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Last week's blitz on Capitol Hill to draw attention to the plight of counties facing elimination of the federal timber safety net proved valuable, Douglas County Commissioner Doug Robertson said.
Speaking at Wednesday's meeting of the county Board of Commissioners, Robertson said the effort spotlighted the importance of the program for counties across the United States that have been hurt by cutbacks in logging on federal forests.
More than 200 officials representing counties and schools throughout the nation -- including Robertson and fellow Commissioner Marilyn Kittelman -- descended upon Washington, D.C., to urge Congress to extend the safety net program.
"It was an opportunity to re-energize the effort," Robertson said.
The safety net, which was signed into law in 2000 by former President Bill Clinton, is set to expire at the end of the federal fiscal year Sept. 30. Douglas County receives about $50 million a year from the program, which began after the number of trees cut in the forests decreased from efforts to protect the northern spotted owl.
Altogether, 800 rural counties in 41 states, mostly in the West, receive safety net payments. Officials are seeking $400 million to extend payments for another year while Congress works on a longer extension.
The Bush administration has agreed to provide payments for another year but a definitive funding source has yet to be identified.
The House has earmarked $50 million a year from offshore oil leases toward the safety net. On Wednesday, Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River, sent Robertson a letter saying that Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., chairman of the House Resources Committee, had worked to find an additional $50 million a year in a compromise package offered to the Senate in negotiations for passage of an energy act.
Robertson said he didn't expect to see any real movement on finding a way to pay for the extension until after the fall elections, but said he believes the rally helped create interest in that effort.
Robertson, who heads a national committee that reports to Congress on the safety net, said he thought it was important that an area stream improvement group was recognized for its efforts by the federal Department of the Interior at the same time the rally was being held.
Jake Gibbs, president of the Partnership for the Umpqua Rivers, and Jake Winn, restoration coordinator for the Roseburg office of the Bureau of Land Management, were also in Washington last week to accept a national Take Pride in America award.
The partnership, comprised of landowners, industrialists, ranchers, conservationists, recreationists and other interest groups, strives to improve water quality and fish runs in the Umpqua watershed. The group was lauded for its efforts, along with a dozen other groups nationally.
The partnership, formerly known as the Umpqua Basin Watershed Council, has worked for more than a decade to improve local rivers and creeks. Gibbs and Winn, who attended Wednesday's meeting of the Board of Commissioners, thanked the board for its support.
Some of the group's projects are paid for through grants provided through funding from the federal government's Title II program. That money comes from the safety net and is dedicated to forest and public partnership programs.
Robertson said having Gibbs, Winn and other Take Pride winners helped emphasize the importance of the safety net for those improvement projects.
The House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would allow increased logging in federal forests following a fire. The bill now goes to the Senate, where it stands a good chance at passage, Robertson said.
"It gives us some confidence that we'll be able to get back into the forests," Robertson said.
* You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
Speaking at Wednesday's meeting of the county Board of Commissioners, Robertson said the effort spotlighted the importance of the program for counties across the United States that have been hurt by cutbacks in logging on federal forests.
More than 200 officials representing counties and schools throughout the nation -- including Robertson and fellow Commissioner Marilyn Kittelman -- descended upon Washington, D.C., to urge Congress to extend the safety net program.
"It was an opportunity to re-energize the effort," Robertson said.
The safety net, which was signed into law in 2000 by former President Bill Clinton, is set to expire at the end of the federal fiscal year Sept. 30. Douglas County receives about $50 million a year from the program, which began after the number of trees cut in the forests decreased from efforts to protect the northern spotted owl.
Altogether, 800 rural counties in 41 states, mostly in the West, receive safety net payments. Officials are seeking $400 million to extend payments for another year while Congress works on a longer extension.
The Bush administration has agreed to provide payments for another year but a definitive funding source has yet to be identified.
The House has earmarked $50 million a year from offshore oil leases toward the safety net. On Wednesday, Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River, sent Robertson a letter saying that Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., chairman of the House Resources Committee, had worked to find an additional $50 million a year in a compromise package offered to the Senate in negotiations for passage of an energy act.
Robertson said he didn't expect to see any real movement on finding a way to pay for the extension until after the fall elections, but said he believes the rally helped create interest in that effort.
Robertson, who heads a national committee that reports to Congress on the safety net, said he thought it was important that an area stream improvement group was recognized for its efforts by the federal Department of the Interior at the same time the rally was being held.
Jake Gibbs, president of the Partnership for the Umpqua Rivers, and Jake Winn, restoration coordinator for the Roseburg office of the Bureau of Land Management, were also in Washington last week to accept a national Take Pride in America award.
The partnership, comprised of landowners, industrialists, ranchers, conservationists, recreationists and other interest groups, strives to improve water quality and fish runs in the Umpqua watershed. The group was lauded for its efforts, along with a dozen other groups nationally.
The partnership, formerly known as the Umpqua Basin Watershed Council, has worked for more than a decade to improve local rivers and creeks. Gibbs and Winn, who attended Wednesday's meeting of the Board of Commissioners, thanked the board for its support.
Some of the group's projects are paid for through grants provided through funding from the federal government's Title II program. That money comes from the safety net and is dedicated to forest and public partnership programs.
Robertson said having Gibbs, Winn and other Take Pride winners helped emphasize the importance of the safety net for those improvement projects.
The House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would allow increased logging in federal forests following a fire. The bill now goes to the Senate, where it stands a good chance at passage, Robertson said.
"It gives us some confidence that we'll be able to get back into the forests," Robertson said.
* You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
