High Roberts Slideshow
Following the controversy over an OSU graduate research team's peer reviewed research on post-fire logging, the Oregon Senate took action, emails were unearthed that documented how the Dean of Oregon State University's College of Forestry (CoF), Hal Salwasser, lobbied extensively on behalf of vested interests for controversial legislation that would open up public lands to expedited and ecologically-damaging logging after naturally occurring fires.
Click here for links to OSU memos, relevant publications, scientific testimony, and media coverage of the OSU controversy.
In January 2006, the prestigous journal Science published a study by OSU graduate research team led by students Daniel Donato and Joe Fontaine, in collaboration with other students and professors, on the effects of post-fire logging. The above document summarizes emails that relate the efforts of Dean Salwasser and others in the Oregon State CoF to blunt the impact of the study. As reported by the Oregonian and corroborated by the emails, Salwasser and other in the OSU CoF actively attempted to prevent the paper's publication and worked with timber industry interests to undercut its findings.
The email correspondence was obtained by the Oregon Senate Natural Resources Committee. Chair Frank Shields held a hearing on Friday April 7, 2006 in Salem, Oregon, prior to which only a small portion of these emails were disclosed or reviewed. Since that time, the specific scope of the public records request was expanded and the CoF has disclosed 1,000s of pages of additional documents.
While the CoF provided the emails, many were heavily redacted, including attachments and information distributed to timber industry representatives and officials in state and federal government. The documents on this page contain details on emails that were not previously released to the media from and to John Session, as well as messages that Hal Salwasser did not disclose until after the hearing on April 7, 2006.
In a separate hearing before federal legislators, Reps. Greg Walden and Brian Baird aggressively questioned Daniel Donato about the scientific study, and personally questioned his ethics. Congressman Baird attempted, unsuccessfully, to discredit the study with his own statistical analysis. Reps. Baird and Walden sponsored failed legislation in 2006 named the Forest Emergency Recovery and Research Act (HR 4200) that sought to expedite logging after forest disturbances and eliminate public involvement in the name of fire risk reduction and forest recovery. The findings of decades of research run counter to this approach, and instead recommend caution on burned landscapes.
The correspondence details the systematic problems that emerge when a small but seemingly powerful group of professors seek to prevent publication of research in a prestigious journal to serve interests that are vested in the outcome using public resources. This effort was an extremely unusual and unwarranted response by a university to the publication of a paper in this prestigious journal. The BLM initially pulled funds for the study's authors.
The emails show that Salwasser was continuing his ongoing and extensive lobbying effort for controversial legislation that promotes public land logging after disturbances (HR 4200 and a companion bill from Sen. Smith (R. OR)). Salwasser's emails characterized scientists and economists who had reported that a massive postfire logging project harmed forest recovery and wasted taxpayer dollars as "scam artists & extortionists--the mafia out to get him." Salwasser expressed a fear that the Donato study was part of an orchestrated attempt to undermine HR 4200.
In March 2006, over 169 scientists finalized a science-based statement in opposition to the HR 4200 legislation that Dean Salwasser worked to support. The list of scientists grew to over 600 people by September of 2006.
Scientists have confirmed the research team and put it squarely in the context of a substantial body of existing scientific knowledge that shows that post-fire logging hinders forest postfire recovery. In the emails obtained from the College, scientists and alumni alike expressed grave concerns about the divisive politicization of these issues by the College's Dean and other faculty. On the COF website, two statisticians recently confirmed that Brian Baird's attack on study co-author Donato was unfounded.
