Interesting article, shows evidence of bipartisan cooperation in working to improve the economic and social conditions in Oregon's rural and resource-dependent communities.  Tough as things are in Douglas County, things are worse in Coos County, where outside  timber corporations lacked the concern for  the  communities shown by locally  owned Roseburg Forest Products.  The  crisis in loss of  jobs come from increased competition from cheaper Canadian softwood, log exports, and extensive mechanization in the woods and the mills., not just "environmentalists."  Lets' work out a fair deal with our friends to the North.

Finally, lets' remember that  our hills are covered with 40-some year old "repro" from the tree planting burst of the 70s, hence  now we see all those log trucks full of 15 to 20 skinny "pecker poles"; those trees will only keep growing, allowing plenty of timber while protecting precious old-growth forests.