Board to vote July 22 on state forests management plan

from Chuck Willer, Coast Range Association

After six years of twists and turns, the Oregon Board of Forestry will meet Wednesday, July 22 to accept or reject a new Forest Management Plan for 620,000+ acres of state forest in west Lane County, and Lincoln, Tillamook, and Clatsop counties. The new plan applies to what the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) calls its Northwest Area.

This board meeting is very important! In March of this year, the Board of Forestry voted to advance a Habitat Conservation Plan for the Northwest Area forests.

The Habitat Conservation Plan and the Forest Management Plan complement each other and will determine the future management of coastal state forests.

Over the six years the Board of Forestry worked on the plan, the timber industry fought tooth and nail to prevent adequate forest protections. During the whole period, the Coast Range Association worked within the State Forest Coalition to counter industry influence and advance forest protection.

Here’s what you can do:

1. Attend the Board of Forestry meeting on Wednesday, July 22, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. It is a virtual meeting that you can attend from home!
2. Submit a comment. The ODF website offers an easy-to-fill-out public comment form, which shares your comment with the board members.

The highest priority is to urge the Board of Forestry to adopt the Forest Management Plan.

You can also suggest improvements to the Forest Management Plan, such as those recommended by the State Forest Coalition. (For example, on page 89, “Strategy: Drinking Water,” you can endorse the recommendations to phase out clearcuts, pesticide use, and herbicide use.) The full list of recommendations is available here:

For meeting details, see the Oregon Department of Forestry website, oregon.gov/odf/board/Pages/bofmeetings.aspx

Here is a link to the Board’s guidance for submitting a comment: BOF PUBLIC COMMENTS.