[ODF_Private_Forests] Budget message from Marvin Brown

[WEEKS Kevin]

ODF Private Forests News members:

State Forester Marvin Brown issued this message yesterday following the release of the Governor's Recommended Budget, which does contain proposed service reductions for ODF, contained primarily within the Private Forests Division.

Questions about the ODF Private Forests News service?
Contact:

Kevin Weeks
ODF Agency Affairs / Private Forests Division
(503) 945-7427

________________________________
From: BROWN Marvin D
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2008 4:27 PM
To: ALL FORESTRY
Subject: from Marvin Brown

Dear Fellow Employees,

The Governor's recommended budget came out today, and given the attention that budgets and economic conditions have received of late I'd like to share some thoughts.

Before I get to these, I want to say first that no matter the size of our budget, the number of people working for us, or who makes up the executive staff......you in the field and those serving on staff are the ones who make it possible for us to achieve our mission and deliver on our commitments....even when times get uncertain.   Thank you so much for your dedication and continued hard work.  It is so great to be able to work with all of you.

So, to some thoughts on recent budget news.

First, our success isn't measured by the size of our budget.  It's measured by what we accomplish on the ground.  The time to celebrate our achievements is not when we manage to get more funds and people.  When we're able to improve our systems in ways that allow doing more with less, that's when we should be very proud of ourselves.  Or when we can sell a major initiative that can make significant positive improvements to Oregon's forests, then that's what we should be passionate about.

The reason we exist as an agency is because forests are important to people.  Taking care of that resource should be our focus every day, using whatever resources we have available.  My intent and direction is that we fulfill that responsibility with our normal can-do vigor and sense of commitment.

Second, there are many government functions that are important to people.  We are just one of those, and we're probably not the most important one.  When I first started my career some 30+ years ago, a retiring director pointed out to me that those of us who are in this field come to it with such passion that we sometimes lose perspective as to where we rank among the myriad of human needs.

When government leaders are making difficult choices about what to fund we need to take a breath and maintain an appreciation for the full range of government services that people need.

Food, shelter, the safety and security of our families, the education of our children.....we can certainly make the case that forests play a vital role in providing for important benefits......but when it comes to filling basic needs we're just one of a cast of  characters, many of them being arguably more important.

Third, your agency leadership has done truly outstanding work getting us to this point in the process.  I'm not talking about myself.  The folks who lead the programs and support functions are the ones who are realistically and effectively anticipating what we need to be analyzing, sifting through every option, thinking strategically, being creative and spending numerous extra hours collaborating on what will produce the best possible outcome.

They have put a heavy emphasis on planning and managing this in a way that will try to minimize hardships to employees.  We know that the personal impacts from a reduction in positions weigh on everyone and your leadership is working diligently to mitigate those impacts whenever possible.

We couldn't ask for a better group of people to be leading us through this effort.

Fourth, there is never a good time to be "penny wise and pound foolish."  When you have fewer people they need to be even better trained and equipped.  When we're negotiating some difficult times we need more communication not less....much of that face to face.....even when that means travel to meetings.

Training will continue, and as we should always be doing, we'll look for the most efficient ways to carry it out.  We need to continue to make the right investments in equipment and capital.....including the potential land acquisition that we have discussed in the past.

And finally, we are a long way from knowing what our final budget will look like.  Our job is to support the Governor's Recommended Budget.  What the Governor supports can evolve as the legislative session progresses and as the overall economic picture may change.  We don't ever know what the course of that evolution may be, but trust that I and the other executive staff, as well as our stakeholders, will be fully engaged.

At this point the budget recommends that the fire budget stay fairly whole, as does the state forests program, while private lands will take a slightly less than ten percent reduction in total.

Jim Paul has done a good job keeping you informed on what such a reduction might look like.  He's also nicely articulated that this is an excellent time to take a long overdue look at the Private Lands Program overall.  The issues we're expecting to face in the future are not the same issues upon which the current program was built, and this is the perfect time to be bringing that conversation together.

In order to keep the fire budget whole the Governor is recommending some of state forest timber revenues and increased landowner contribution proposals that will no doubt get plenty of attention from various interests.

It looks like we have the opportunity to continue to pursue a possible land purchase which would be financed and then repaid through timber revenues.  And we should have the chance to continue describing the merits of the Wildfire Reduction Act.

Though some important initiatives like the federal forests liaison program are not recommended, there are major stimulus packages being discussed at the federal budget level that may eventually represent an opportunity.

All in all....under the circumstances.....and knowing that you've got some determined folks at work....I don't think we're doing too badly.  And where we have challenges, I have a lot of confidence that we will deal with them professionally and effectively.

Marvin Brown


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