Eastern Oregon officials to be part of state work group to address wildfire funding

SALEM — The Oregon Department of Forestry and the Oregon State Fire Marshal are convening a workgroup to discuss solutions for sustainable wildfire mitigation and suppression funding to address the growing wildfire crisis.

The Legislature tasked the two agencies with establishing the workgroup through House Bill 5701 in the 2024 legislative session. The group is meeting for the first time in June.

The need for a sustainable and equitable funding structure for wildfire response and mitigation has never been more urgent. The way response and mitigation are currently funded is inadequate to address the growing complexity and cost of wildfires Oregon faces today, which impacts public health and safety, community well-being, and the state’s economy.

Workgroup members represent a wide range of partners and will work closely with the Governor’s Wildfire Programs Advisory Council.

Workgroup members include:

• Alan von Borstel, Oregon Wheat Growers League

• Anne-Marie Storms, Oregon Fire Marshals Association

• Armando Martinez, Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw

• Barry Bushue, Bureau of Land Management

• Bill Boos, Special Districts Association of Oregon

• Bill Terry, Consumers Power Inc.

• Branden Pursinger, Association of Oregon Counties

• Brennan Garrelts, Oregon Department of Forestry’s Emergency Fire Cost Committee

• Brian Stewart, Oregon Fire Chiefs Association

• Carrie Nyssen, American Lung Association

• Casey Kulla, Oregon Wild

• Chris Edwards, Oregon Forest Industries Council

• Dylan Kruse, Sustainable Northwest

• Eric Kranzush, Giustina Land & Timber Co.

• Frank Day, Oregon Volunteer Firefighters Association

• Genoa Ingram, Oregon Fire District Directors Association

• Lauren Poor, Oregon Farm Bureau

• James Hall, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation

• Jim McCauley, League of Oregon Cities

• John Davis, Green Diamond

• Jonathan Fink, Portland State University

• Karl Koenig, Oregon State Fire Fighters Council

• Kenton Brine, NW Insurance

• Kyle Smith, The Nature Conservancy of Oregon

• Lon Matheny, Coquille Indian Tribe

• Mari Kramer, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians

• Mark Bennett, Wildfire Programs Advisory Council

• Matt McElligott, Cattlemen’s Association

• Monte Bryan, Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians

• Patrick Skrip, Operating Forest Protective Association

• Roger Beyer, Oregon Small Woodlands Association

• Scott Spaulding, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation

• Steve Warden, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde

• Suzanne Seattle, Burns Paiute Tribe

• Tim Sexton, Klamath Tribes

Ex-officio attendees include:

• Andrew Stolfi, Department of Consumer & Business Services, Division of Financial Regulation

• Doug Denning, Higher Education Coordinating Council

• Jim Kelly, Oregon Board of Forestry

• Michael Grant, Public Utilities Commission

• Representative Bobby Levy, Oregon State Legislature

• Representative John Lively, Oregon State Legislature

• Senator Fred Girod, Oregon State Legislature

• Senator Jeff Golden, Oregon State Legislature

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Elkhorn Media Group