March 3, 2022 3:30 a.m.

On Wednesday, the Oregon Senate approved Senate Bill 1501 on a 22-5 vote.

A release from Oregon Senate Democrats said the legislation updates provisions of the Oregon Forest Practices Act, which governs logging activity on private forestlands.

Senator Jeff Golden, an Ashland Democrat said, “This bill is a gift from leaders of the timber industry, small woodland owners and the environmental community who worked long and hard to find a path away from the timber wars that have tortured our state for half a lifetime”. Golden is the Chair of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire Recovery. Golden said, “It’s a huge gift – not just a blueprint for the best use of the forests we depend on for so many values, but a reminder that it’s within our reach to begin reversing the divides that have become so deep”.

The release said the Oregon Forest Practices Act was first enacted by the legislature in 1971. It establishes standards for all commercial logging activities on Oregon’s forestland. That includes building and maintaining roads, harvesting, applying pesticides, and replacing harvested trees. The release said Senate Bill 1602 from the first special session in 2020, required the Governor to facilitate mediation session between forest industry and environmental interest representatives on changes in the Oregon Forest Practices Act.

Senate Bill 1501 extends those discussions and includes various provisions to improve forest management.

The legislation now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.