02-13-26 Celebrating A Decade Of Leadership: Commissioner Freeman Wins Tenth Term As AOCC President (Photo) - 02/13/26
February 13, 2026
Celebrating a Decade of Leadership:
Commissioner Freeman Wins Tenth Term as AOCC President
(Douglas County, Ore) – Douglas County is pleased to announce that Commissioner Tim Freeman was unanimously re-elected for his tenth term as 2025-26 President of the Association of O&C Counties (AOCC). Recognizing a decade of sustained leadership and accomplishment, Freeman was selected once again to lead AOCC’s board of directors for the now century old association, which is comprised of over 50 county commissioners from O&C member counties. In addition to Commissioner Freeman, Polk County Commissioner Craig Pope was unanimously re-elected to a second term as Vice President, and Klamath County Commissioner Derrick DeGroot was unanimously re-elected to a second term as Secretary/Treasurer at AOCC’s Annual Meeting held in December 2025 at the Grand Hotel in Salem, Oregon.
“First, I would like to thank my fellow Douglas County Commissioners Tom Kress and Chris Boice for their support in allowing me to pursue this important work. I am truly honored to be elected to my tenth term as President of the AOCC from what is a great group of county commissioners from around the State of Oregon. The years of learning and building credibility have been paying off more and more because of all the work the board, staff and I get to do. The AOCC lands are extremely unique and productive and proper management creates all the benefits and values the people of Douglas County, State of Oregon and our Country are looking for,” commented Commissioner Freeman. “Together with my colleagues and the staff at AOCC, we will continue to work hard to secure solutions to manage our unique congressionally designated timberlands.”
The tremendous amount of work the AOCC has accomplished over the past ten years cannot be overstated in its importance to member counties and their ability to be able to provide critical services to their residents. The AOCC, established in 1925, is one of the longest, if not the longest, county-direct-to-federal-government associations in the nation. The association has a singular purpose to manage, defend, advocate, and support the unique O&C timberlands exclusively positioned within 18 counties in western Oregon. AOCC advances its mission through four primary pillars of work - Legislative Advocacy, Management of O&C Timberlands, Legal Actions, and Educational Outreach Programs.
Legislative Advocacy: Influencing and shaping the laws that govern O&C timberlands has long been a core purpose of the AOCC, and the association has been actively engaged in this work for over ten decades. Decisions made by Congress regarding O&C timberlands have a direct and dramatic impact on these 18 affected Oregon counties. Examples of that work include 1) AOCC strongly advocated to change congressional legislation (Act of Congress) to expand Title III funding to specifically support Search and Rescue programs in fulfilling their missions. 2) AOCC was able to get ‘elections’ language added back into the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Reauthorization bill which allows O&C counties to ‘elect’ to take increased O&C timber receipts. 3) Most recently AOCC helped with another Act of Congress by getting O&C Counties back to historical 75% of shared timber receipts from O&C timberlands through the passage of the FY26 Interior Appropriations Bill that upholds the promise made by the original 1937 O&C Act.
Management of O&C Timberlands: AOCC over the years has consistently been involved in the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) O&C Forest Management Plan. Specifically, Commissioner Freeman, representing Douglas County as a cooperating agency, was involved in the 2016 BLM Resource Management Plan development. The association has worked full-time with the BLM in the management of O&C timberlands, partnering with them to accomplish what is required in the 1937 O&C Act and the 2016 Resource Management Plan. Because of their full-time advocacy and management of O&C timberlands, the BLM has now reached a point where even the relatively small level of harvest is actually creating receipts that are greater than the funding that the SRS Legislation offers for O&C Counties. During Commissioner Freeman’s presidency, AOCC hosted two different U.S. Secretaries of the Interior specifically to discuss O&C timberland management. They also met with a two other U.S. Secretaries of the Interior and numerous high-level U.S. Department of the Interior staff working on the management of O&C timberlands. Commissioner Freeman was also personally invited to an exclusive event at the White House in 2025 specifically because of AOCC’s role in public land management.
Legal Actions: The AOCC in the last 10 years has become more involved in legal battles. Including filing their own lawsuits regarding the insufficiencies of the 2016 Resource Management Plan and making comments on BLM actions. They have also stepped up to defend the BLM on O&C projects against those that file lawsuits against the BLM when they are trying to manage the O&C timberlands.
Educational Outreach Programs: Another relatively new pillar added to the mission of AOCC is their educational outreach program. AOCC President Freeman, along with AOCC Executive Director Doug Robertson have presented dozens of education lectures on O&C timberlands in the last ten years to various groups and agencies including all the BLM - O&C Managed Districts, Oregon Loggers Conference, REAL Oregon, U.S. Department of the Interior, Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) & their respective Commissioners, AOC’s County College & Annual Meeting, UCC Forestry Department, Douglas Timber Operators, all County Commissioners from O&C member counties, local Chambers of Commerce, local service groups, and dozens of others. Additionally, they are active in responding to press inquiries and submitting informational releases on recent legal, management, and legislative victories.
The term “O&C” originates from federal land grants made between 1866 and 1870 to the Oregon and California Railroad Company to support construction of a rail line from Portland, Oregon, to the California border. After the railroad failed to meet the terms of the grant, the checkerboard-patterned lands were later revested to the federal government and became known as the O&C timberlands. Members of AOCC advocate for sustained yield management of O&C timberlands, as required by federal law under the 1937 O&C Act,, to protect and support jobs, local economies, county services, and healthy timberlands. The 1937 O&C Act is widely regarded as the first Congressional Conservation Act and was enacted to solely regulate the management of the Federal timber resources in western Oregon.
The O&C Act signaled an end to the cut-and-run policies in the early years of the 20th century. By requiring management under the principle of Sustained Yield, timber harvest cannot outpace the annual growth of the forest, resulting in a perpetual supply of timber while concurrently providing quality habitat for wildlife, watershed protection, and recreational opportunities for the public. AOCC has full-time staff here in Oregon, as well as federal representation that work on the AOCC mission every single day. For more information on AOCC click here: http://www.oandc.org/.
Media Contact: Tamara Howell, Douglas County Emergency Communications & Community Engagement Specialist, Douglas County Public Affairs Office | Office: (541) 957-4896 | Cell: (541) 670-2804 | Email: tamara.howell@douglascountyor.gov
