House Bill 4105 is Bad News for State Forests – Submit Testimony Today!
The 2026 Oregon legislative session is chugging along and a bill that would increase logging levels and set a dangerous precedent for non-stop timber industry litigation is back. With your help, Cascadia Wildlands and partners defeated this bill during the last legislative session. This zombie bill is even worse than before.
House Bill 4105 would weaken protections for Oregon’s public state forests. The bill would require the state Department of Forestry to establish a timber harvest rule that prioritizes logging over fish and wildlife habitat, carbon storage, and recreation. It could hinder the agency’s implementation of the state forest Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) we fought so hard for. It would put drinking water for the half-million Oregonians who rely on state forest watersheds at further risk.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, this year’s bill would also grant the timber industry a special right to sue the state over logging levels. This would not only result in enormous litigation costs for the state (paid for by Oregon taxpayers), but would allow the timber industry to effectively force more clearcuts on state forests. We need your help to put a stop to this bad bill now!
HB 4105 is scheduled for a hearing on Monday, February 9th, at 1 p.m. in the House Committee on Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources and Water. You can submit testimony opposing this bill today and until 48 hours after the hearing, but it’s best to get your thoughts submitted before the hearing. Here’s what to do:
- Click here to visit the Oregon State Legislative Information System bill page for submitting testimony on HB 4105.
- Fill in your name, email, and city of residence.
- Select “OPPOSE” from the drop down menu indicating your position on the bill.
- Either upload your testimony as a PDF or type it directly into the text box (you can copy and paste). Feel free to use the sample message below to get started, but be sure to personalize it to make it your own and have the greatest impact. Your message can be very simple. Check out this fact sheet for more information on the bill.
You have until 12:59 p.m. on Friday to submit your testimony, but it’s best if you register your opposition before the hearing on Wednesday. With your advocacy, we can once again put a stop to this attack on Oregon’s state public forests. Thank you for submitting your testimony today!
TEMPLATE:
Dear Co-Chairs Helm and Owens, Vice Chair McDonald, and Members of the Committee,
I oppose House Bill 4105. This timber industry bill prioritizes logging over all other forest values on state forests. It undermines the state forest Habitat Conservation Plan and would lead to more clearcuts, more industry lawsuits, less habitat for fish and wildlife, and less carbon storage on state public forests.
The bill is unnecessary. The Department of Forestry already has processes in place to establish timber harvest goals and regularly meets or exceeds those goals, often at the expense of water quality, imperiled species, and carbon storage.
The bill is expensive. It would require costly rulemaking and lead to non-stop litigation the state would have to defend against at taxpayer expense. The bill creates a new, special right for the timber industry to sue the Department of Forestry to force more logging on state forests. The state can’t afford unneeded legislation with an enormous fiscal impact.
I urge you to oppose this bill. Instead, I encourage this committee to focus on measures that would increase carbon storage on our state forests and safeguard public state forests and waterways for current and future generations.
Please don’t let this bill pass out of committee.
Sincerely,
