Your tax dollars were used to put Oregon’s drinking water at risk
An investigation by OPB and the Oregonian uncovered illegal activity by the Oregon Forest Resources Institute (OFRI), a taxpayer funded agency that was supposed to educate Oregonians about our forests. The team found that OFRI suppressed science, downplayed threats to Oregon’s drinking water and engaged in illegal lobbying.
OFRI TRIED TO SILENCE SCIENTISTS
According to OPB and The Oregonian, when groundbreaking forest research was conducted by experts at Oregon State University’s College of Forestry and published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Oregon Forest Resources Institute staff used tax dollars to undermine the research and lobbied legislators to convince them that the research was flawed. Observers called it an attack on academic freedom.
The legislature has proposed to abolish the Oregon Forest Resources Institute and redirect funds to unbiased, objective teacher training and outdoor education opportunities for Oregon school kids. Click on the button below to let your representative know you stand with science!
To learn more about how the Oregon Forest Resources Institute tried to downplay threats to drinking water, suppress climate science and lie to Oregonians about the laws that govern how our forests are managed click these links.
Examining OFRI’s Claims on Drinking Water
OFRI has spent millions of tax dollars to tell everyone that Oregon’s laws are the best in the nation. The Oregonian and OPB’s story documented how Oregon’s laws are much weaker than neighboring states, even though the same companies operate in them.
A review of OFRI’s K-12 educational materials reveals it omitted key information. While OFRI sought input from top experts, it then ignored their findings, while listing the experts as contributors to the reports.
Do you support unbiased, objective teacher training and outdoor education opportunities for Oregon school kids? Or are you ok with letting them not get the full picture. Let your representative know where you stand!
Expert studies showed that clearcutting put Oregon’s drinking water supplies at risk.
OFRI used tax dollars to downplay the risks.
