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News Release

02-18-26 AOCC Encouraged By Interior’s Action To Revise BLM’s O&C Resource Management Plan (Photo) - 02/18/26

Shared by the Douglas County Board of Commissioners

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 18, 2026

 

AOCC Encouraged by Interior’s Action to Revise BLM’s O&C Resource Management Plan

 

(Douglas County, Ore.) The Association of O&C Counties (AOCC) President Tim Freeman is excited to share the news that the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has issued a “Notice of Intent” to initiate the development of a revised Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Resource Management Plan (RMP) governing the 2.5 million acres of O&C timberlands (Oregon and California Revested Grant Lands) in western Oregon. 

 

"This long-awaited announcement is fantastic news!  This is BIG news for the 18 O&C Counties.  It’s BIG news for everyone in Douglas County, as we look at the future providing very essential public services for future generations.  This resource management plan dictates to the BLM how they are to manage these wildly productive public lands.  It is also BIG news for citizens in western Oregon that more recently have had to live and breathe smoke every summer from the overstocked burning timberlands – all because they have not been properly managed,” stated AOCC President Tim Freeman.

 

AOCC, working in concert with many partners, including all AOCC members counties and partners like American Forest Resource Council (AFRC), Douglas Timber Operators (DTO) and Tribal Governments has worked diligently with the DOI and three prior presidential administrations to address the deficiencies and unintended consequences of the current management framework. Under the existing 2016 RMP, the BLM is prohibited from implementing sustained-yield management practices across approximately 80 percent of the O&C timberland base. Today, O&C timberlands hold 50% more board feet of standing timber, than when the land started being managed under the 1937 O&C Act.

 

The Oregon and California Revested Lands Sustained Yield Management Act of 1937, often called the 1937 O&C Act is a U.S. federal law establishing a sustained-yield forestry management system on lands once granted to the Oregon and California Railroad. It remains a foundational statute guiding timber and land management on millions of acres in western Oregon that supports family-wage jobs, provides funding for vital county services, and creates healthy, working timberland.

 

For the first 50 years, management under the O&C Act supported a broad spectrum of recreational opportunities, provided economic stability for vital county services, and ensured active timberland stewardship, including both pre- and post-fire management and timely reforestation. As management consistent with the 1937 O&C Act has declined, so too have these benefits. Campground closures, restricted road access, larger more destructive wildfires, extensive untreated fire scars, increasing sediment and debris in streams, and a broader decline in overall timberland health have sadly become commonplace.  AOCC President Freeman added, “The development of a new BLM Resource Management Plan signals a reversal of that trend and a future of health and productivity for the O&C timberlands."

 

Further, in a release issued today the BLM announced the launch of a public comment period for the proposed updates for the Resource Management plan that guides the unique 2.5 million acres of O&C Timberlands located in 18 counties in western Oregon.  

 

“Bringing timber production back to historic levels is essential for reviving local economies and reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires,” stated Acting BLM Director Bill Groffy.

 

According to the release, “A notice will publish in tomorrow’s Federal Register to open the comment period, which closes on March 23, 2026. Additional information is available at the BLM National NEPA Register, where comments may be submitted through the “Participate Now” option. Written comments may also be emailed to BLM_OR_Revision_Scoping@blm.gov or delivered to: Attention BLM OR930, 1220 SW 3rd Ave, Portland, OR 97204.”    Read the original release about BLM’s public comment period here. 

 

AOCC President Freeman stressed that revising the Resource Management Plan represents a critical opportunity to restore stability to O&C timberland management by better aligning federal policy with statutory requirements and improve the economic realities facing rural Oregon communities. AOCC’s Board of Directors, Executive Director Doug Robertson, staff, and federal representation reaffirmed their longstanding commitment to working collaboratively with the Department of the Interior, the BLM, the 18 O&C counties, and stakeholders throughout the entire revision process.

 

“We appreciate the foresight of the US Department of Interior in initiating the development of a revised plan.  We have an important window to correct course and restore balanced management of the O&C timberlands, whose proper and sustained management safeguards our timberlands while funding county services and providing family-wage jobs in western Oregon.” – AOCC President Tim Freeman. 

 

AOCC, now more than a century old, represents the unique O&C timberlands in 18 western Oregon counties that host the O&C timberlands managed by the BLM. The AOCC advocates for sustained yield management of O&C timberlands, as required by federal law under the 1937 O&C Act, to protect and support jobs and local economies, county services, and healthy timberlands.  The 1937 O&C Act is widely regarded as the first Congressional Conservation Act.  It was enacted to regulate the management of the Federal timber resources. 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. For more information on AOCC click here: http://www.oandc.org/.

