Forestry vs. Deforestation: Digging Into the Soil Story with Thomas DeLuca

Welcome to a new episode of the Deeply Rooted Podcast, where Stoel Rives attorneys speak with leaders, innovators, and experts shaping the future of natural resources, agriculture, forestry, and related industries.

In this episode, Stoel Rives corporate attorney Kasey Lundberg, whose practice includes acquisitions and dispositions in the timber and agriculture industries, talks with Thomas H. DeLuca, dean of the College of Forestry, director of the Oregon Forest Research Laboratory, and professor of forest soils at Oregon State University.

Their conversation explores a distinction often lost in public discussions: Forestry is not the same as deforestation. Looking at forest management from the soil up, DeLuca explains how soils support forest regeneration, biodiversity, and carbon storage. He also discusses how active management, including thinning and prescribed fire, can contribute to healthier, more resilient forests.

Episode highlights include:

• The differences between forestry and deforestation, and between conservation and preservation.
• The reciprocal health of soils and plant communities.
• How forest management can support ecological health while meeting demand for timber.
• How past practices, wildfire suppression, and climate change inform forest stewardship today.

Listen for a soil-centered perspective on forest health and the role thoughtful management can play in supporting forests, communities, and future generations.

About Thomas H. DeLuca

Thomas H. DeLuca is the Cheryl Ramberg-Ford and Allyn C. Ford Dean of the College of Forestry, director of the Oregon Forest Research Laboratory, and professor of forest soils at Oregon State University. A soil scientist and ecosystem ecologist, his research focuses on forest soils, ecosystem ecology, and the conservation, restoration, and sustainable management of forests. Before joining Oregon State, he held leadership, faculty, and research roles at the University of Montana, the University of Washington, Bangor University in North Wales, the Wilderness Society, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, and Slippery Rock University.

About Kasey Lundberg

Kasey Lundberg represents companies, investors, and cooperatives in mergers and acquisitions, debt financing, and corporate governance matters, with a focus on the timber and agriculture industries. She advises clients on acquisitions and dispositions, complex timberland transactions, strategic business combinations, financing transactions, and corporate governance matters related to their business and investment activities.