Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | TuneIn | RSS | More

Show 13-49 Summary: Could this be a win for Oregon? And common sense? It sure looks like one. Out of the blue, the Elliott State Research Forest plan, which would remove most of Oregon’s largest state forest from production to “study” it — suddenly, Oregon State University pulled out. To use the Left’s favorite catchphrase, it just wasn’t sustainable. Thanks also goes to the tribal nations who thought the plan was not only a financial mess but an environmental mess too. But was there more afoot here than meets the eye? Was it all a scheme to put something else in place? We talk the history of the Elliott State Forest, the evolution of research plan, and how government created the problem it could then fix. If only we spent billions on it.

The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.

Original Air Dates: December 9, 2023 | Guests: Dr. Bob Zybach and Jen Hamaker

This Week – Elliott State Research Forest Plan Sidelined

After years of planning (scheming) and millions of dollars spent on the deal to decommission Oregon’s largest state forest. out of the blue, Oregon State University president, Jayathi Murthy, backed out. That took real courage. As I Spy Radio has been saying all along, this was never going to make financial sense. Nor environmental sense for the endangered species the environmentalists claimed they wanted to help.

What happened?

We talk with long-time guest and I Spy Radio‘s “in house” forestry and timber expert, Dr. Bob Zybach about why this forest deal was a boondoggle from the start. And with Jen Hamaker, president of ONRI, whose organization helped drive public outcry against Oregon’s statewide Habitat Conservation Plan. And how that outcry helped lead OSU’s president to make the right decision.

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Environmentalists

As of this writing, this looks like a win for Oregon. And common sense.

Remember, Oregon, by law, is supposed to be making money for the Common School Fund from its forests. But Far Left environmentalists have seized control in Oregon and are working to do anything but harvest timber. Which means they really don’t understand the environment at all. Just ask the tribal nations.

Who did, in fact, tell the environmentalists exactly that. The Elliott State Research Forest would not work. Not financially. And not be sustainable environmentally either. It would, in fact, create a worse habitat for the species they claimed they wanted to protect.

their plans would ruin the which would remove most of the state forest from production to “study” it — suddenly, Oregon State University pulled out. If it can’t be resurrected by December 31, 2023, the deal will sunset. Thankfully, OSU staff saw the impractical and nonviable finances and withdrew. Thanks in large part, too, to the tribal nations who thought the plan was not only a financial mess but an environmental mess too. One that ignored common sense and basic understanding of forestry. (Keep in mind, this was a management scheme cooked up by so-called “environmentalists.”) But was there more afoot here than meets the eye? Was it all a scheme to put something else in place? We talk the history of the Elliott State Forest, the evolution of research plan, and how government created the problem it could then fix. If only we spent billions on it.

What You’ll Learn on Today’s Show

• How the Elliott State Forest was sabotaged by the government, creating a problem that needed to be solved
• Why public outcry against the Elliott State Research Forest played a huge role in OSU backing out as the research partner
• How Oregon is stealing from its own children. Millions spent on the plan when the Elliott State Forest should have been generating millions of dollars, every year, for the Common School Fund

Be sure to scroll down to the Links & Info section to see the flurry of letters back and forth about the end of the Elliott deal, Dr. Bob’s “boondoggle” article, and more.

• Why the tribes said this wouldn’t work
• The secretive, closed-door meetings to push the plan
• Was there something else behind this scheme to take the Elliott Forest offline?
• Who would profit from a “side plan” to sell carbon credits

The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version

Trapped under a heavy object? Missed the show? Don’t worry—catch the podcast version. I Spy Radio is now available on your favorite platform, or you can grab it right here. See the full list of podcast options.

Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

• Read Dr. Bob’s article: “Elliott Forest Boondoggle Vs. The Giesy Plan Alternative” (Oregon Fish & Wildlife, Winter 2020)
• Jenifer Hamaker is president of Oregon Natural Resource Industries or “ONRI.” Visit ONRI.us to find out more and what you can do. *Please donate to help them keep up the fight! (See the “shop” tab for the link to donate. Or just jump to the donation page right here.)
• Read the email, presentation, letters, and press releases that led to the end of the Elliott State Research Forest plan:
  • 1_Huntington email_10-13-23
  • 2_Dean_DeLuca_Board_of_Trustees_Presentation
  • 3_OSU_Murthy_Letter_11-13-2023
  • 4_ DSL_Director_Vicki_Walker_Letter_11-14-2023
  • 5_ CTCLUSI_Tribes_Letter_11-15-2023
• The State Land Board’s December 12, 2023, meeting agenda. Note that the Elliott State Research Forest is no longer an action item but just informational.

Related Information

• Read the alternative proposal to the Elliott State Research Forest: The Giesy Plan.
• Cop28 president says there is ‘no science’ behind demands for phase-out of fossil fuels (The Guardian, Dec 3, 2023)*“Exclusive: UAE’s Sultan Al Jaber says phase-out of coal, oil and
  Media

  gas would take world ‘back into caves’”