Randy Schillinger

PORTLAND, Oregon —A controversial Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for State Forests that will reduce timber harvests by 34 percent and result in billions of dollars of lost revenue for the next 70 years has been narrowly approved by a divided Board of Forestry. The agency and the Board realized back in January 2023 that the draft HCP would drastically reduce harvest levels and fail to meet the agency’s own objectives. …“No alternatives were ever explored,” said Randy Schillinger, CEO of Hampton Lumber. “There was no reflection, no amendment, no compromise and no consideration for communities and jobs.” …“A few will celebrate passage of this HCP, but anything that excludes and harms this many people is not a win for Oregon,” said Schillinger. …”The amount of forestland arbitrarily set aside in “no touch” zones by ODF is too excessive and has not been well explained or defended.