Last Monday, SB 795 was given a hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources. As you may recall from the action alert in my last week's newsletter, SB 795 would give counties an option to take back forest lands that were deeded over to the State.

Under the original agreement, those forest lands would be managed for the “greatest permanent value”, but the Department of Forestry has lowered harvest levels below sustainable harvest levels, costing many of our counties (including Linn and Marion) and special districts over $1 Billion in tax revenues.

Under SB795, counties could take back ownership (and management) of their forestlands if those counties feel the agreement is not being upheld and that they could obtain more value from the lands on their own.

Senator Girod (R, Stayton) introduced this bill because he also feels that rural counties know better than the bureaucrats at the Oregon Department of Forestry how to best manage our own forest lands—to protect our water, provide habitat, defend our communities from fire, and support our tax base.

With the passage of SB 795 into law, logging could increase once again in Linn County, bringing with it countless jobs and added revenue. I want to thank everyone who testified in front of the committee, as well of all of you that submitted written testimony on OLIS. I would encourage you to continue following along as this extremely important bill continues to move through the legislative process. We will need all the support we can get!

Linn County Commissioners Roger Nyquist and Will Tucker's testimony can be viewed here.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

My written testimony:

“When two parties enter into a contract, both parties have an obligation to uphold their side of the responsibilities outlined in that agreement. Yet in the case of our forestlands, it is the State of Oregon who is defaulting on its side of the agreement, leaving our rural communities deprived of the tax revenues they are owed—and the compounding effect of those loses for decades. SB 795 would be a small step towards correcting our State’s failure, and I urge your support.

When Counties deeded over hundreds of thousands of acres of forestlands to the state in the 1930’s and 1940’s, it was agreed that the state would manage those lands for the “greatest permanent value”. Yet the Oregon Department of Forestry (DOF) has reduced management practices, repeatedly lowering the revenues off these lands by harvesting below sustainable levels.

To make matters worse, the DOF has ignored the input of our counties in their decision making, committing to a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) that will further reduce harvest levels on our forestlands—and with it, the tax revenues owed to our rural taxing districts. This was not the agreement the State made with our counties.

The State has failed to weigh the effect its management decisions have on our counties and has ignored its contractual obligations for these forestlands. Now, our counties want the option to effectively terminate that agreement and reclaim their rightful forestlands—something that is absolutely reasonable when a contact is in breach.”

You can review the entire testimony on OLIS.


--Rep. Jami Cate, HD 11

Post Date: 2023-03-06 09:26:55

Last Update: 2023-03-05 17:20:57