Troubled tree-cutting program had quotas, no clear standards, whistleblowers tell Oregon lawmakers

Oregon lawmakers suggested Wednesday they may ask for an investigation into the state’s fledgling effort to remove hazard trees from wildfire zones after hearing explosive eyewitness accounts from insiders who allege mismanagement and overharvesting of healthy and non-hazardous trees.

Members of the Senate Natural Resources and Wildfire Recovery Committee also indicated they may ask the Oregon Department of Transportation, or Gov. Kate Brown, to pause more cutting until the allegations can be vetted.

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