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 3rd.
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:
ESRF Advisory Committee Letter
