Ecology Speaker Series Addresses New Green Deal and Oregon’s Stream Protection Laws

CREATE is offering a free Ecology Speaker Series on Thursday, February 21st hosted at CCC’s Columbia Hall, Room 219, in Astoria, Oregon at 7:00 p.m.

The Ecology Speaker Series welcomes Chuck Willer, Director of The Coast Range Association, who will present “Wall Street Forests & the Climate Crisis: Putting People Before Profits” which discusses how the New Green Deal applies to Clatsop County’s high-density carbon forests.  Following Willer’s presentation will be another presenter, Mary Scurlock, policy and technical consultant for the Oregon Stream Protection Coalition who will address “Private Forests, Public Water: Why Oregon’s Stream Protection Laws are Failing. Scurlock’s portion will cover her thoughts on how and why Oregon’s Board of Forestry and Environmental Quality Commission are failing to protect the public’s interest in clean water and wildlife on state and private forestlands.

For twenty-five years, Chuck Willer has worked for the Coast Range Association studying forest management in Western Oregon. His current work focuses on the consolidation of Oregon’s private forest ownership in large corporate companies that are Timber Investment Management Organizations (TIMOs) or Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS).

Mary Scurlock is the principal freshwater policy consultant at M. Scurlock & Associates, a sole proprietorship located in Portland, Oregon.  Mary’s main project is to provide policy and technical input to the Oregon Board of Forestry and the Environmental Quality Commission on behalf of the Oregon Stream Protection Coalition, a 28-member ad hoc group of conservation and fishing industry organizations advocating for stronger baseline regulations under the Oregon Forest Practices Act and its implementing rules.