Our local, regional and national economies are intricately woven with the health of our environment.  The foundation of all economies rests on the surrounding environment.  The forests of western Oregon are no different.

Many businesses rely on healthy rivers, fish populations, hiking opportunities and work in the woods. The commercial fishing industry depends on high quality salmon habitat. Cottage industries that harvest tree boughs for wreath making, collect commercial mushrooms, or take visitors rafting, fishing or hiking flourish on public forests in western Oregon. Responsible thinning of tree plantations and fuels reduction in fire prone forests are important economic activities.

Tourism has emerged as possibly the most important economic driver in western Oregon's rural communities in recent years. For example, it is estimated that rafting and boating on the BLM administered Rogue River in southern Oregon net $13 million per year. Protecting forest and water resources is the best gift we could ever give to future generations.

Wine Industry Growing

A study released in January 2006 by the Oregon Wine Center says the wine industry in Oregon generates more than $1.4 billion in economic activity for the state. The Applegate Valley is home to a budding wine industry, with vineyards dotting the bucolic valley floor. Vintners grow various grapes here, including Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignion, Viognier, Pinot Gris, and a number of others.

Over the past decade wine tourism has come of age in Southern Oregon, until now, according to the Oregon wine Board, it contributes significantly to the $92 million in wine tourism revenues generated statewide. This emerging industry is driven by the Oregon Wine Board, wineries, restaurants, B&Bs and hotels from throughout the area as they promote Southern Oregon as a destination worthy of a visit.  Not solely because of the emerging wine industry, but also because of the viewscapes and outdoor recreational amenities our area has to offer.  We are blessed with forests, mountains, rivers, and a climate that, if properly managed, can make our corner of Oregon a first-class wine tour destination and add a much needed source of new jobs and sustainable revenues to our communities.

"Our region enjoys the weather and soils to grow top quality wine-grapes but also offers outdoor activities and scenic wonders that attract visitors to once-in-a-lifetime outdoor experiences. Visitors that are a foundation for my winery business, as well as a myriad of other wilderness-linked businesses...What we need is forward-looking forest management that weds ecological needs with all the economic interests of our communities."

- Duane Bowman, Cricket Hill Vineyard, Jacksonville, Oregon

Pioneering new forest practices

The Applegate Valley of southwest Oregon is also a pioneer in new forest practices that take a lighter touch on the land while still producing the wood products we all need. Out-of-the-Woods Ecoforestry, based in the Little Applegate, is one such venture, and has been working for more than a decade to develop a local economy based on small logs, which they believe is the future of forest management in southwest Oregon. Out-of-the-Woods focuses on thinning to reduce fire risk, harvesting in an environmentally friendly manner to produce Forest Stewardship Council certified products, and providing high value wood products to the community.

 Employing local workers, they harvest small-diameter material and process it with a portable bandsaw mill. They recently built a drying kiln for flooring and molding products. They maintain a lumberyard in the Little Applegate where neighbors purchase various building materials from small logs taken out of fire-prone forests in the Applegate.