February 19 2021 Regan Fisher is a Southeast Portland resident. She argues that state towns and cities should reap the benefits of timber harvests. Many of Oregon's small towns are cash-strapped and struggling.? Some blame these financial woes on a decline in revenue from logging due to environmental ?protections, and they advocate for larger harvests. However, the truth is that despite ?conservation efforts, timber harvests on state and federal land have remained about the same ?for the past 25 years. So why aren't communities reaping the benefits?? The answer is that timber companies have finagled outrageously preferential tax treatment for ?themselves, allowing them to wring money from our forests without putting even the bare ?minimum back into the communities in which they operate.