Forrester serves on team the developed climate change policy for Oregon DFW
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted a Climate and Ocean Change Policy in July on a unanimous vote, making them the first state fish and wildlife commission in the nation to adopt such a measure.
Tavis Forrester, a Research Wildlife Biologist with the department, was the team member representing research on the team that developed the climate change policy.
The policy aligns the Department with direction from Governor Kate Brown’s Executive Order 20-04, Directing State Agencies to Take Actions to Reduce and Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions. The Policy provides high level guidance on how climate change will be considered in planning, budgets, investments and policy making decisions as required by the Executive Order.
Throughout the past two years, ODFW staff drafted the current policy and submitted multiple drafts for public review. Staff considered public comments to help shape the policy and conducted multiple listening sessions both in person and virtually to gather feedback. During and in advance of Friday’s meeting, the Commission heard from constituents in support of the policy; many were anxious to see the principles of the Policy implemented by the Commission.
