 | |
| Established | 1991 |
|---|---|
| Type | State agency |
| Purpose | Forest management education |
| Headquarters | Portland, Oregon |
| Funding | Forest products harvest tax |
| Website | oregonforests |
The Oregon Forest Resources Institute (OFRI) is a state agency that according to Oregon Public Broadcasting and The Oregonian operates as the timber industry's de facto lobbying organization in Oregon.
OFRI was created by the Oregon Legislative Assembly in 1991 and is funded by a dedicated forest-products harvest tax. [1] [2] [3] According the Oregon Public Broadcasting, it was created to "support the timber industry by educating the public about forests and wood products, and by helping private landowners manage their forests in ways that protect the environment". [4] Its Board of Directors consists entirely of representatives from the timber industry. [3]
According to OFRI, its forestry education programs reach more than 100,000 students and more than 1,000 educators annually. [5]
OFRI manages the Rediscovery Forest together with the Oregon Garden, in Silverton. It is a forested area that "educates visitors on the practices and importance of Oregon's forestry industry". [6]
OFRI has purchased several prominent advertising campaigns in the state of Oregon benefiting the timber industry. [4] These campaigns are paid for with taxpayer dollars. In 2015 OFRI spent $1.05 million in taxpayer funds. [7]
A 2020 investigation by Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) and The Oregonian revealed that OFRI has acted as "public-relations agency and lobbying arm for Oregon's timber industry." The reporting showed that OFRI promotes the timber industry and suppresses dissemination of legitimate research conducted by reputable scientists including Beverly Law, a professor at Oregon State University. [4]
On August 31, 2020, Gov. Kate Brown requested an audit of OFRI as a result of OPB's investigation. OFRI had not been audited since 1996. Secretary of State Bev Clarno was to conduct the audit. [8] In June 2021, the state house voted to cut the majority of its funding HB 2357 B, reducing it to $1.7 million from a $4 million annual budget. [9] That bill failed in the senate. [10]
The audit was completed by July 2021, finding breaches of authority. OFRI agreed with all audit findings [11] and OFRI's director, Erin Isselmann, agreed to change its practices. [3] In 2022 OFRI announced that they were taking steps to address the issues raised by the audit. [12] As of 2023 they had made several changes [13] and continue to work with state officials while creating a Public Review Process to realign the organization with the will of Oregonians.
Portland is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated in the northwestern area of the state at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous county in Oregon. As of 2020, Portland had a population of 652,503, making it the 26th-most populous city in the United States, the sixth-most populous on the West Coast, and the second-most populous in the Pacific Northwest, after Seattle. Approximately 2.5 million people live in the Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro, OR–WA metropolitan statistical area, making it the 25th most populous in the United States. About half of Oregon's population resides within the Portland metropolitan area.
Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is the primary television, radio and digital public broadcasting network for most of the U.S. state of Oregon as well as southern Washington. OPB consists of five full-power television stations, dozens of VHF or UHF translators, and over 20 radio stations and frequencies. Broadcasts include local and regional programming as well as television programs from the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and American Public Television (APT), and radio programs from National Public Radio (NPR), American Public Media (APM), Public Radio Exchange (PRX), and the BBC World Service, among other distributors. Its headquarters and television studios are located in Portland.
KOPB-TV is a PBS member television station in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Oregon Public Broadcasting. The station's transmitter is located in the city's Sylvan-Highlands section.
Walter Leslie AuCoin is an American politician. In 1974 he became the first person from the Democratic Party to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon's 1st congressional district, since it was formed in 1892. The seat has been held by Democrats ever since.
The Federal Correctional Institution, Herlong is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in California, opened in 2007. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility also includes a satellite prison camp that houses minimum-security male offenders.
Katherine Brown is an American politician and attorney who served as the 38th governor of Oregon from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th district of the Oregon House of Representatives from 1991 to 1997, three terms as the state senator from the 21st district of the Oregon Senate from 1997 to 2009, three terms as majority leader of the Oregon Senate from 2003 to 2009, and two terms as Oregon Secretary of State from 2009 to 2015. She assumed the governorship upon the resignation of John Kitzhaber in 2015. She was elected to serve out the remainder of his gubernatorial term in the special election in 2016 and was reelected to a full term in 2018.
