Oregon Treasurer Tobias Read joined Secretary of State Dennis Richardson today in voting to sell off the Elliott State Forest.

The Oregon League of Conservation Voters is circulating this letter:

I’m saddened to report that today, on Oregon’s birthday, our natural heritage and conservation legacy has been dealt a heavy blow.Treasurer Tobias Read joined Secretary of State Dennis Richardson in voting to sell off the Elliott State Forest. We still have some reason to be hopeful – the final decision of the Land Board was kept open by Governor Kate Brown, who showed tremendous leadership today and last week when she released a plan to keep the Elliott public. Once again, we say thank you Governor Brown. We will keep fighting with you!

Despite a disappointing vote by two of the three Land Board members, you should be proud of the work you’ve done to protect the Elliott. I can’t thank you enough. We wouldn’t have even gotten this far without you and the thousands like you who emailed and called urging our State Land Board to keep the Elliott public.

Governor Kate Brown has shown again that we can count on her to be a champion for our public lands. At today’s meeting, she showed great leadership and a true understanding of the importance of Oregon’s natural heritage. We also want to thank Senate President Peter Courtney who testified at the meeting in support of the governor’s public option.

At OLCV, we take our mission of electing pro-environment candidates and holding all elected officials accountable. Today, we need your help on the first steps in holding Treasurer Read accountable.

We need to send a clear, public message to Treasurer Read that Oregonians overwhelmingly support protecting our public lands and we won’t stand for this kind of behavior from our elected officials.

Will you take a moment to share our posts on Facebook and Twitter telling Treasurer Read that he betrayed your vote by voting to sell off the Elliott State Forest? Share or retweet using hashtag #BetrayedMyVote and encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Governor Kate Brown really stood up for us today and we want to make sure she gets thanked. Please share our posts on Facebook and Twitter, thanking her and using the hashtag #ThanksKate.

The fate of the Elliott isn’t decided yet. There is still a chance for the legislature to act to keep it public and the Land Board will meet again in April. We will keep you updated on how you can continue to help protect this special place.

Thanks for all you do.