Chance of sunshine in a dark economic forecast

The doom: Oregon is facing tough challenges

As we all know, Oregon is in the middle of a budget crisis.

In May, the Office of Economic Analysis issued a revenue forecast for the state General Fund that showed a sharp drop in the money available to fund state programs that support our natural resources, as well as critical services like healthcare and schools. State officials predict a deficit of $577 million for the current 2009-11 biennium, which ends next June.

To address the shortfall, Governor Kulongoski has directed state agencies to prepare spending-reduction plans that bring the state budget back into balance.

The gloom: Agencies prepare lists of budget reductions, natural resources take the hit along with the rest

Every state agency must reduce its respective budget by about nine percent for the last 12 months of the current biennium. 12 state agencies are currently tasked with protecting our clean water, clean air, habitat preservation and many other valuable environmental protections that help preserve the quality of life we love here.

Take the Oregon Department of Forestry, for example. The Department of Forestry oversees aspects of forest stewardship that many of us take for granted--things like fire protection of Oregon's 16 million acres of forestland, pest control, and implementing Oregon's Plan for Salmon and Watershed, among other things. I serve on the department's external budget workgroup. Many different stakeholders are at the workgroups's table working to help the department make the required cuts while still protecting the iconic forests of our state.

(You can find  proposed reductions for each agency online here.)

Chance of sunshine: Protecting the environment in the 2011 Legislative session

Yes, it's serious. Agency cuts will hurt, and the hole in the budget leaves very real questions about what we will be able to accomplish in the next legislative session. But we can't let the budget be an excuse not to make investments in Oregon's future.

OLCV understands the importance of raising revenue in the state. It's one reason we worked so hard to help pass Measures 66 and 67 in January. Finding innovative ways to raise revenue in the state is going to be very important next session, and legislators should look for innovative ways to protect the environment and raise revenue at the same time. In 2007 the City of San Francisco banned its departments from buying bottled water, even for water coolers, saving taxpayers' money and protecting the environment at the same time.

It's been well established that protecting the environment can also spur our economy and create local jobs for Oregon families. The Oregon Conservation Network is working right now to develop Priorities for a Healthy Oregon for the 2011 legislative session. OCN will be working on innovative proposals that have the ability to create jobs statewide, bring revenue sources to the state and protect the environment.

On August 26th, the next state revenue forecast will be released. This forecast will give us a better sense of where our state is economically. We are facing challenging times in Oregon; it's time to put our state back on track while protecting Oregon’s natural legacy and making sure Oregon maintains a quality of life that attracts and retains local business in our state.