Taking action to protect Elliott State Forest

PFT is urging Oregon to protect this precious resource with a conservation easement

On December 10, 2019, the Oregon State Land Board met to discuss the direction of the decoupling of the Elliott State Forest (ESF) from the Common School Fund, reviewing the proposal from Oregon State University (OSU) to manage it as a research forest to understand impacts of climate change. Following earlier controversy concerning the proposed sale of the ESF, the state had issued a $100 million bond to protect the key values of this irreplaceable 82,500 acre resource, Oregon’s oldest state forest, while also seeking ways to decouple its management from the support of the Common School Fund.

While the bonds have been sold, no tangible evidence of how the protection of the Elliott will be implemented has yet been demonstrated. PFT and other advocates urged the Land Board to use this $100 million commitment by the public to protect the forest under a Working Forest Conservation Easement (WFCE). (Find out more about working forest conservation easements.)

A WFCE will assure the public that this forest will be permanently conserved and well-managed for all its public benefits and values. WFCEs are a proven, effective and enforceable tool that would guide future management to enhance wildlife, water, and climate, while also enabling and underpinning a sustainable forest economy. Read PFT’s letter to the State Land Board here.

Oregonians: You can take action to urge the State Land Board to protect this land permanently with a WFCE: