Natural Resources

As the most senior Democratic member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Congressman DeFazio is committed to the responsible management of our nation's natural resources. DeFazio has worked tirelessly for the economic security and sustainability of rural communities in Oregon and across the U.S., offered common-sense solutions to promote forest health and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire, and championed legislation to protect some of Oregon's most incredible natural treasures.

One of DeFazio’s top legislative priorities in Congress is to pass a long-term forest plan for the statutorily unique Oregon and California Railroad Lands (commonly known as O&C Lands) that improves forest health, protects irreplaceable old growth, creates private sector jobs, and provides critical revenues to rural Oregon counties to support basic services like law enforcement and education.

In 2012, DeFazio worked on a bipartisan basis with Rep. Kurt Schrader and Rep. Greg Walden to craft and publicly release a solution entitled the “O&C Trust, Conservation, and Jobs Act.” The plan was widely endorsed by diverse stakeholder groups in Oregon. In September 2013, the O&C Trust, Conservation, and Jobs Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives. It is currently pending in the U.S. Senate.

Read more about the OCTCJA here

Major Accomplishments

County Payments

One of DeFazio's proudest accomplishments is his work on legislation to provide "safety net" payments to timber-dependent counties after changes in federal timber policy dramatically reduced timber receipts to rural communities across the United States. DeFazio helped break the legislative gridlock surrounding the bill and hammered out a compromise signed into law on October 30, 2000. Historically, the legislation meant over $250 million annually for Oregon schools, roads, and public safety. DeFazio played an instrumental role in extending the "safety net" in 2007, in 2008 when he helped pass a four year reauthorization, and in 2012 when he helped pass a one-year extension.

Log Export Ban

Early in his congressional career when Oregon was suffering from a recession DeFazio proposed legislation, which was signed into law, to ban the export of raw logs from federal lands. The ban remains in place and has saved thousands of family-wage jobs.

New Management Strategy in our forests

In an attempt to break the forest management gridlock on federal forests, in 2010 DeFazio spearheaded two forest pilot projects in western Oregon to demonstrate new, scientifically-based strategies for managing public forests. The pilot projects are being led by world-renowned forestry experts Norm Johnson (Oregon State University) and Jerry Franklin (University of Washington). DeFazio was instrumental in bringing key stakeholders to the table – county governments, environmentalists, the timber industry, and federal agencies – and garnering the support of the Obama administration. The two original pilot projects have now turned into five projects. To learn more about the forest pilot projects in Western Oregon, visit: http://www.blm.gov/or/resources/forests/index.php and scroll to “Western OR (O&C) Forestry.”

Protecting Oregon’s Natural Treasures

DeFazio’s leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives was crucial to securing appropriate protections for Steens Mountain, Mt. Hood, the Cascade-Siskiyous, the Elk River and Copper Salmon area, the Oregon Badlands, Soda Mountain, and Spring Basin. See below to learn more about what DeFazio is doing to protect even more of Oregon’s incredible natural places.

DeFazio on Forest Management

There is probably no more politically divisive issue in Oregon's Fourth Congressional District than forest policy. Historically, it has been one the most heavily timber-dependent districts in the country. DeFazio has been widely acknowledged for his skill in managing forest policy.

He was truly thrust to the forefront of this issue when timber harvests were severely curtailed in the late 80's. Cutting old growth timber on public lands was banned to protect the habitat of the endangered northern spotted owl. He spent countless hours working with labor, environmentalists and industry leaders to craft a forest plan that would have avoided legal conflicts and provided real certainty to timber-dependent communities. His efforts to find middle ground and reach consensus were ridiculed by extremists on both sides of the issue, yet he was successful in gaining broad support for his vision of forest management.

Shortly after taking office, President Clinton took steps to try to resolve the spotted owl controversy. President Clinton offered the Northwest Forest Plan, which failed in its promises of a steady supply of timber to local mills and protection for vital ecosystems. DeFazio opposed the Clinton plan. Since the mid-1990s, DeFazio has urged the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations to revise the Northwest Forest Plan to protect old growth and provide sustainable jobs.

Most recently, DeFazio worked with Rep. Kurt Schrader and Rep. Greg Walden on a realistic, long-term forest plan for 2.4 million acres of forests in Western Oregon known as the “O&C Lands.” The bipartisan plan would create thousands of jobs in our forests, mills and communities, stabilize rural communities, save taxpayers money, protect old growth and ensure the health of federal forests for future generations.

Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (a.k.a. "County Payments")

Counties in Oregon will receive their final “safety net” payments at the end of 2012. Without additional support from the federal government, counties will be forced to cut basic services like law enforcement, health, education, and transportation. DeFazio is helping lead the effort in the House of Representatives to find a long-term solution that provides critical revenues to Oregon counties, creates much needed jobs, provides sustainable levels of timber to support the existing milling infrastructure, and saves the federal government money.

Biomass Utilization

DeFazio supports the responsible utilization of biomass material from federal land to develop renewable energy, create jobs, and improve forest health. Hundreds of thousands of acres of federal forests in Oregon could benefit from ecological-based thinning projects. These projects generate thousands of tons of wood chips, slash, and brush that could be used to generate local energy. However, current practice of forest contractors is to pile and burn this material in the open on our public lands - a practice that is bad for the soil and air. A better approach would be to transport this material from federal lands to local facilities to produce local, renewable energy and to create family-wage jobs. Due to short-sighted national energy policies, woody biomass from forest restoration and commercial thinnings on public lands are not utilized as a renewable fuel and energy source. DeFazio is leading the charge in the U.S. House of Representatives to reverse this policy.

Protecting Oregon's Natural Treasures

DeFazio has been a champion of protecting some of Oregon's most unique and spectacular places for the enjoyment of current and future generations. In the current session of Congress, DeFazio is working on the following legislation:

H.R. 1413, the Devil's Staircase Wilderness Act: The legislation would designate approximately 30,000 acres of old growth forest in the Siuslaw National Forest as wilderness. The bill would also protect the headwaters of Wasson and Franklin creeks, both of which serve as salmon habitat.

H.R. 1414, the Oregon Caves Revitalization Act: The legislation that would expand Oregon Caves and transfer management responsibilities of the unique caves from the Forest Service to the National Park Service (NPS). The expansion, which was proposed and supported by NPS over 75 years ago, would ensure that the caves and surrounding watershed are adequately protected from water contamination and pollution from grazing. Management by the Park Service would also emphasize wildfire prevention and forest restoration.

H.R. 1415, the Chetco River Protection Act: This legislation would protect the Wild and Scenic Chetco River from harmful mining practices. The U.S. Forest Service announced it will temporarily withdrawal the Chetco Wild and Scenic River from mineral extraction to give Congress time to consider H.R. 1415.

Climate Change

Congressman DeFazio is committed to promoting the development of renewable energy, helping reduce emissions of greenhouse gases responsible for climate change, and putting an end to our reliance on foreign oil. While DeFazio supports implementing strong domestic caps on greenhouse gas emissions, he believes the most efficient and effective way to cut greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, is for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate emissions. Well-designed regulations would provide the needed predictability and stability to businesses and polluters as they move forward in cutting their emissions. Unlike a speculative, volatile, Wall Street-led cap and trade system, EPA regulations can help the United States reach real reductions without excessive corporate profits and windfalls.