By Don Andre, President of OCCFA
“The simple problem before us as I see it is this: How do we restore and repair a broken forest and broken communities and reconnect ourselves and the generations that will follow with the powerful beauty of the wild?”
In my lifetime, which is the last 50 plus years, we have all seen tremendous changes to our landscape. The change that had the most impact on me was seeing the wild forest of Agate Beach north of Newport brought to its knees. I came home from Brazil in the early 70’s to a massive and endless clear-cut. Nothing remained. The woods of Agate Beach was our family playground–church potlucks and fishing, hikes and mossy hideaways. My dad even sculpted an outdoor church in a natural amphitheater. My father, who was a mill worker when I was born, wanted his family to be raised in a natural setting. I spent countless hours running ancient trails along streams filled with fish, giant trees with burls, a stunning mix of spruce, hemlock, fir, and understory trees, like vine maple, were massive in their own right. My father measured fir trees that were 40 feet around at the base. On a hike, many years later, my father and I came across a fir tree and he became teary. He said “this reminds me of our woods in Agate Beach.” Such places used to be commonplace along the coast and in the Northwest. Many of us remember this kind of forest.
The simple problem before us as I see it is this: How do we restore and repair a broken forest and broken communities and reconnect ourselves and the generations that will follow with the powerful beauty of the wild? I will never be able to take a child by the hand and walk the trails that nurtured and raised me in Agate Beach. But I can help build a forest that will be a promise to the children of the children who will follow.
Many of us who have joined forces with OCCFA come from family that have lived and worked in the coast range. We are passionate about the forest and the wild and recognize it is time for us to give something back to this great land that has taken care of us and all the wild creatures. As many of us can attest, being raised in the forest of the coast range in the 50’s and 60’s was truly magical. My wife and I have no heirs so it is our intent that our land will become a part of this dream. Mine is only one story that speaks to the cost that many people have also experienced as the industrial method of practicing forestry has depleted our natural capital.
Our vision of building a diverse and healthy forest that provides for both the natural world and for the community is both possible and timely. Other communities have built community forests. And so shall we. The OCCFA will not only restore the land, but it will replenish and heal the people who invest their time and life energy in building a lasting legacy.