After this happens I’m going to sue Linn County for MY SHARE.
SALEM — Hoping a bump in logging on state lands adds millions of dollars to its coffers, Linn County is preparing a $1.4 billion lawsuit accusing Oregon officials of mismanaging forest policy by failing to promote timber harvests.
The threatened class-action suit, announced at the Capitol on Wednesday, targets Gov. Kate Brown and the state’s forester, Doug Decker. It covers tens of thousands of acres of state forest trust lands that Oregon has managed on behalf of 15 counties for decades.
And it comes during a time of heightened scrutiny over state and federal management of natural resources. Claims that state officials aren’t pursuing logging revenue over conservation goals echo claims about grazing restrictions from armed militants occupying a federal wildlife sanctuary in Harney County.
In a warning letter sent Wednesday, attorney and prominent lobbyist John DiLorenzo says the state has violated a 1998 rule that requires state policy to promote the trust lands’ “greatest permanent value.” By failing to maximize sustainable timber harvests, DiLorenzo and Linn County Chairman Roger Nyquist said, the state has cost counties millions of dollars.
“The long-running budget vise Linn County has been in requires an annual exercise in finding more ways to balance costs and services,” Nyquist and two other commissioners said in a written statement. “For the sake of our communities, it’s a reality that needs to change.”
DiLorenzo estimates that loss at $35 million a year since 2000, when the 1998 rule took effect. More than half of the money Linn County is seeking — $881 million — would be used to guarantee $35 million in annual payments going forward, assuming the state doesn’t change its timber rules first.
But DiLorenzo also acknowledged that his numbers are a “starting point” drawn in part from state documents. He also said he wasn’t sure how many counties would join the suit, along with smaller library and fire districts who depend on counties for their revenues.
That number could also drop after DiLorenzo’s firm, Davis Wright Tremaine, takes out fees and expenses. He also said the state could negotiate a lower number for damages or that a judge could reduce the number.
Besides Linn County, the affected counties include Benton, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Coos, Douglas, Josephine, Klamath, Lane, Lincoln, Marion, Polk, Tillamook and Washington.
Linn County must wait at least 30 days after sending its warning letter before filing suit.
A spokeswoman for Brown’s office didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.
— Denis C. Theriault
http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/01/linn_county_plans_14_billion_l.html
“It covers tens of thousands of acres of state forest trust lands that Oregon has managed on behalf of 15 counties for decades.”
Counties… NOT the American people.
“For the sake of our communities, it’s a reality that needs to change.”
“Our communities” meaning YOUR bank accounts, ya freakin’ POS SCUMBAGS!!!
This is my neighborhood now, and all you commie bast@rds are gonna HANG soon.
And btw, keep right on pushing those INFRINGEMENTS you prefer to pass off as ‘gun laws’. This is what you’ll get for your trouble, jewb#tches…
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