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Senator says wildfire hazard map must account for property-level conditions to win local trust
Summary
Senator Golden criticized the recently released wildfire hazard map, arguing it relies too heavily on broad landscape factors and gives "no weight" to parcel-specific conditions; she urged tuning SB 762 programs to involve and support rural landowners.
Senator Golden used a remonstrance on the Senate floor to call for changes to how the state applies wildfire hazard mapping and to urge better engagement with rural landowners under programs tied to Senate Bill 762.
"The recently released wildfire hazard map makes little to no sense to many rural land owners," Golden said, adding that the map "is driven entirely by broad landscape factors and give[s] no weight to the conditions and surroundings" on individual properties.
Golden said that asking landowners to accept a model that does not account for what is visible on a given parcel is untenable and risks alienating residents whose cooperation is needed for hazard reduction. "We have to move forward with what's working well and correct this problem in a way that makes reasonable Oregonians feel heard," she said, urging a collaborative approach.
Golden acknowledged the scientific basis for landscape-scale modeling but said the practical application needs correction so local risk-reduction work is supported rather than undermined. She used an extended metaphor of calibrating a plane in flight: "We knew from the start that the urgency of wildfire meant we had to get the 7 62 plane off the ground and then tune the engine in flight. Let's get out the wrenches in a way that pulls Oregonians together to protect our state." (Reference to "7 62" in the transcript refers to the Senate's wildfire-related package, SB 762.)
No formal motion or amendment was taken during Golden's remarks; her comments were delivered as a floor remonstrance and flagged the need for further committee-level engagement and adjustments to implementation of existing programs.
Golden called for a process that both respects the underlying science and provides a route for property-level input so that landowners are invited to participate in risk-reduction work rather than being lectured to by models they find unpersuasive.
