[ODF_Private_Forests] Message from the Acting State Forester

[WEEKS Kevin]

Acting State Forester Nancy Hirsch provided this update to Oregon Department of Forestry staff on Monday.

Kevin Weeks
Oregon Department of Forestry
(503) 945-7427

From: HIRSCH Nancy
Sent: Monday, November 08, 2010 2:45 PM
Subject: A Message from the Acting State Forester

Hello, everyone -

To sum up the past week in a few words: The focus was the future.

Oregonians chose their next governor and changed the political makeup of the legislature. Next year, the new governor and legislature will make decisions that will shape the future of state services.

The Board of Forestry, meeting in Brookings, also took some important steps into the future.

Recruiting a new state forester. The Board launched the recruitment process, with the goal of having the new state forester on the job early next year. The recruitment is open to all qualified applicants - across the country as well as here in Oregon and inside ODF. The Board committed to an open process, with input from the public, stakeholders and our employees.

Where next for the Board and Department? Transitions are natural times for an inward look, and this also happens to be the point in the Board's planning cycle for a re-evaluation of priorities. A theme at Friday's Board meeting was the high importance of a continued "public share" in the funding of adequate fire protection and adequate private forests programs, even in tough economic times. To achieve that, there was agreement that we need to deliver - and talk about - those services in the most effective and compelling ways possible.

Building a budget, a structure and a message. The work we're doing at the exec team level and with our stakeholders aligns with that vision. A challenging budget outlook is all the more reason to focus on what's important and on how and why we do it.

In Fire and Private Forests, it all comes down to protection: We enhance public safety,  protect forest resources in many ways, including through enforcement of the Forest Practices Act, and help landowners continue to manage and enhance forests instead of converting them to other uses - all with the ultimate goal of maintaining healthy, productive forests for the benefit of all Oregonians.

We've been discussing these priorities with a stakeholder group, an offshoot of a larger coalition process that ran through this past spring and summer.

A new way to organize? Our department, like the rest of state government, will look different in the future, as we adjust to new financial realities.

In our discussions with the stakeholder group, this fact has merged with the message that the Fire and Private Forests programs are fundamentally about forest protection. From that melding, an idea has emerged: Could we gain some efficiency, and focus on protection in all its aspects, by joining all of our Fire and resource protection work under the umbrella of a Forest Protection Division?

This is conceptual thinking at this point - an idea that's broader than the Protection Division that was part of ODF's structure some years back - and we'll keep you updated as we look deeper and engage you for input.

Bringing it all together. Last week gave us a glimpse of the future. More pieces will emerge as the new governor and his team come on board, as they produce a recommended budget, and as the legislature works through its building of a budget for the two years beginning July 1, 2011.
We have a chance to shape that future if we work with our stakeholders to make clear what benefits our work brings to all Oregonians.

In a message a couple weeks back, I suggested that we stay on track during this time of transition with the "three C's" of communication, customer service and collaboration.

I believe you do all of them well, and we on the exec team will do all we can to inform you and support you in all the great work you do.

All the best,

Nancy Hirsch
Acting State Forester
Oregon Department of Forestry


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