Final chapter written for the Elliott

 Final chapter written for the Elliott

 

The State Land Board, SLB, on December 13, 2022, formally put an end to the once great Elliott State Forest. Now the Elliott formally becomes the Elliott State Research Forest, ESRF, co-owned by a new government entity and Oregon State University.

 

Governor Kate Brown, Treasurer Tobias Read and Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, who make up the current SLB, officially decoupled the Elliott from its 90-year obligation to the Common School Fund. No longer will there be a mandate on managing the Elliott for schools with the payment of $221 million from Oregon taxpayers to compensate the CSF.

 

This ends a long and sordid history of the Elliott that was prompted by environmentalists’ lawsuits challenging timber sales that were purported to be in habitat of Marbled Murrelets. The seabird can fly from the ocean inland for 60 miles to find an appropriate nest tree. However, advocates deemed that flying over a small timber harvest would doom the bird to extinction.

 

Rather than challenge the legal and factual basis of the suit, the State of Oregon, under the direction from Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, surrendered all future management opportunity for the Elliott and paid the plaintiffs nearly $400,000 in attorneys’ fees.

 

This lack of a strong legal defense led to several proposals for the future of the Elliott, including selling the 80,000-acre forest to a local forest management company. Governor Brown and Treasurer Read wilted in the face of the outcry from preservationists so the sale was pulled, and new options were sought.

 

It was Read’s idea to give the Elliott to OSU. OSU balked at that idea when they realized the potential liability involved in owning a large block of forest land. A large stakeholder’s group and the Division of State Lands developed the notion of turning the Elliott into a research forest.

 

The 2022 legislature adopted laws that created the Elliott State Research Forest and created an entity to manage it in conjunction with OSU. They also appropriated $121 million to pay the balance owed the CSL.

 

The new statutes led to the SLB’s actions on December 13, 2022, thereby ending any requirement to manage the forest, although the new ESRF plans to sell limited timber sales to keep the forest afloat without the continual need for subsidies.

 

Don’t be surprised to see the preservationists throw a fit over any proposed timber harvesting. In other words, you haven’t heard the last of the Elliott…

Hope you didn’t think the Private Forest Accord would be enough…

Earlier this year large and small forest landowners collaborated with 13 environmental organizations under the auspices of Governor Brown to develop the unprecedented Private Forest Accord. As previously posted legislators and the media view the PFA as ending the Timber Wars.  

Not surprisingly, environmental activists Oregon Wild, a signatory to the PFA, is already announcing that the landmark agreement for changes to Oregon’s Forest Practices Act are just the beginning of changes they want.

 

In a message to supporters Oregon Wild states “while the PFA is critically important for endangered wildlife - it is not a comprehensive solution to some of the other consequences of industrial forestry.” The activists wanted their supporters to tell the Board of Forest at an October meeting that “there are plenty of steps left to go to protect communities and the climate and to push Oregon toward a truly sustainable timber industry.”

 

Longtime observers of environmental activists’ insatiable appetite to destroy the Timber Industry aren’t the least bit surprised by Oregon Wild’s position, instead it is another example of their inability to accept yes for an answer…

 

Will the Private Forest Accord end the Timber Wars???

 Will the Private Forest Accord end the Timber Wars???

 

Oregon’s legislature recently adopted Senate Bill 1501, legislation that formally enacts the Private Forest Accord, an unprecedented agreement for a dozen large and small forest landowners and 13 environmental organizations to lay down their swords. Two years of hard work were required to reach the framework of the PFA. Now there is an intense scramble of rulemaking, mapping, analysis, and Adaptive Management to implement the PFA and make it a continually updated program. All forest industry foresters, engineers and attorneys have embraced an all-hands-on deck philosophy to staff numerous committees and rule-making processes.  

 

Listening to the legislative floor speeches or reading the media coverage of the PFA enactment could lead one to conclude that the so-called Timber Wars are over. While that would be a welcome outcome, it won’t happen. Recent action from environmentalists shows that the Timber Wars will continue the over 16 million acres of forest land that is publicly owned. Environmental activists are still protesting and litigating over state-of-the-art scientific forest management on State and Federal Forest lands, even challenging the removal of dead burned trees along State Highways that provide access for forest recreation, amongst other things. The PFA only covers approximately 10 million acres of private forest land. 

 

Forestland ownership is confusing for legislators, media representatives and the public. In Oregon 60% of the forest land is owned by the Federal Government while 3% is owned by the State. Don’t be surprised to see political turmoil continue over management of forest land in Oregon. These acres will be the exclusive territory for the Timber Wars in the 2020s. Stay tuned.

 

 

Oregon timber industry, environmental groups collaborate on new state laws to protect habitat

 

Oregon’s Private Forest Accord – Your questions answered 

  

Major change coming for the 90-year-old Elliott State Forest

 

The Oregon legislature, on the first day of the 35-day short session, heard testimony on Senate Bill 1546-1 a bill to convert the Elliott State Forest into the Elliott State Research Forest. The ESRF would be managed by a new state entity, with ties to Oregon State University. OSU previously turned down the offer from the State Land Board to own the ESF 

 

The ESRF would also be de-coupled with the Common School Fund that was supported by timber revenues since the ESF was established in in 1930 as Oregon’s first State Forest. Governor Kate Brown has designated $127 million to compensate the CSF. Fortunately, Oregon is flush with billions of dollars from federal pandemic relief and unexpected tax revenue due to Oregon’s strong economy.

 

The new ESRF Board of Directors and Executive Director will oversee the 84,000-acre forest that will be, by far, the world’s largest research forest. SB 1546 will need to move rapidly through the legislative process due to the tight timelines for the session. A public hearing on the bill will be held virtually on February 3^rd. 

 

The long sordid history for the ESF is entering a new phase. The ESF was once the quintessential multiple use managed forest producing upwards of 50 Million Board Feet per year while providing a verdant scenic and recreational spot amongst the most productive Douglas fir forestland in the world.

 

Now, after a new Forest Management Plan and Federally approved Habitat Conservation Plan, the ESRF is expected to produce timber harvests of 17 MMBF/year. The multi-party committee that developed the concept to turn the ESF into a research forest anticipated limited timber harvests as part of the research. It will be interesting to see if these science-based timber harvests are challenged by folks who can’t accept that proper forest management requires periodic harvests.

 

Here are links to supporting documents from the legislative hearing on February 1, 2022:

State Land Board Letter

ESRF Advisory Committee Letter 

OSU’s ESRF Proposal