Gov. Ted Kulongoski has added his voice to the chorus of concern over forest health and mill closures.

The governor called the closure of three mills – including Grant Western in John Day – “deeply troubling.”

“The loss of nearly 200 jobs in a region that 22,000 people call home is unacceptable,” Kulongoski wrote in an Aug. 27 letter. “The social fabric and health of rural Oregon communities must be protected, and I am committed to working with you to preserve the fundamental economic infrastructure that has served as a cornerstone of your region for decades.”

The letter was addressed to Grant County Judge Mark Webb, Harney County Judge Steve Grasty and Wallowa County Commissioner Mark Hayward.

Webb said last week he appreciated the fact that the governor seemed to be “explicitly stating” his support for more active management on the forests. However, the judge was taking a wait-and-see approach to the governor’s promised involvement.

“I’ve complained in the past that we don’t hear the governor on this side of the fence enough,” Webb said.

Kulongoski’s letter said staff from his office and the state Department of Forestry would continue “to be available to assist” with strategies toward a more dependable timber harvest.

He also pledged to meet personally with industry representatives and members of Oregon’s Congressional delegation to work toward solutions on federal lands.

“I am well aware that Oregon, with 800,000 acres of state forest land, has a sustainable harvest level greater than our federal lands in the state with 20 times the acreage,” he wrote. “If we can manage our forest lands in an ecologically sensitive and dependable fashion, I do not see why we cannot do the same with our federal land base.”

Kulongoski said the wood products industry continues to be a major industry in the state, and that “we must do more to ensure that the raw material with which we have been naturally blessed continues to be harvested in a predictable, competitively priced, sustainable and ecologically sensitive fashion.”

He also voiced support for retraining of displaced workers, and said he was asking all relevant state agencies to help with workforce training in communities affected by the mill closures.