The government of Portland, Oregon is based on a city commission government system. Elected officials include the mayor, commissioners, and a city auditor. The mayor and commissioners are responsible for legislative policy and oversee the various bureaus that oversee the day-to-day operation of the city. Portland began using a commission form of government in 1913 following a public vote on May 3 of that year. Each elected official serves a four-year term, without term limits. Each city council member is elected at-large.
The Independent Party of Oregon (IPO) is a centrist political party in the U.S. state of Oregon with more than 140,000 registrants since its inception in January 2007. The IPO is Oregon's third-largest political party and the first political party other than the Democratic Party and Republican Party to be recognized by the state of Oregon as a major political party.
Tobias Read is an American politician who is the current Oregon State Treasurer. He was a member of the Oregon House of Representatives, representing District 27 from 2007–2017, which comprises parts of Beaverton, southwest Portland, and unincorporated Multnomah and Washington Counties. He served as Speaker Pro Tempore and was formerly the Democratic Majority Whip.
The economy of the U.S. state of Oregon is made up of a number of sectors. During the 1990s and 2000s, Oregon has attempted to transition its economy from one based on natural resources to one based on a mix of manufacturing, services, and high technology.
Kim Thatcher is an American politician currently serving as a member of the Oregon State Senate for the 11th district since 2023. She previously represented the 13th district from 2015 to 2023, and served as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives for the 25th district from 2005 to 2015. She is a resident of Keizer.
The Oregon Progress Board (OPB) is a commission in the Government of Oregon. It was formed by then-Governor Neil Goldschmidt in 1989. The commission is composed of twelve members, including the Governor of Oregon; nine members appointed by the Governor; one member appointed by the President of the Oregon State Senate; and one member appointed by the Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives.
Oregon Field Guide is a weekly television program produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting focusing on recreation, the outdoors, and environmental issues in the state of Oregon. The show has become part of the Oregon zeitgeist. Steve Amen is the show's creator and original Executive Producer. Ed Jahn, producer with Oregon Field Guide since 2000, became host and Executive Producer in 2016/2017 upon Steve Amen's retirement. Named for the field guides used to identify plants, animals, and natural phenomenon, the wide-ranging series covers Oregon natural history, outdoor recreation, conservation, agriculture, rural life, and other local subjects. Produced with deep narratives rather than short segments, roughly 13 half-hour episodes and specials are shown per year.
Edward Tevis Wheeler is an American politician who has served as the mayor of Portland, Oregon since 2017. He was Oregon State Treasurer from 2010 to 2016.
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Oregon is a part of the Western United States, with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. The 42° north parallel delineates the southern boundary with California and Nevada. The western boundary is formed by the Pacific Ocean.
The Oregon and California Railroad Revested Lands, are approximately 2,600,000 acres (1,100,000 ha) of land located in eighteen counties of western Oregon. Originally granted to the Oregon & California Railroad to build a railroad between Portland, Oregon and San Francisco, California, the land was reconveyed to the United States government by act of Congress in 1916 and is currently managed by the United States Bureau of Land Management.
Shemia Patricia Fagan is an American lawyer and politician who served as the Oregon secretary of state from 2021 to 2023. She previously served as a Democratic member of the Oregon Senate, representing Senate District 24 from in 2019 to 2021. She also represented House District 51 from 2013 to 2017. In 2020, Fagan was elected as Oregon Secretary of State.
Jo Ann A. Hardesty is an American Democratic politician in the U.S. state of Oregon who served as a Portland City commissioner from 2019 to 2022. She previously served in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1995 until 2001.
Cider Riot was an American cider producer with a cider house in the Kerns neighborhood in Northeast Portland, Oregon, from 2016 until November 2019.
Timber Wars is a seven-part podcast hosted by Aaron Scott and produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Our investigation said the institute is "tax-funded" because it is. The institute's $4 million annual budget comes from a tax on logging.
Under state law, timber representatives make up OFRI's board. A lone nonvoting public member is prohibited from having ties to any group or business "known to support or promote environmental or conservation issues." Auditors flagged the prohibition as a credibility risk for the agency and recommended expanding the board's representation.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
