(SALEM, OR) – The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) has finalized its Annual Operations Plans (AOP). The Plans describe projects planned for state forests in the 2027 fiscal year that began July 1 and runs through June 30, 2027. These include:
- planned timber sales for each district;
- recreation projects, such as the installation of a bridge;
- other types of forest projects, such as stream enhancement or restoration projects.
ODF received 1,515 written comments during the public comment period that was open from April 3 to May 18.
“We received many thoughtful and constructive comments from the public,” said Nick Palazzotto, ODF’s State Forests Division Deputy Chief. “These represent diverse perspectives and demonstrate a high level of interest and engagement in State Forests. The comments help us in the challenging work of trying to balance ODF’s legal obligation to manage state forests for timber production to meet economic goals as well as social and environmental outcomes—a concept referred to as Greatest Permanent Value.”
State forests provide:
- outdoor recreation
- forest education
- clean water
- critical fish and wildlife habitats
- sustainable harvest volumes that produce jobs and revenue that funds vital services in rural counties
The majority of timber sales are on Board of Forestry lands, where about two thirds of the resulting revenue is split with the counties. In turn, the counties share those revenues with special districts that support local schools or provide other essential community services. ODF retains one third of the revenue to fund management of state forests. A small portion of the timber sales are located on Common School Forest Lands and generate revenue for the state’s Common School Fund.
Some comments resulted in edits to specific timber sales while others are addressed in a high-level summary of the comments received highlighting the major themes, topics, and agency responses.
“We read and consider every comment,” said Palazzotto. “However, we do not respond individually to each one. Sale specific comments are considered by the field and technical specialists and changes are documented in the plans. We also develop a summary with broad categories that capture the high-level comments and provides our responses to the public commentary.”
The comment summary document has the following sections:
- Recreation
- Timber Harvest
- Climate Change and Fire Mitigation
- Young Stand Management
- Aquatic, Water Quality, Wildlife
- Roads and Slopes
- Process and Document Improvement
- Specific Sales
- Out of Scope
The Fiscal Year 2027 Annual Operations Plan documents are available for ODF’s Astoria, Forest Grove, Klamath-Lake, North Cascade, Tillamook, West Oregon and Western Lane districts. These are located on the same webpage as the summary of comments and agency response document.
“Because we manage state forests for the Greatest Permanent Value, we have to consider how our decisions impact all Oregonians, not just a single commenter,” said Palazzotto. “This means individual members of the public or stakeholder groups may be disappointed with some choices made and satisfied with others. We recognize that and seek to be as transparent as possible in our decisions. We know Oregonians care about their forests as we received more than fifteen-hundred comments this year. Given the high interest in how state forests are managed, ODF will continue to work on improving communications with landowners, neighbors and concerned citizens. Our goal is to raise awareness of our AOP process and how people can connect with us to have their concerns heard.”
