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Rural Oregon was handed a great 'boat'. We sank it. We were surrounded by forests which were cut down for short term profits: Forest Service got funding by board feet cut, local communities collected taxes, local workers earned wages, stock holders received dividends, but most importantly top timber industry executives becoming extremely rich. They are now part of the corporate ruling class in our country.

Short term greed precluded acting sustainably. Now Forest Capital owns Boise Land nation wide. They blatantly acknowledge managing for short term profits. After all, that's what corporations do. Wonder why we are at war? Short term profits!

If you want to keep getting milk from a cow you can't slaughter and eat her. But since rural Oregon has slaughtered its resource cow, it's crass to expect to be baled out or to blame 'environmentalists' for locking them out of the woods before they'd cleaned the last bones of what was a vibrant ecosystem.

I suggest that rural oregon concentrate on sustainable economics that would include getting locally produced agricultural products directly to consumers rather than putting it into the corporate food chain. Also manage for recreation and rural contact to attract urban visitors year around. Invest in alternative energy! Take the lead in creating the future.

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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I attended a rural congress gathering prior to this Congress and found it was a close knit republican group who joked openly about everything from the endangered species act to environmentalists and had one sided views on the decline of timber taxes. I had to introduce myself and declare my progressive, environmentalist leanings and say that I'd had enough of the 'joking' and would appreciate a more professional tone. They did a good job of that and I then felt included. But for most folks of my leaning it would have been most uncomfortable. mary

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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