© 2024 KLCC

KLCC
136 W 8th Ave
Eugene OR 97401
541-463-6000
klcc@klcc.org

Contact Us

FCC Applications
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Elliott State Forest Land Will Be Auctioned Off

Oregon Department of Forestry

Tuesday the Oregon State Land Board gave the green light to sell five scattered tracts in the Elliott State Forest east of Coos Bay.

The 27-hundred acres have been managed by the state for almost a century. Earnings from timber sales go to the state's Common School Fund. Due to restricted harvests, the School Fund lost money in 2013, reducing payments to all Oregon school districts. Jim Paul is with the state land board. He says this sale may set a precedent for future state land sales.

Credit Oregon State Lands

Paul: "It'll actually give us the first real data, so to speak, on what these forest lands are actually worth."

In the next few months, Mary Abrams, the Land Board Director, will set an appraised value and put the parcels up for bid. Conservation groups and logging companies have expressed interest. Paul says the land will likely go to the highest bidder. 

Karen Richards joined KLCC as a volunteer reporter in 2012, and became a freelance reporter at the station in 2015. In addition to news reporting, she’s contributed to several feature series for the station, earning multiple awards for her reporting.
Related Content