The Cutting
Investigating Industrial Logging in Oregon
The timber industry helped build Oregon, but now, the state has prioritized wealthy corporations over the economy and environment.
The Oregon Timber Industry Won Huge Tax Cuts in the 1990s. Now It May Get Another Break Thanks to a Top Lawmaker.
As the cost of fighting wildfires increases, state Sen. Elizabeth Steiner has proposed a bill — developed in consultation with the logging industry — that would shift millions in expenses away from the biggest landowners and onto taxpayers.
Tax-Funded Forest Institute in Oregon Misled Public, May Have Broken State Law, Audit Finds
State auditors found that an agency intended to educate the public about forestry presented biased information favoring the timber industry and possibly violated state law. The audit was prompted by our investigation last year into the agency.
Local Reporting Network
Oregon House Moves to Curb Forest Institute’s Power and Budget
After our investigation found that a tax-funded institute acted as a lobbying arm for the timber industry, Oregon lawmakers passed a bill that would significantly cut the institute’s funding and redirect the money to climate science.
Local Reporting Network
“We Have Counties in Deep Trouble”: Oregon Lawmakers Seek to Reverse Timber Tax Cuts That Cost Communities Billions
For decades, corporate timber benefited from tax cuts that devastated local budgets. Lawmakers want change and have filed dozens of bills, making this one of Oregon’s most consequential sessions for forest policy.
Local Reporting Network
Oregon Governor Calls for Audit After Our Reporting on State Institute That Lobbied for Timber Industry
The Oregon Forest Resources Institute worked to undercut academic research and acted as a lobbying and public relations arm for the timber industry.
Local Reporting Network
