Troubled tree-cutting program had quotas, no clear standards, whistleblowers tell Oregon lawmakers
Updated 12:09 PM;
Today 6:30 AM
Roadside trees cut down in the Santiam Canyon as part of the state s post fire hazard tree removal program.
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Oregon lawmakers suggested Wednesday they may ask for an investigation into the state’s fledgling effort to remove hazard trees from wildfire zones after hearing explosive eyewitness accounts from insiders who allege mismanagement and overharvesting of healthy and non-hazardous trees.
Members of the Senate Natural Resources and Wildfire Recovery Committee also indicated they may ask the Oregon Department of Transportation, or Gov. Kate Brown, to pause more cutting until the allegations can be vetted.
Deseret News
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Rep. Walt Brooks, R-St. George, sponsor of HB60, speaks to members of the House Judiciary Standing Committee at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. His bill to remove the requirement for Utahns over the age of 21 to have a permit to carry a concealed firearm was heard in a Senate committee on Friday.
Laura Seitz, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY Carrying a concealed gun without a permit moved a step closer to reality in Utah Friday after a Senate committee gave its recommendation to a bill that passed the House earlier in the week.