Oregon House Committee gets Forestry’s attention

Oregon House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee Chair Rep. Brad Witt, D-Clatskanie, withdrew HB 3210 after he reported that he received a letter from Board of Forestry Chair Tom Imeson and State Forester Doug Decker. Imeson and Decker’s letter indicates that they received the message HB3210 and proposed amendments were seeking.

Their letter promises to expedite the process of developing a new plan for the State Forests based on the recommendations of a BOF subcommittee recommendation to change the previous Structure Based Management to a new 70-30 strategy.

Under the new 70-30 plan, 70% of the forests would be managed with a timber prominence and 30% with a conservation emphasis. The new strategy is expected to both increase timber production and better address water quality and wildlife habitat concerns.

Previously, Rep. Witt and several of his committee members expressed frustration over the length of time it was taking for the BOF and the Forestry Department to design a new management plan for the state forests in Northwest Oregon.

Timber harvest receipts have been dropping for several years. Counties receiving revenues from State Forest timber sales have been at the front, along with State Forest timber sale purchasers, advocating for increased timber sales from the forest plan that has never produced the volumes expected when it was developed over a decade ago.

Meanwhile, the Forestry Department is seeking General Fund dollars for their operating expenses to replace the dwindling timber receipts. The trust counties, a different group than Oregon’s O&C Counties, long ago agreed to share the timber receipts to cover the Forestry Department’s management costs.