The Oregon Legislature has reappointed three Board of Forestry members to four-year terms. Nils Christoffersen of Enterprise, Cindy Deacon Williams of Medford and Tom Insko of La Grande will begin their second terms March 1 and serve through Feb. 29, 2020.

The seven-member citizen board is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. The mission of the board is to lead Oregon in implementing policies and programs that promote sustainable management of Oregon’s public and private forests. Primary responsibilities include:

• Supervise all matters of forest policy within Oregon

• Appoint the state forester

• Adopt rules regulating forest practices

• Provide general supervision of the State Forester’s duties in managing the Oregon Department of Forestry

Christoffersen, who currently serves as executive director of the nonprofit Wallowa Resources, said he was honored to have the opportunity to serve a second term and was pleased that Tom Insko, President of Eastern Oregon University, was continuing.

“We both provide important perspectives from eastern Oregon and work well together,” Christoffersen said

Christoffersen said the board needs “to chart a course forward that balances these diverse perspectives and demands on our forested lands.”

The role and purpose of forestry and forested lands remained a “fiercely contested subject,” Christoffersen said.

“Public forest lands, both federal and state, are the focus of passionate arguments, new collaborative processes and ongoing law suits. The role of private forest management is increasingly debated with respect to watershed health, species conservation efforts, wildfire risk reduction and the contribution to rural economies.”

The term of office is four years and no member may serve more than two consecutive full terms. The state forester serves as secretary to the board.

The third member of the board, Cindy Deacon Williams, is a consulting fisheries biologist with 30 years of service in state and federal government and in the nonprofit world.

The Oregon Board of Forestry will receive an update on work to restore health to federal forests and a progress report on a review of the state’s Fire Protection Program when it meets March 9 in Salem. Recipients of the 2015 Forest Practices Operator of the Year award will also be recognized for their efforts to protect forest resources and ecosystem values. The Oregon Department of Forestry’s State Forests Division also will provide an update to the board on current state forests management planning topics.

For more information about the Board of Forestry, visit www.oregon.gov/ODF/Board/Pages/AboutBOF.aspx.