Oregon May Alter Forest Practices

Oregon is embarking on a major change to the Oregon Forest Practices Act following an agreement reached by preservationist and timber industry groups. According to the participants, changes to the act will deliver a variety of new protections for sensitive and endangered species and also provide more regulatory and legal certainty for timber companies and small woodland owners regarding logging and timber management activities on private lands.

The goal is to update rules governing timber harvests and forest management on private land—roughly 10 million acres in the state—to in effect make the state’s forest practices fit the requirements of a federally supervised habitat conservation plan. Such a plan, if approved by NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, would protect forestland owners from lawsuits under the Endangered Species Act in exchange for conservation commitments. Similar agreements have been negotiated with some large timberland owners in the Pacific Northwest, but not on a statewide basis for all landowners.

The agreement comes after several years of in-state preservationist and timber industry groups going at each other with competing ballot initiatives and increasingly expensive litigation. The tragic fires of 2020—and ongoing fire concerns—have made it easier for both sides to find common ground and interests.

Many details remain to be worked out, but some commitments already agreed to include wider no-cut buffers for fish-bearing streams; new buffers for streams that were previously unprotected; new rules governing logging on steep slopes to minimize erosion and protect habitat; improvements to logging and forest roads; new minimum harvest standards for small forestland owners; and compensation for small forest landowners who are impacted by the rules.

State officials plan to codify the new practices in legislation, pass it, then use it to propose and create what is essentially a statewide federally supervised habitat conservation plan.

Latest news

New From Bandit: HM6420 Hammermill Grinder

This highly productive 40 in. capacity grinder is designed and manufactured to be an alternative solution for those grinding applications that may contain contaminants. A Caterpillar C32, 1,200 HP engine provides ample torque and horsepower for optimal machine performance and productivity…

Wood Bio Conference Showcases ‘Energy That Works’

“I’m more impressed with this lineup of speakers than any we’ve had in the history of our event,” comments Rich Donnell, Co-Chairman of the eighth Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo, which will be held Tuesday-Wednesday, March 12-13, at the Omni Atlanta Hotel at Centennial Park in downtown Atlanta, Georgia…

Air Burners Collaborates To Introduce BioCharger

Air Burners, a manufacturer of air curtain burner systems, has collaborated with Rolls-Royce and Volvo Construction Equipment to develop and test the BioCharger—a portable machine that turns biomass waste into energy. The BioCharger combines three innovative steps to provide off-grid power from vegetative waste management. First, it eliminates vegetative waste using air curtain technology to minimize the harmful particulate matter entering the atmosphere…

Find Us On Social

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Wood Bioenergy News Online hits the inboxes of subscribers in the wood-to-energy sectors.

Subscribe/Renew

Wood Bioenergy is published and delivered worldwide 6 times per year. Free to qualified readers in the U.S. Subscribers outside the U.S. are asked to pay a small fee.

Advertise

Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative.