Write to the State Land Board (which governs the Department of State Lands) before December 13, and urge them not to sell off the 83,000-acre Elliott State Forest. The more DSL and the Land Board hear about the importance of the Elliott to Oregonians, the less likely they will sell this important state forest. Please
email to submit a comment.
The Department of State Lands (DSL) has been trying to sell off the approximately 83,000-acre Elliott State Forest for more than two years now. DSL crafted a "transfer opportunity" with various protocols and asked for bids on the Forest. Since the State only valued the Forest at $220.8 million, it was thought that several "offers" for the purchase would come in. However, the transfer opportunity was quite complex, requiring the would-be purchaser to provide enhanced public recreation access, economic benefits by way of jobs, protection of older forest stands and riparian areas. In addition, the purchaser had to show DSL they had a valid enforcement mechanism
for maintaining these benefits.
DSL received only one offer for the purchase of the Elliott, from Roseburg-based Lone Rock Timber Company, in conjunction with the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua and the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw (CTLUSI). Lone Rock would have 87% of the equity in the purchase, with the remainder going to the Cow Creeks. In this very complex proposal, CTLUSI would be the conservation easement holder to protect public access, older forest stands and riparian areas. The Conservation Fund would be the conservation advisor to both CTLUSI and Lone Rock Timber in managing the Elliott has a private forest with some public benefits.
There are many difficulties with the proposal and how it would work in practice.
But the fundamental problem is that the Elliott would be sold out of public ownership and no longer be a forest owned by, and for, the people of Oregon. Oregon Coast Alliance and many other groups are completely opposed to selling the Elliott under the Lone Rock proposal or any other plan. The State of Oregon has some work to do, to figure out how best to decouple the Elliott from the Common School Fund, so the unworkable requirement that the Elliott fund state schools via logging revenues no longer applies. The State must also revamp the Elliott's management priorities so they accord more with contemporary conservation values and laws.
The best thing DSL could do is hand this problem to the Legislature to craft an equitable solution -- perhaps a trustland transfer system, such as Washington has for dealing with similar situations.
But there
is no emergency here,
and certainly no
need to sell the Elliott. Please let the State Land Board know your opinion!