Action Alert: Support SB 530 – Natural Climate Solutions

What will this bill actually do?

• • • Allow the state to leverage billions in federal funding and private investments in natural climate solutions on natural and working lands;
    • Create a source of state funding for voluntary actions to remove climate pollution from the atmosphere and store it in natural and working lands;
    • Fund and direct state agencies to provide incentives and technical support to forest owners, farmers, and ranchers to implement natural climate solutions on their lands; and
    • Allow Oregon to develop a natural and working lands inventory so Oregon can measure gains in carbon sequestration and study opportunities for workforce development and training.
    • Build on Oregon’s emissions goals by sequestering carbon millions of tons of CO2 each year.

Thanks to your support earlier in the legislative session this bill has moved forward and is now in the Joint Ways and Means Committee.  Please help us get this bill safely over the finish line this session for a better future for all of us. 

Legislative targets (Joint Ways and Means Committee):

• Co-Chair Senator Elizabeth Steiner serving NW Portland and Beaverton
• Co-Chair Representative Tawna Sanchez serving N and NE Portland
• Co-Vice Chair Senator Fred Girod serving portions of Clackamas, Linn and Marion Counties
• Co-Vice Chair Representative David Gomberg serving Lincoln and Western Benton & Lane Counties
• Co-Vice Chair Representative Greg Smith serving Umatilla, Morrow, Gilliam, Sherman, Wheeler, Wasco, Jefferson, Marion & Clackamas Counties
• Member Senator Dick Anderson serving all of Lincoln County and parts of ​​Benton, Lane, Douglas and Coos counties
• Member Senator Wlnsvey Campos serving Aloha
• Member Senator Michael Dembrow serving SE and NE Portland and the city of Maywood Park
• Member Senator Lynn Findley serving Baker, Crook, Grant, Harney, Lake, Malheur and Parts of Deschutes and Jefferson Counties
• Member Senator Lew Frederick serving N and NE Portland
• Member Senator Sara Gelser Blouin serving Albany, Corvallis, Philomath, Millersburg, Tangent and unincorporated areas of Linn and Benton Counties
• Member Senator Bill Hansell serving Wallowa, Union, Umatilla, Morrow, Gilliam, Sherman, and parts of Wasco Counties
• Member Senator Tim Knopp serving Bend, Redmond, Tumalo, Sisters, Black Butte, and Eagle Crest, as well as other parts of D​eschutes County
• Member Senator Janeen Sollman serving Western Washington County, including areas of Banks, North Plains, Hillsboro, Forest Grove, Cornelius and Beaverton
• Member Representative Vikki Breese-Iverson serving Crook County and parts of Jefferson and Deschutes Counties
• Member Representative Jami Cate serving Linn County communities of Brownsville, Cascadia, Crabtree, Crawfordsville, Foster, Halsey, Harrisburg, Holley, Lacomb, Lebanon, Peoria, Santiam Junction, Scio, Shedd, Sodaville, Sweet Home, and Waterloo; and the Marion County communities of Jefferson and Marion 
• Member Representative Paul Evans serving communities of Independence, Monmouth, and portions of South and West Salem
• Member Representative Paul Holvey serving Southern Lane County, including Noti, Crow, Lorane, Elmira, Veneta and Eugene
• Member Representative Rick Lewis serving portions of southern Clackamas and eastern Marion Counties
• Member Representative Susan McLain serving West Hillsboro, Cornelius, and Forest Grove
• Member Representative Khanh Pham serving SE Portland 
• Member Representative E. Werner Reschke serving eastern edge of Bend, Deschutes River Woods, Sunriver, La Pine, Gilcrest, Chiloquin, Chemult, Chiloquin, Sprague River, Beatty, Bly, Bonanza, Dairy, Malin, Merrill and most of the south eastern parts of Klamath Falls
• Member Representative Andrea Valderrama serving outer east Portland

Sample Letter

(download word doc or copy and paste content below)

Dear (Legislator),

As your Oregon constituent, I’m writing to express my strong support for SB 530 the Natural Climate Solutions bill. This bill will offer simple, proven solutions for both reducing the future impacts of climate change and confronting the impacts communities and land managers are already contending with, including drought, heatwaves, flooding, and wildfire.

Natural climate solutions are critical for fighting climate change and protecting our forests, farms, grasslands, and wetlands. They include activities such as:

• • Planting more trees in urban areas;
  • Protecting and recovering watersheds and wetlands;
  • Planting cover crops on agricultural lands; 
  • Lengthened logging rotations on private lands;
  • Protecting mature and old-growth forests on public lands; and 
  • Protecting coastal communities from storm surge and flooding.

SB 530 will:

• • Allow the state to leverage federal funding and private investments in natural climate solutions on natural and working lands;
  • Create a source of state funding for voluntary actions to remove climate pollution from the atmosphere and store it in natural and working lands;
  • Fund and direct state agencies to provide incentives and technical support to forest owners, farmers, and ranchers to implement natural climate solutions on their lands; and
  • Allow Oregon to develop a natural and working lands inventory so Oregon can measure gains in carbon sequestration and study opportunities for workforce development and training.
  • Build on Oregon’s emissions goals by sequestering carbon millions of tons of CO2 each year

We need to use every climate solution at our disposal to confront the worsening climate and biodiversity crises. Given the tight state budget this year, it is important that Oregon do everything it can to leverage additional federal resources. This bill will provide matching state funds for recent federal legislation including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and the upcoming 2023 Farm Bill, which in turn will provide significant new financial resources for Oregon’s ranchers, farmers, and forest owners.

Natural climate solutions that enhance carbon storage and sequestration, such as cover crops and longer logging rotations, can also provide numerous co-benefits, such as clean and abundant drinking water for communities; improved fish and wildlife habitat; and reduced risk of flooding, erosion, and landslides.

As a whole, investing in natural climate solutions means more support for urban and rural communities, more climate resilience, and a stronger future for all of Oregon. And it’s time we took advantage of these win-win opportunities. Thank you for doing everything in your power to protect Oregon’s climate, communities, and natural resources!