Reporter for The Canyon Weekly
State officials have organized a Thursday, Feb. 2 virtual meeting to discuss revisions for habitat planning in the Santiam State Forest and other Western Oregon districts.
Once the meeting has been held a public comment period begins and runs through March 6. Send comments to [email protected].
State forests are required by state law to develop long-range forest management plans, mid-range implementation plans, and annual operations plans. Implementation plans describe forest management activities such as timber harvest targets, road construction and maintenance, reforestation and young stand management, recreation, aquatic habitat restoration, and protection strategies for species of concern.
At the direction of the Board of Forestry, ODF is continuing the development of a draft Western Oregon state forests habitat conservation plan (HCP) and forest management plan (FMP) for Western Oregon state forests. The HCP also must go through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process.
Finalization of the planning process and issuance of incidental take permits (ITPs) is expected to occur within fiscal year 2024. Revising the current implementation plans allows the agency to continue operations during this transitional period while focusing resources on developing a companion forest management plan and accompanying implementation plans required for the HCP. Incidental take permits allow for the harming or killing of aquatic species protected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that occur even when the forest practices involved are legal.
The ODF also is working on an HCP process that will develop incidental take permits for private forests in Oregon. That separate process is expected to last through 2027.
The revisions to the current state forest implementation plans update the timber harvest targets, maintain current forest management plan requirements, update new information on the district land base and forest resources and incorporates the components of the draft HCP through June 30, 2025 in order to cover the potential HCP approval timeline and the new forest management and implementation plan timelines.
The proposed implementation plan revisions are for the Astoria, Forest Grove, Tillamook, North Cascade, West Oregon, Southwest Oregon, and Western Lane (including the Southwest unit) state forest districts. The Santiam State Forest is in the North Cascade district.
The Oregon Department of Forestry manages approximately 730,000 acres of lands across 15 Oregon counties as well as 28,000 acres of Common School Fund land.
TO GET INVOLVED
Here is the link for those interested in joining the 3:30 p.m., Feb. 2 Oregon Department of Forestry session on planning in state forests: https://odf.zoom.us/j/93496615936#success.
For more info on the plan revisions go to https://www.oregon.gov/odf/working/pages/stateforests.aspx.
