Board Of Forestry Adds New Member, Two Members Appointed To New Terms (Photo)
-03/04/25
SALEM, Ore.—The Oregon Senate confirmed three members to the Board of Forestry. Alexi Lovechio starts as a new member, while Heath Curtiss and Ben Deumling were reappointed and will continue their service. Governor Tina Kotek appointed them to four-year terms starting in March 2025. All three will be joining the rest of the seven-member board at its meeting on Wednesday in Salem.
Lovechio, of Ashland, serves as Forests and Ecosystem Services Program Manager with Ecotrust. Prior to her current position, she worked with the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center in forest and climate policy roles and as an organizer for campaigns regarding national forest policy. Before jumping into the policy arena, Lovechio worked for the U.S. Forest Service conducting botany surveys. She earned a bachelor's degree in environmental studies from Keene State College in New Hampshire.
“I am honored to be appointed to the Oregon Board of Forestry and look forward to serving the people of Oregon,” Lovechio said. “I will strongly advocate for collaborative, science-based forest management, and I am committed to ensuring our forests support healthy ecosystems and local economies. I appreciate the opportunity to help shape policies that address the complex challenges facing our forests.”
Curtiss, of Silverton, serves as General Counsel for Hampton Lumber. He grew up in the mountains of northeast Oregon, earned his degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics from Oregon State University, and graduated from Lewis & Clark Law School with a certificate in environmental law. Before working at Hampton, Curtiss was General Counsel for the Oregon Forest Industries Council and an attorney at Stoel Rives, LLP, specializing in natural resources law and policy. He also serves on the Oregon FFA Foundation Board.
“I’m privileged to be reappointed, and I look forward to working with the outstanding staff at ODF,” Curtiss said. “Oregon’s forest resources are vast, diverse, and profoundly important, not only for the environmental benefits they provide, but also for the social and economic opportunities they create for the state and surrounding communities. I hope we can provide the leadership needed to ensure forest management in Oregon is sensible, sustainable, and transparent.
Deumling, of Rickreall, grew up and has worked in the Oregon forest industry his whole life. He manages the family-owned Zena Forest, a 1,300-acre tract of forest in the heart of the Willamette Valley. He also runs Zena Forest Products, which is an onsite sawmill and millwork shop that processes hardwood logs into high quality lumber and flooring. Deumling has been actively engaged in forest policy matters for many years and holds a bachelor's degree from Whitman College where he studied natural resource policy in the western U.S.
“I am incredibly honored to have the opportunity to serve another term on the Board of Forestry,” Deumling said. "The work before the board is critically important for everyone in this great state of Oregon, and I look forward to continuing to work with such a great group of board members and staff at ODF."
The Oregon Board of Forestry consists of seven citizens nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the Oregon Senate. Responsibilities include appointing the State Forester, setting management direction for state-owned forests, adopting rules governing timber harvest and other practices on private forestland, and promoting sustainable management of Oregon’s 30-million-acre forestland base.