PRESS RELEASE:
Walden to Visit Klamath, Lake Counties on November
13
Trip to include Kingsley
Field visit, updates on Lakeview Biomass and 9 Mile
projects, speech at Lake County Chamber meeting
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Congressman Greg Walden (R-OR)
will visit Klamath Falls and Lakeview this Saturday,
November 13 as part of his 223rd round
trip between Oregon and Washington, D.C. since first
being elected to office in 1998. Last week, Walden
was re-elected to a fourth term in the U.S. House of
Representatives by the citizens of Oregon’s Second
Congressional District with 72% of the vote.
Walden will be in Klamath Falls to meet with Colonel
John Adkisson who will brief Walden on current
Oregon Air National Guard operations at Kingsley
Field. The meeting will give Walden an opportunity
to see and hear firsthand the work being done at the
Klamath Falls site and the benefits that such a
facility can offer to the local economy. Walden
and Adkisson will discuss operations during a
breakfast meeting prior to heading to Kingsley Field
for a tour of the facility. This will be Walden’s
fourth visit to Klamath Falls this year and 35th
since taking office.
Following his meeting with Colonel Adkisson, Walden
will head to Lakeview for a presentation by Jim
Walls of the Lake County Resource Initiative and
Paul Harlan of The Collins Corporation on their
current proposal for the Lakeview Biomass Project.
Walls and Harlan are proposing a plan to construct a
biomass energy generation facility in Lakeview using
new authorities and incentives provided by both the
Administration’s Healthy Forests Restoration
Initiative and the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA),
which was co-authored by Walden and passed by
Congress last year.
Walden, who is vice-chair of the House Renewable
Energy Caucus and chairman of the House Subcommittee
on Forests and Forest Health, is a strong supporter
of the continued expansion of the use of biomass for
energy generation as demonstrated by his leadership
in passing the HFRA and supporting a production tax
credit of $20 per green ton of biomass as proposed
in energy legislation currently pending in Congress.
Following the presentation by Walls and Harlan,
Fremont-Winema National Forest Supervisor Karen
Shimamoto will update Walden on the 9 Mile Project,
a successful example of a Healthy Forest Restoration
Act project near Chiloquin. This trip to Lakeview
will be Walden’s second of the year and 10th
since taking office. The meeting will begin at
11:00 AM at the U.S. Forest Service/Bureau of Land
Management Service Center (1300 South G Street,
Lakeview).
Walden will then speak at the Lake County Chamber of
Commerce luncheon. After being introduced by County
Commissioner Brad Winters, Walden will speak to the
group about recent activities in Congress and
discuss the needs of the local economy with those in
attendance. Following his remarks, Walden will
allow time for a question and answer period. The
event, which is open to the public, begins at noon
at the Elk’s Lodge (323 North F Street, Lakeview).
Congressman Walden represents the Second District of
Oregon, which includes 20 counties in southern,
central and eastern Oregon. He is a Deputy Whip in
the House leadership structure and a member of the
House Committee on Energy and Commerce as well as
the Committee on Resources. |
