Elliot State Forest Considered by State Land Board
2/1/2010
By Rachael McDonald
Next week, the Oregon State Land Board will consider the fate of the Elliot State Forest which is in the coast range southeast of Reedsport.
The majority of the Elliot is Common School Fund land; the proceeds from logging revenue go to support Oregon’s schools. According to the Oregon Department of Forestry, which manages the Elliot, the board will consider a number of options, ranging from doing more logging to selling the forest. Josh Laughlin with Cascadia Wildlands in Eugene is afraid the state will sell the Elliot to private timber interests. He says the state could try a more innovative approach to funding schools than what he calls “clear-cuts for kids”.
Laughlin: “That may be through carbon storage to mitigate climate change or receipts from plantation thinning or the possibility of conservation acquisitions where the state is paid to set aside some of these critical areas for endangered species recovery.”
Laughlin says the 93 thousand acre Elliot is home to endangered coastal Coho Salmon, northern spotted owl and marbled Murrelet. The State Land Board meets February 9th in Salem. It’s made up of Governor Ted Kulongoski, Secretary of State Kate Brown and Treasurer Ben Westlund.
State Land Board: http://www.oregon.gov/DSL/SLB/index.shtml
Cascadia Wildlands: www.cascwild.org
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