SALEM, Ore. – Oregon State University will present an Elliott State Research Forest proposal to the State Land Board on Tuesday, Dec. 8.  

The State Land Board in December 2018 asked the Department of State Lands and OSU to explore transforming the Elliott State Forest into a publicly owned research forest. The research forest proposal was drafted over the next two years, with input from advisory committees, Tribes, state and local governments, stakeholders, and the public.

A successful proposal will be consistent with the Land Board’s vision for the forest, which includes keeping the forest publicly owned with public access; decoupling the forest from the Common School Fund and compensating the fund for the forest; continuing habitat conservation planning to protect species and allow for harvest; and providing for multiple forest benefits, including recreation, education and working forest research.

The State Land Board video meeting begins at 10 a.m. and will be livestreamed to the DSL YouTube channel.

The meeting agenda and materials, including the final research forest proposal and a summary of comments received, are available here. The public may submit written testimony or sign up to provide spoken testimony during the meeting. The deadline to sign up to testify is 10 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 7. Testimony information is also available here.

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

About the State Land Board and the Department of State Lands: The State Land Board consists of Governor Kate Brown, Secretary of State Bev Clarno 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.