Summary: State agencies would get involved to reduce dangers from logging, building and other activities

Gov. John Kitzhaber has launched a plan to improve public safety in areas prone to mudslides by restricting logging, limiting development and improving building codes.

The plan, released Tuesday, was spurred by hundreds of mudslides, including two that killed five people in last year's storms. It calls for a dozen new actions by the departments of forestry, and transportation and other state agencies to reduce risks posed by slides.

"I firmly believe that we can do a better job preventing these slides and protecting Oregonians from their effect," Kitzhaber said Tuesday.

The five deaths resulted from slides that roared out of clear-cuts. Kitzhaber's toughest proposed measure would put a hold on private-land clear-cutting and road-building in steep areas that might unleash deadly slides. The logging would be put off at least until until the state -- through changes in laws and regulations -- could act to ensure public safety.

The State Oregon Forestry Department also would require written detailed plans for logging in all high-risk areas, and mandatory notification to nearby landowners. would be mandatory.

Private-land logging policy is generally is set by the seven-member Board of Forestry, a governor-appointed panel of industry representatives and private citizens.

Kitzhaber released his proposal as the board prepares for a meeting today to consider what -- if any -- action should be taken to improve safety to people who live in for residents of slide-prone areas.

It remains unclear whether the governor's proposal would require board approval. "We don't really know the answer to that question," said Doug Decker, a spokesman for the state Forestry Department.

But it appears to have some industry support.

Ward Armstrong, executive director of the Oregon Forest Industry Council, said, "The governor's plan is consistent with what we think are prudent steps to take."

Much of the Northwest is unstable terrain, prone to slide in heavy rains. But many studies indicate that the risk is higher in areas that have been logged areas and higher yet in roaded areas that have had roads built.

State officials say they 've have yet to find evidence that logging actually triggered last year's deadly slides. But some officials issued warnings prior to before logging that these two sites, th ly sloped, carried an elevated risk of sliding.

Those revelations prompted some conservationists and homeowners to lobby for tougher safety laws. to protect public safety.

Following their lead, two House Democrats last month introduced a bill that would authorize the state Board of Forestry to block logging on steep slopes that would endanger people and damage fish, wildlife or public waters.

Conservationists remain wary of the governor's plan and want to see more of the details.

"What is defined as high risk is very important," Mark Hubbard of the Oregon Natural Resources Council said.

Industry officials are very sensitive about any new restrictions on private-land logging since because this acreage has become key to sustaining mills and thousands of jobs following after the sharp '90s-era cutbacks in federal logging to protect the spotted owl and other wildlife.

Don Oakes, vice president of Hull-Oakes Lumber Co. in Monroe, said the governor's logging proposals could be "an administrative nightmare. I don't think the Department of Forestry has enough people to handle all this in a timely manner."

Proposals in the governor's plan include:

*Development Prepare and distribute ion of model land-use regulations that would restrict development in canyons and areas where slides often occured.

*Assess state highways for public safety hazards from avalanches of mud and debris and increase road patrols during periods of heavy rains.

*Examine ways in which structural, drainage and landscaping codes could be modified to reduce the risk from landslides and to reduce factors that may might contribute to landslides in developed areas. The focus would be on foundation standards, slope stabilization and water-diversion barriers.

*Encourage counties to develop action plans to protect people against avalanches of mud and debris.