Biography

Russ Sapp was born in 1951 to an Oregon pioneer family. He attended grade school in his hometown of Alsea and graduated from Philomath High School in 1969. Russ then joined the  U.S. Army and served in Missouri and Texas until his honorable discharge in 1973. 

Russ logged through the 1970's, 80's, and 90's in his family business, becoming experienced in all phases of the industry. He served on Alsea School Board in the mid-80's and for the past 35 years has been on the Consumers Power Board of Directors in Philomath.

Russ has been playing music since the 1960s. With his group, Swampgrass, he has recorded three albums of original music, with a focus on family, local stories, and his Alsea Valley homeland. In addition to playing music, the Sapp family has hunted, fished, and camped throughout the Northwest for many generations.

In 1853 Sapp's great-great grandmother, Eudora Trask, became the first white child born in Tillamook County. The Trask River was named for Eudora's father, Eldridge, a wagon master and explorer that helped settle the area. Author Don Berry's popular book, Trask, tells this story. 

Russ has been married to his wife for 52 years and they raised three children, all graduates of Oregon State University. He has stated that during his entire working career he "never dreamed that our misguided public would rather burn down our forests than actively manage them." The root cause of this problem, in his estimation, is "government regulations that have crippled our ability to sustain healthy communities."