Forests in Oregon cover over 30 million acres and is about half of Oregon 62 million land acres. In 2009 Oregon produced over 2.7 million board feet of logs, this feeds Oregon's wood manufacturing industries and creates jobs in planting, growing and harvesting timber. Along with exporting raw logs to other nations, which I personally do not approve. Oregon should only export finished products to other countries this would supply more jobs in the mills for the middleclass worker and would boost our economy.

Logging in 2009 added $451 million to Oregon's payroll and employed 9391 jobs, this was a decline since the recession in 2008.

Loggers earn an average of about $41,689.00 a year, compared to the same wages as truck drivers, fallers, and buckers. At one time loggers were the highest paid workers in Oregon during the late 40's and 50's and 60's while other industries finally caught up in wages in the 70's.

Part of the decline of logging in the 1990's is blamed on the spotted owl concerns, and the decrease of logging on public lands. Then logging started to come back until the recession and housing bust where logging dropped by 32% from 2004-2009.

The logging industry still struggles and hopefully will recover from the recession as many other construction fields are trying to do. Logging is a needed and is a renewable resource and should be done. Logging is a must to keep timer lands strong and healthy and allows people to have a paycheck and help keep the economy going.

Logging today is a commodity that is managed in order to ensure timber stands in the years to come. In the old days timber was cut and there were no replanting so the forestlands were left barren, with replanting Oregon can ensure wood products for generations to come.

Clear cuts are a good thing, some people believe they are ugly but clear cuts allow vast amounts of food growth for deer and elk, while tall stands of timber offer little food for these animals. It is better to clear cut a stand of timber, than to half cut, because when you cut portions of a stand of timber you get a lot of blow downs and blistered trees from the sun on the outer edge of the stand. Trees depend on each other to brace themselves from wind storms.