- Executive Director, Committee to Save the Beaches, 1965-1968.
- Staff Counsel, House Environment Committee & Joint Interim Committee on Natural Resources, 1973-1974.
- Natural Resources Advisor, Governor Robert Straub, 1975-1979.
- Oregon Board of Forestry, 1987-1995.
- Tillamook Forest Heritage Trust, 1998-2012.
About Janet McLennan
Janet McLennan grew up in the Pacific Northwest. She spent considerable time hiking, camping and enjoying Oregon’s beaches, parks, and forests. Often working behind the scenes in Oregon politics, Janet McLennan made important contributions to preserving the natural beauty of the state.
As a young wife and mother, McLennan organized citizens to successfully protest the ecological and scenic damage by the proposed relocation of Highway 101 onto on the Nestucca Spit on the Oregon coast. “At that point in Oregon history, people were beginning to sense the importance of conservation of resources and the need for recreational opportunities.”
After completing law school, McLennan served as legal counsel to important environmental committees in the Oregon Legislature. These committees included the 1973 session that passed the statewide land use planning bill, SB 100. She then became Gov. Bob Straub’s Natural Resources Advisor from 1975-1979.
Later, she served as a board member of the newly revised Oregon Board of Forestry. McLennan helped implement guidelines for forest management practices that extended beyond trees alone to also include clean air and water, and animals.
Her life-long appreciation of Oregon’s forests, and of the people who work, live, and recreate in them, culminated in the creation of the Tillamook Forest Center. The center memorializes and educates visitors to the important history of Oregon’s forests.
– Interview recorded January 28, 2022