SALEM, Ore. – Following the release of the proposed Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) wildfire risk map by the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), House Republican Leader Vikki Breese-Iverson released the following statement condemning the map as too overreaching.
“This is just another example of how Democrat leadership continues to fail Oregonians,” Leader Breese-Iverson (R-Prineville) said. “Senator Golden and his radical environmental lobby allies championed this bill from committee to passage.”
HB 2722, a proposed alternative, was a bipartisan bill that would have empowered local communities to draw these maps. But Democrat leadership shut it down in favor of the environmentalists’ wish list bill. Flaws in the map include designating irrigated lands under center pivots as extreme risk.
“As drafted, these arbitrary maps do not seriously deal with the problem in our forests. We need to stop reclassifying land and passing more burdensome regulations that continue to drive up costs on Oregonians and instead deal with the real problem – forest management. State and federal land mismanagement are the driving force behind our wildfire issues, not private land, but these maps leave most of the burden on private landowners. If the majority wants to be real about solutions, then they need to be real about the problem.”
SB 762 is already costing Oregonians, as utility companies are raising rates to pay for its mandates. PacificPower is proposing a 12% rate increase. To view the maps and view addition information, click here.