Trail work along the Metolius River will begin August 6^th and last approximately 3 weeks. Work will include trail maintenance and bridge replacements. E-mail meganprince@me.com for more information!

Best,

MRFHA Board

MRFHA Correspondence

Annual MRFHA MEETING: July 7th, 1:00. Camp Sherman Community Hall.

A big “thank you,” to Andrew Byrne and Kathy Krause for agreeing to be nominated for the two open board positions.


Please contact meganprince@me.com for the the Cabin Use Fee Form and/or MRFHA Dues form. 

Call to Action

Oregon Cabin Owners -

The following information was shared today by Heath Heikkila of Ball Janik, who represents Oregon and Washington cabin owners in support of the Cabin Fee Act. Many of you deserve congratulations for your letters and phone calls encouraging the Senator's support. Please share this news at your upcoming tract meetings!

Thank you for your continued involvement and support of C2.

Sharon Karr

Oregon C2 Political Coordinator

Diamond Lake Tract

Oregon Senator Ron Wyden's office just indicated the he will be signing on as a cosponsor of S. 1906, the Cabin Fee Act.  Senator Wyden had previously indicated his support for the effort, but as the Chairman of the Subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Cabin Fee Act, his office has a policy of not cosponsoring this type of legislation until it has had a committee hearing.    

 

The Cabin Fee Act did receive a positive hearing in Senator Wyden's Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee on March 22.  Since then, significant progress has been made to position the legislation for a full Committee vote and eventual Congressional passage.  Wyden's active support for the legislation is a big boost since he is currently the Chairman of the relevant Subcommittee and is likely to be the Chairman of the full Energy and Natural Resources Committee next year.

 

Senator Wyden's office received many letters from cabin owners and tract presidents, so many of you deserve much of the credit for this positive development.  If you received a response to a letter or email from the Senator's office feel free to reply with a quick thank you for his support.  Meanwhile, our Washington representatives continue working with Senator Jeff Merkley's office in the hopes of encouraging him to sign on as a cosponsor.

 

Heath HeikkilaGovernment Affairs Advisort 202.638.3307 f 202.783.6947 hheikkila@balljanik.com

OFHA Annual Meeting this Saturday

Location:

The Courtyard by Marriott
600 Airport Road
Medford, OR 97504
1 541-772-5656

Time: 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM


Please join us for an information packed gathering of fellow OFHA members. We will have a panel discussion of the Cabin Fee Act of 2012.This panel will include members from our state organization as well as:

• Geoff Anderson, President of National Forest Homeowners Association.

• Pete Bailey, C2 Legislative Contact chair

We will also have our annual State of The Region presentation by James Saucer, USFS Region 6 Special Use Coordinator.

Congressman Greg Walden will be represented by Southern Oregon Chief of Staff, Rob Patridge. Rob will present the O&C Trust, Conservation and Jobs Act

Our historically fantabulous door prizes will be handed out throughout the meeting.

We look forward to seeing you and your children at our Annual Meeting.

Cell Tower Proposal Atop Cinder Pits

US Cellular has applied for a permit with the Forest Service to place a cell tower atop the uppermost cinder pit off road 1420. Last nite a meeting was held at the Camp Sherman Community Hall to open a dialog for voicing comment and concerns. Three representatives from US Cellular and the Forest Service gave presentations and answered questions.

In the proposal US Cellular will "rent" the area from the Forest Service, enclosing an 80' by 80' area to construct a tower that will reach 100' in height. US Cellular will also offer the opportunity for other service providers to utilize the tower for reception, including safety services. A road on the north side of the uppermost pit would be built for access purposes.

Be certain to let your voice be heard:

US Forest Service, Sister - 541-549-7706 OR

Sommer Moore - slmoore@fs.fed.us

IMPORTANT Cabin Owner CALL TO ACTION!

Your Grassroots Efforts are Needed Now

Breaking News: A Senate hearing on S. 1906, the Cabin Fee Act of 2011, has been scheduled for March 22, 2012 before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests, chaired by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR). Coalition 2 is in full preparation mode!

Now is your time to help! Extensive grassroots efforts to contact key Senators are essential to support a successful hearing and passage of the legislation. Important Senators highlighted below are from cabin states and are members of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee. If they also sit on the Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee, that is also noted below. Their support is required for the review of S. 1906, the Cabin Fee Act of 2011, and the successful passage out of committee. These Senators must hear from you and know you care about the Cabin Fee Act! The message you convey to your Senators should be consistent and to the point:

· We have a revenue neutral bill that has been reviewed by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

· The bill has genuine bi-partisan support, with the following co-sponsors: Jon Tester [D- MT] (Sponsor), John Barrasso [R-WY], Max Baucus [D-MT], Michael Enzi [R-WY], Dianne Feinstein [D-CA], Charles Grassley [R-IA], and James Risch [R-ID].

