) and red alder (Alnus rubra).
OFRI presents  annual data on the number of seedlings planted, acres of forest land by ownership, timber production by ownership and other statistics complimentary to the industry. OFRI does not report acres logged by ownership, number of trees cut by species, number of seedlings planted by species, number of acres sprayed, declining populations of spawning salmon or the ongoing attrition of forest sector jobs (https://naturalresourcereport.com/2016/10/the-past-future-of-oregons-timber-industry/). Reporting these and other statistics would provide a more well-rounded view of the state of forestry in Oregon. Gkral (talk) 07:36, 22 January 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  OFRI and the Presentation of Dissenting Views 

message: Here's a link to the Oregon Forest Resources Institute's enabling legislation (ORS 526.605) to make clear that it is a state agency, created by the Oregon Legislature in 1991, to support Oregon’s forest products industry and the wise stewardship of natural resources for the benefit of Oregonians. It is not a "forestry trade organization." Jane at OFRI (talk) 21:40, 3 May 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  OFRI's enabling legislation  

message: * What I think should be changed:
The lead of this article that says, "The Oregon Forest Resources Institute (OFRI) is a publicly-funded forestry trade organization," should be changed to, "The Oregon Forest Resources Institute (OFRI) is a state agency statutorily mandated to support Oregon’s forest products industry. OFRI provides forest education programs for the general public, K-12 teachers and students, and forest landowners."
* Why it should be changed: OFRI is not a forestry trade association. It is a state agency created by the Oregon Legislature in 1991 to support Oregon's forest products industry by advancing public understanding of forests, forest management and forest products. Its primary focus is on forest education and providing educational resources that teach Oregonians about forests and help landowners sustainably manage their forests.
* References supporting the possible change (format using the "cite" button):
Oregon Blue Book 
ORS.526.605
Jane at OFRI (talk) 22:52, 10 May 2023 (UTC)
replies: text: Hey, @Jane at OFRI! Those sources tell us what the state would like us to say about this agency, but extremely reliable sources are calling it a de facto lobbying organization for the industry. We need to see someone other than the state or the agency itself discussing it. Valereee (talk) 14:44, 11 May 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Conflict of Interest Edit Request