It has been frustrating to read the incomplete media coverage on Sen. Elizabeth Steiner’s wildfire funding bill. While salacious headlines get clicks, the actual story is less scandalous. Here’s the less exciting version: the bill comes from a work group I participated in led by Sen. Steiner. It consisted of six different size and type of landowners… who directly pay taxes to fund the Oregon Department of Forestry’s (ODF) wildfire fighting costs. The goal was to address an affordability crisis related to the growing costs of wildfire. …Sen. Steiner did something no other legislator has done — she invested the time, and pulled in the right experts, to fully understand the system. …We hope Oregonians are willing to look beyond the headlines and listen to the real story, which can be found on the Forestry Smart Policy podcast, where Sen. Steiner explains the origins and process of the work group.