Tillamook Forest Stories: Chris Hager

The Tillamook Rainforest is many things to many people and other creatures. It’s home to fish and wildlife, including wild salmon and steelhead that feed ecosystems and fuels local economies. It’s a place of refuge, sustenance and play for thousands of residents every week. It’s a source of clean water and air that millions of Oregonians rely on every day.
In this video series, WSC and the Protect the Tillamook campaign are telling the stories of a handful of forest users and their place in the Tillamook. Put together, they speak to the importance of this landscape for all kinds of Oregonians.
Chris Hager is a hunter and fisherman who spends a lot of time in the Tillamook Rainforest chasing steelhead and bowhunting for Roosevelt Elk. “Steelhead were kind of a gateway drug to getting out and hunting for other wildlife,” he says.
Like a lot of Oregonians who fish and hunt on the North Coast, Chris treasures these public lands.
"I'm one of the best versions of myself when I'm in the woods," he says. “I can’t believe how lucky we all were to have these in our backyard”
And he’s liking what he sees in the state’s new conservation plan for the 500,000 acres of state land that comprise the Tillamook Rainforest. The plan sets aside durable conservation areas for fish and wildlife, including threatened and endangered species, for the next 70 years. It will ensure long-term access for sportsmen and women. And it will deliver a reliable supply of logs to North Coast mills in the region.
“When you look at all the elements of the plan-for wildlife, for access, for the timber industry-it’s really a win-win for all sides,” says Chris.
Credits: @tracy.nc @miyamotoryan