Salem, Ore. -- The Oregon Department of Forestry is inviting public comment on planned projects, timber sales and other management activities in state-owned forests for fiscal year 2022. These plans lay out the on-the-ground activities expected to take place in the coming fiscal year, such as timber harvests, reforestation, and trail improvements.
Starting Friday, May 7 through Monday, June 21, Oregonians can weigh in on the draft annual operations plans for state forests in the Astoria, Forest Grove, Klamath-Lake, Tillamook, West Oregon, and Western Lane Districts, which includes the Tillamook, Clatsop, Sun Pass and Gilchrist state forests. Draft plans are available at: https://www.oregon.gov/ODF/Working/Pages/StateForests.aspx.
ODF is offering several convenient avenues for those who want to provide input on the draft plans:
By law, state forests must provide economic, environmental, and social benefits to Oregonians. These lands are managed to create healthy, productive forests that provide high-quality habitat, clean water, revenues for rural communities, and recreation opportunities. Overall management policies and goals are established in long-range forest management and implementation plans. Annual operations plans describe activities to achieve the policies and goals laid out in those longer-range plans. Activities that affect fish and wildlife habitat are reviewed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, while operations that may affect threatened and endangered fish and wildlife habitat are shared with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Common activities included in an Annual Operations Plan include:
The most useful input speaks to these specific activities and whether they are consistent with longer-range plans, offers suggestions to improve efficiency or effectiveness, corrects errors, provides additional information, and is solution-oriented, understanding that state forests are working forests and by law must provide a variety of economic, environmental, and social benefits.
A public comment process on planned projects, timber sales, and other management activities on the North Cascades District for fiscal year 2022, including extensive restoration efforts on the Santiam State Forest, will be conducted separately.