State Forest Planning and Management

Current Planning 
      Elliott State Forest Planning - The Forest Management Plan was completed in January, 2006. 

Next steps in the Elliott plan revision involve completing the public review draft habitat conservation plan , with public review in early 2007, along with public review of the draft Environmental Impact Statement; and development of a draft district implementation plan. 

      Draft 2007 Annual Operations Plans are available for public review - Draft annual operations plans (AOPs) for fiscal year 2007 are now being reviewed.  Comment period ended March 31, 2006.  AOPs identify and describe specific projects such as timber sales, road maintenance, stream enhancement and trail building.

 

The 2006–07 timber harvest levels for Tillamook and Clatsop state forests are projected to total 173 million board feet (mmbf), near the middle of the range identified in the existing forests’ 10-year harvesting plans.

 

Additional timber sales will be available in the Tillamook and Clatsop state forests in the 2006–07 fiscal year should State Forester Marvin Brown increase volume beyond the 173 mmbf level.

 

By law, the state forester sets actual harvest levels to reflect the broader goals for state forest management established by the Board of Forestry.  This spring, the board is expected to use the recently completed Harvest and Habitat Model Project, which estimates harvests under various management scenarios, and other information to decide whether to change current direction.

 

The harvest levels proposed in the 2006-07 plans were derived from the portion of the model’s results that assumed continuation of existing direction.

 

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State Forest Management Plans

NW and SW Oregon State Forests Management Plans.  Final forest management plans (FMPs) for state forests in northwest and southwest Oregon were approved by the Board of Forestry in January 2001, after a five-year, comprehensive planning process.  

Proposed Western Oregon State Forests Habitat Conservation Plan.  During the next two years, the Department of Forestry will be completing a proposed Habitat Conservation Plan for threatened and endangered species and other species of concern on western Oregon state forests. Extensive public and scientific input since 1998 has helped shape the draft strategies. Additional public involvement will occur as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries consider the plan and an associated Environmental Impact Statement.  (Note: a current draft of this plan is not yet available.)

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Elliott State Forest.  The Elliott State Forest Management Plan and Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) are now being revised.  Click here to find out more about the plan revision. If you would like to receive the Elliott State Forest planning newsletter, Expectations, contact the Planning Specialist, Oregon Department of Forestry, 2600 State Street, Salem, OR  97310 (phone 503-945-7258).  The current Elliott HCP for northern spotted owls and marbled murrelets was approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1995.  

Sun Pass State Forest.  The Eastern Region Long-Range Management Plan, approved in 1995, covers the Klamath-Lake District, which manages the Sun Pass State Forest near Crater Lake.

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Shorter Term Forest Plans

District Implementation Plans (2003) for seven state forest districts.  The implementation plan for the Coos District (Elliott State Forest) will be drafted later this year (2005).  Klamath-Lake District (Sun Pass State Forest) does not have an implementation plan.

Annual Operations Plans for all State Forest districts.

Forest Roads Manual (2000).

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Laws and Mandates

Board of Forestry Lands

Oregon state forest management of Board of Forestry Lands must secure the greatest permanent value of state forestlands to the state.  OAR 629 Division 35 defines greatest permanent value to mean "healthy, productive, and sustainable forest ecosystems that over time and across the landscape provide a full range of social, economic, and environmental benefits to the people of Oregon."

Common School Forest Lands

The Oregon State Constitution directs that Common School Forest Lands shall be managed by the State Land Board "with the object of obtaining the greatest benefit for the people of this state, consistent with the conservation of this resource under sound techniques of land management."  (Article VIII, Section 5)

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To Comment on State Forest Planning

Comments on state forest planning can be provided through oral testimony at public meetings, including Board of Forestry meetings, or by mail, fax, or e-mail to Oregon Department of Forestry, Attn: Planning Specialist, 2600 State Street, Oregon 97310 (503-945-7258, FAX 503-945-7376).  Note that some Board of Forestry agenda items may involve a work session, and public testimony or comment will not be considered on that item during the meeting.  This process ensures that the Board members have enough time to review all public input in advance of the meeting.  

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Obtaining Copies of Plans

State forest management documents include long-range forest management plans and habitat conservation plans (FMPs and HCPs); district implementation plans (IPs), that look ahead approximately 10 years; and annual operations plans (AOPs) for each state forest district.  Copies of these plans may be obtained from the Planning Specialist, Oregon Department of Forestry, 2600 State Street, Salem, OR  97310 ( 503-945-7258, FAX 503-945-7376, TTY 1-800-437-4498).  Forest management plans are also available at Department of Forestry offices in Salem, Astoria, Tillamook, Forest Grove, Molalla, Lyons, Philomath, Veneta, Medford, and Grants Pass.  Forest management plans are available at many libraries around the state.

 

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