Would Sen. Wyden’s legislation sustain or eliminate working forests?

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We are reminded once again that “beauty” is in the eye of the beholder.  A One Voice for Working Forests supporter who read “A forestry model for the future?” — the Bend Bulletin article mentioned here on Jan. 12 — suggested checking out another point of view:  “Wyden Proposes the End of Forest Stewardship in Eastern Oregon.”  It’s a commentary from the Western Institute for Study of the Environment (WISE).

The Bulletin article says a forest reforestation project near Bend bringing conservationists, timber industry reps and others together is demonstrating how many principles from federal legislation proposed by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-OR, would work on the ground.

The WISE commentary suggests Wyden’s legislation, billed as a “Jobs Act,” would be a job killer.  It cites restrictions on the size of trees that can be cut, no-touch riparian zones of 300 feet on either side of streams, and numerous other tenets of the legislation as “efforts to cut the throat of forest management.”

What do you think?  Would the legislation help sustain or eliminate working forests?