OSU Communications
Donato et al, 2006. Post-Wildfire Logging Hinders Regeneration and Increases Fire Risk (PDF)
Donato et al, 2006. Supporting Materials (PDF)
Professor Sessions critique of Donato study in a letter to Science(PDF)
Donato et al statement to the media (PDF)
Sessions Biscuit Fire Report (PDF)
Sessions et al, 2004. The Consequences of Delay (PDF)
Memo on Post-Fire Science from Hal Salwasser to the Faculty and Staff of the OSU School of Forestry, Jan 11 (Word)
Communication from Dean Salwasser, Jan 26 (PDF)
Strategic Proposal for HR 4200 by Dean Salwasser (Word)
2005 Letter from OSU President, Ed Ray (PDF)
Post-fire logging in Biscuit fire area hinders regeneration, increases fire risk: 1/6/06press release from OSU (PDF)
Recommendations of the Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility, OSU College of Forestry (PDF)
Dean's Plan of Action to Move the College of Forestry Legacy Forward (PDF)
Scientific Publications, Opinions and Testimony
Scientist Sign-on Letter to Congress (PDF)
Professor Robert Beschta's Testimony before the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Alternative Energy (PDF)
Professor Jerry Franklin's Testimony before the House Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health (PDF)
Environmental Effects of Postfire Logging: Scientific review edited by McIver and Starr for the US Forest Serevice (PDF)
Noss et al, 2006. Ecological Science Relevant to Management Policies for Fire-prone Forests of the Western United States: a white paper on fire and forest health by the Society for Conservation Biology (PDF)
Lindenmayer et al, 2004. Salvage Harvesting Policies After Natural Disturbances (PDF)
Science Editorial (PDF)
Professor Karr (University of Washington) Commentary: When Government Ignores Science, Scientists Should Speak Up (PDF)
Media Coverage
The Oregonian 8/31/05 - Get to work on salvage: poll finds that Oregonians support a careful policy of salvage and replanting on burned-over federal forests (PDF)
The Seattle PI 12/08/05 - Guest Columnist Richard Hutto: Post-fire logging is bad for forests and wildlife (PDF)
The Oregonian 1/06/06 - Scorched forests best left alone, study finds (PDF)
The News-Review 1/09/06 - Post-fire restoration editorial: New study should not harm effort to allow more salvage logging, replanting (PDF)
Eugene Weekly 1/19/06 - Q&A with Rich Fairbanks, former forest service team leader for the Biscuit salvage plan (PDF)
The Oregonian 1/20/06 - Logging study sets off own firestorm (PDF)
The Oregonian 1/22/06 - Article sparks scholastic spat (PDF)
The Oregonian 1/23/06 - OSU academic freedom survives brush with fire (PDF)
Inside Higher Education 1/24/06 - Scientific Discourse or Prior Restraint? (PDF)
The Oregonian 1/27/06 - OSU dean says he's sorry, seeks to mend rift over forest research (PDF)
The Scientist 1/27/06 - Wildfire logging debate heats up (PDF)
The Oregonian 1/30/06 - Commentary: Detach OSU school from logging taxes (PDF)
The Oregonian 2/01/06 - OSU prof will press research challenge (PDF)
The Oregonian 2/07/06 - BLM freezes OSU's grant behind study (PDF)
The Corvallis Gazette-Times 2/08/09 - Forest study flap growing (PDF)
The Oregonian 2/09/06 - About face restores OSU study money (PDF)
The Oregonian 2/09/06 - Landscape of Fear (PDF)
The Seattle PI 2/09/06- Congressman's 'selfless' gift has one big string (PDF)
The Oregonian 2/22/06 - Behind the OSU forest report furor (PDF)
The Oregonian 2/25/06 - OSU research defends forest findings (PDF)
The Corvallis Gazette-Times 2/25/06 - Logging and fire debate grows (PDF)
The Washington Post 2/27/06 - In fire's wake, logging study inflames debate (PDF)
The Oregonian 3/01/06 - Logging study: Scientists vs. politicians (PDF)
OSU Daily Barometer 3/05/06 - Op-ed: Come clean on conflict of interest (PDF)
The Corvallis Gazette-Times 3/06/06 - Forum debates science ethics (PDF)
The Oregonian 3/12/06 - College research fallout Bias in the Ivory Tower (PDF)
The Eugene Register Guard 3/17/06 - Editorial: Reject salvage bill (PDF)
The Corvallis Gazette-Times 3/29/06 - OSU documents sought (PDF)
The Oregonian 4/07/06 - Senator's hearing will look at forestry school-industry ties (PDF)
The Eugene Weekly 4/13/06 - The Battle of Biscuit (PDF)
The Corvallis Gazette-Times 4/17/06 - State senator keeps hear on OSU (PDF)
Willamette Week 4/19/06 - In Bed with Big Wood (PDF)
The Corvallis Gazette-Times 4/20/06 - Legislators, OSU dean at odds (PDF)
The Oregonian 5/01/06 - Logging Study: Scientists vs. Politicians (PDF)
The Columbian 5/05/06 - Baird Provokes Logging Opponents (PDF)
LA Times 6/11/06 - A Student's Forest Paper Sparks One Hot Debate (PDF)
The Oregonian 6/14/06 - OSU backs forestry dean despite furor (PDF)
Other Relevant Documents
BLM Report on Donato Study (PDF)
BLM Response to Donato Controversy (PDF)
Report from the Pacific Biodiversity Institute: Fire Regime Condition Classes and Forest Stewardship Planning in Mt. Hood National Forest (PDF)
Report from the American Lands Alliance: Restoration or Exploitation? Post-fire Salvage Logging in America's National Forests (PDF)
Report from the American Lands Alliance: Blowing Smoke: Industrial Logging Under the Guise of Fuels Reduction (PDF)
Report from United Forest Defense Campaign: A Conservation History of the National Forests (PDF)
Salvaging Timber; Scuttling Forests, by Timothy Ingalsbee, Ph.D. for the American Lands Alliance (PDF)
Conservation Groups Suppport HR4200: Letter to Representative Walden (PDF)
Report from the Center for Academic Integrity: Fundamental Values of Academic Integrity (PDF)
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