 

###

 

Contacts: Doug Robertson |AOCC Executive Director | Association of O&C Counties | Phone: (541) 430-8952 | Email: Robertsonjd44@outlook.com

 

Douglas County Commissioner Tim Freeman | AOCC Board President | Association of O&C Counties | Phone: (541) 440-4201 | tim.freeman@douglascountyor.gov

Attached Media Files: AOCClogo.jpg,

02-18-26 AOCC Encouraged By Interior’s Action To Revise BLM’s O&C Resource Management Plan (Photo) - 02/18/26

Shared by the Douglas County Board of Commissioners

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 18, 2026

 

AOCC Encouraged by Interior’s Action to Revise BLM’s O&C Resource Management Plan

 

(Douglas County, Ore.) The Association of O&C Counties (AOCC) President Tim Freeman is excited to share the news that the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has issued a “Notice of Intent” to initiate the development of a revised Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Resource Management Plan (RMP) governing the 2.5 million acres of O&C timberlands (Oregon and California Revested Grant Lands) in western Oregon. 

 

"This long-awaited announcement is fantastic news!  This is BIG news for the 18 O&C Counties.  It’s BIG news for everyone in Douglas County, as we look at the future providing very essential public services for future generations.  This resource management plan dictates to the BLM how they are to manage these wildly productive public lands.  It is also BIG news for citizens in western Oregon that more recently have had to live and breathe smoke every summer from the overstocked burning timberlands – all because they have not been properly managed,” stated AOCC President Tim Freeman.

 

AOCC, working in concert with many partners, including all AOCC members counties and partners like American Forest Resource Council (AFRC), Douglas Timber Operators (DTO) and Tribal Governments has worked diligently with the DOI and three prior presidential administrations to address the deficiencies and unintended consequences of the current management framework. Under the existing 2016 RMP, the BLM is prohibited from implementing sustained-yield management practices across approximately 80 percent of the O&C timberland base. Today, O&C timberlands hold 50% more board feet of standing timber, than when the land started being managed under the 1937 O&C Act.

 

The Oregon and California Revested Lands Sustained Yield Management Act of 1937, often called the 1937 O&C Act is a U.S. federal law establishing a sustained-yield forestry management system on lands once granted to the Oregon and California Railroad. It remains a foundational statute guiding timber and land management on millions of acres in western Oregon that supports family-wage jobs, provides funding for vital county services, and creates healthy, working timberland.

 

For the first 50 years, management under the O&C Act supported a broad spectrum of recreational opportunities, provided economic stability for vital county services, and ensured active timberland stewardship, including both pre- and post-fire management and timely reforestation. As management consistent with the 1937 O&C Act has declined, so too have these benefits. Campground closures, restricted road access, larger more destructive wildfires, extensive untreated fire scars, increasing sediment and debris in streams, and a broader decline in overall timberland health have sadly become commonplace.  AOCC President Freeman added, “The development of a new BLM Resource Management Plan signals a reversal of that trend and a future of health and productivity for the O&C timberlands."

 

Further, in a release issued today the BLM announced the launch of a public comment period for the proposed updates for the Resource Management plan that guides the unique 2.5 million acres of O&C Timberlands located in 18 counties in western Oregon.  

 

“Bringing timber production back to historic levels is essential for reviving local economies and reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires,” stated Acting BLM Director Bill Groffy.

 

According to the release, “A notice will publish in tomorrow’s Federal Register to open the comment period, which closes on March 23, 2026. Additional information is available at the BLM National NEPA Register, where comments may be submitted through the “Participate Now” option. Written comments may also be emailed to BLM_OR_Revision_Scoping@blm.gov or delivered to: Attention BLM OR930, 1220 SW 3rd Ave, Portland, OR 97204.”    Read the original release about BLM’s public comment period here. 

 

AOCC President Freeman stressed that revising the Resource Management Plan represents a critical opportunity to restore stability to O&C timberland management by better aligning federal policy with statutory requirements and improve the economic realities facing rural Oregon communities. AOCC’s Board of Directors, Executive Director Doug Robertson, staff, and federal representation reaffirmed their longstanding commitment to working collaboratively with the Department of the Interior, the BLM, the 18 O&C counties, and stakeholders throughout the entire revision process.

 

“We appreciate the foresight of the US Department of Interior in initiating the development of a revised plan.  We have an important window to correct course and restore balanced management of the O&C timberlands, whose proper and sustained management safeguards our timberlands while funding county services and providing family-wage jobs in western Oregon.” – AOCC President Tim Freeman. 

 

AOCC, now more than a century old, represents the unique O&C timberlands in 18 western Oregon counties that host the O&C timberlands managed by the BLM. The AOCC advocates for sustained yield management of O&C timberlands, as required by federal law under the 1937 O&C Act, to protect and support jobs and local economies, county services, and healthy timberlands.  The 1937 O&C Act is widely regarded as the first Congressional Conservation Act.  It was enacted to regulate the management of the Federal timber resources. 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. For more information on AOCC click here: http://www.oandc.org/.

 

###

 

Contacts: Doug Robertson |AOCC Executive Director | Association of O&C Counties | Phone: (541) 430-8952 | Email: Robertsonjd44@outlook.com

 

Douglas County Commissioner Tim Freeman | AOCC Board President | Association of O&C Counties | Phone: (541) 440-4201 | tim.freeman@douglascountyor.gov

Attached Media Files: AOCClogo.jpg,