· We ask that committee members favorably support the passage of the bill out of committee.

This task is simple! Call the Capitol Hill Switchboard at 202.224.3121 and ask for your Senator’s office. When connected, tell them that your call is about S. 1906, the Cabin Fee Act. You should then be transferred to the staff person who handles natural resources or national forest issues. Convey your personalized message to that person. Every call helps gain support, please do your part. The entire ENR committee should hear from cabin owners! Call or email your Senator today!

Democrats

Jeff Bingaman (NM), Chairman of full ENR Committee

Ron Wyden (OR) (PLF) PLF, Chairman

Tim Johnson (SD) (PLF)

Mary L. Landrieu (LA) (PLF)

Maria Cantwell (WA) (PLF)

Bernard Sanders (I-VT)

Debbie Stabenow (MI)

Mark Udall (CO) (PLF)

Jeanne Shaheen (NH) (PLF)

Al Franken (MN) (PLF)

Joe Manchin (WV)

Christopher A. Coons (DE) (PLF)

Republicans

Lisa Murkowski (AK), Ranking (Senior Republican) on full ENR Committee

John Barrasso (WY) (PLF) Co-sponsor

James E. Risch (ID) (PLF) Co-sponsor

Mike Lee (UT) (PLF)

Rand Paul (KY) (PLF)

Daniel Coats (IN)

Rob Portman (OH) (PLF)

John Hoeven (ND) (PLF)

Dean Heller (NV) (PLF)

Bob Corker (TN)

Camp Sherman Community Meeting on Cell Tower Proposal for the Cinder Pits off RD1420

The Forest Service has received a proposal from US Cellular to construct a cellular tower facility on Schilling Cinder Pit in the Metolius Basin. The proposal would include construction of a cellular tower, equipment shelter, an 80' X 80' fenced enclosure, construction of an access road and installation of utilities to the site. There is likely to be some visual impact associated with the tower and temporary environmental impacts during construction.

The Forest Service, in conjunction with US Cellular, is planning a community meeting at the Camp Sherman Community Hall on March 7, 2012 at 5:30 pm. We would like to invite all interested individuals to participate and share comments about the proposal. This will be an opportunity to share the project proposal with the Camp Sherman community and answer questions, get feedback, etc.


Sommer L. Moore
Special Use Administrator
Deschutes National Forest
Sisters Ranger District
(541)549-7706

Cabin Fee Act Advances on Several Fronts - Courtesy of Sharon Karr

In both houses of Congress, there have been several recent positive developments regarding the Cabin Fee Act.

House of Representatives
In the House, the full Committee on Natural Resources, under Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA), has added H.R. 3397, The Cabin Fee Act of 2012, onto H.R. 4019, The Federal Forests County Revenue, Schools, and Jobs Act of 2012. H.R. 4019 was then favorably reported by the NR Committee on February 16th. Although the Cabin Fee Act is unrelated to the other provisions in H.R. 4019, since the bigger bill is expected to pass the full House, this will enhance CFA prospects for eventual passage into law.

In another encouraging development, the Congressional Budget Office has lowered by nearly 50 percent its previous estimate of revenue shortfall to the Federal budget of H.R. 3397. While the CBO still projects there will be a net negative impact on the budget from the CFA over the next ten years, its reduced cost estimate means it may be easier either to find substitute revenue or cost savings that will "offset" CFA costs or to modify the bill to meet the necessary budget target.

Senate
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has become a cosponsor of the Senate CFA, S. 1906, The Cabin Fee Act of 2012. Senator Feinstein is one of the most respected and influential members of the Senate and as senior senator from the state with the greatest number of cabins, her endorsement is significant. She joins Senators Baucus (D-MT), Barrasso (R-WY), Enzi (R-WY), Risch (R-ID) and Grassley (R-IA) as cosponsors of the bill introduced by Senator Tester (D-MT), making it clearly a bipartisan effort.

When the Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests begins to schedule hearings on new legislation, expected to happen in March, supporters of S. 1906 have been assured that the bill will be one of the first to receive an early hearing. (NOTE: Although similar conceptually, H.R. 3397 and S. 1906 are not identical and will have to be reconciled and passed as the same legislation by both Houses of Congress before becoming law.)

Forest Service
A meeting has been scheduled on February 29th at Forest Service National Headquarters in Washington, D.C., between Doug Gann, a cabin owner at Lake Wenatchee, WA, who has been a leader in efforts to enact the Cabin Fee Act, Aubrey King, NFH Washington Representative, and top FS leadership to discuss this cabin fee legislation. This will be the latest in a series of meetings between the FS and cabin owners since the problem of escalating cabin fees became apparent several years ago. The goal of this meeting is to reach as much understanding as possible on key elements of the Cabin Fee Act to expedite and facilitate its eventual final enactment by Congress.