The new board will guide management of the nation’s largest research forest, shaping research, conservation, and economic outcomes 

SALEM, Ore. – The Oregon Department of State Lands is accepting letters of interest for the Elliott State Research Forest Board of Directors. 

Ensuring accountability, transparency, and meaningful engagement is critical to establishing and operating the Elliott as a public research forest. In April 2024, the State Land Board approved a research forest oversight structure that includes appointment of an ESRF Board of Directors. 

The ESRF Board will guide management of the research forest, with authority to shape management, research, conservation, economic and social outcomes of relevance at the local, statewide, national, and international level.  

The ESRF Board will consist of seven or nine voting and one nonvoting member designated by the ESRF’s lead research entity. Voting members are appointed by the State Land Board. The DSL Director will review letters of interest and develop a list of candidates for State Land Board consideration at its June 11, 2024, meeting. 

Individuals interested in being considered for the ESRF Board should review the recruitment flyer and submit the required interest materials no later than Sunday, May 12, 2024. 

Agenda items include decertification of Klamath forestlands, sale of the Stevens Road Tract in Bend, and establishment of an Elliott State Research Forest oversight structure

SALEM, Ore. – The State Land Board will meet on Tuesday, April 9 at 10 a.m. at the Department of State Lands building in Salem.
 

Agenda items the Land Board will consider include:   

• Authorize due diligence for a potential purchase of 113 acres of forestland from Coos County by the South Slough Reserve.
  The two parcels of forestlands offer high conservation value and the Reserve is seeking grant funding to acquire the land, protect those resources, and expand the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve.
   
• Initiate rulemaking on the management and issuance of leases, licenses, and registrations for uses of state-owned submerged and submersible land and the structures built on them.
  The Department seeks to simplify how lease rates are calculated, adjust the application fees to ensure they are equitable as well as cover administrative costs, amend financial assurance requirements, and clarify the initial term of a lease.
   
• Sell the remaining 261 acres of the Stevens Road Tract through a brokered transaction to expand the urban growth boundary of the City of Bend.
  The Department has partnered with the City of Bend on the implementation of House Bill 3318 which established a process for the incorporation of the Stevens Road Tract into the City of Bend’s urban growth boundary for the eventual development of a “complete community” including deed-restricted affordable, workforce, and market-rate housing, as well as parks and areas for mixed and commercial uses.
   
• Decertify the remaining 1,920 acres of the Sun Pass tract within the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Klamath district.
  The second of a two-phase decertification process, the Department seeks to take over land management from ODF, reducing overall costs to the Common School Fund in managing the low-producing forests.
   
• Establish an oversight structure for the Elliott State Research Forest.
  The oversight structure, which includes a Board of Directors, seeks to ensure public accountability and transparency in Land Board and Department administration. If approved, appointments to a board would occur at a subsequent Land Board meeting.
   

The Land Board will also hear other updates regarding the Elliott State Research Forest, as well as the Department’s new Abandoned and Derelict Vessel program.

Meeting Details and Agenda 

Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at 10 a.m. 
Department of State Lands
Land Board Room
775 Summer St. NE, Salem

The full meeting agenda and materials are available on the DSL website. The meeting will be livestreamed to the DSL YouTube channel. 

The public may submit written testimony or sign up to provide spoken testimony (in person, by video, or phone) during the meeting. Advanced sign-up is required, and the deadline is 10 a.m. on Monday, April 8.

If you need assistance to participate in this meeting due to a disability, please contact Arin Smith at 503-986-5224 or arin.n.smith@dsl.oregon.gov at least two working days prior to the meeting. 

Visitors are not permitted to bring backpacks, bags, or large purses into the Department of State Lands building prior to, during, or following Land Board meetings. Purses, medical bags, and diaper bags are permitted, but may be subject to inspection by the Oregon State Police.

About the State Land Board and the Department of State Lands: The State Land Board consists of Governor Tina Kotek, Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade, and State Treasurer Tobias Read. Established by the Oregon Constitution in 1859, the Land Board oversees the state’s Common School Fund. The Department of State Lands is the Land Board’s administrative agency, managing the lands and resources that help fund Oregon’s public schools and protecting the state’s waterways and wetlands for the many benefits they provide.

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www.oregon.gov/dsl