| Forestry Department Turns 100! |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Burned-over area in the Lolo National Forest, Montana, 1910
|
When the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) was created in 1911, it could well have been named the Oregon Fire Department. In 1910, forest fires across Washington, Idaho, and Montana consumed 5,000 square miles of forest. While not officially included in the complex of fires now known as the "Big Burn", in Oregon 511,000 acres of timberland burned and six lives were lost, as well as 2 billion board feet of timber.
The huge fires of 1910 across the intermountain west caused public uproar and consternation, leading to legislative action throughout state and federal levels. As a result, Oregon's 1911 Legislative Assembly established the Oregon Department of Forestry and the Oregon Board of Forestry, decreeing that the primary work of the State Forester and new Board would be the protection of timber values on private forestlands and cooperation with private landowners to ensure effective fire protection.
Thus emerged the first two major and defining themes of the Oregon Department of Forestry during the last century to the present: fighting fire and working with landowners.
- Fire Protection: Today, the department provides fire protection on 16 million acres of forest and wildlands, which includes all private forestland in Oregon and all state-owned forestland. By contract, ODF also protects federal Bureau of Land Management forests in western Oregon. This fire protection work obviously covers the actual “sirens and flashing lights” but also includes fire prevention, suppression planning, and even working with homeowners and landowners to undertake fuels management projects that make their properties safer and more defensible.
- Private Forests: Nearly 11 million acres of Oregon’s forests are privately owned and managed for a variety of uses, including providing more than 80 percent of the timber cut in Oregon. Private forest landowners range from companies with thousands of acres to families with small tracts. ODF administers the Oregon Forest Practices Act, which went into effect in 1972 to “encourage economically efficient forest practices that assure the continuous growing and harvesting of forest tree species and the maintenance of forestland.” The Act safeguards soil and water resources and also fish and wildlife habitat.
- State Forests: During the early 1930s and 1940s, some private landowners in northwest Oregon stopped paying taxes on their harvested and burned lands, and title to the property went to the counties. Soon after, the Oregon Board of Forestry began to acquire these lands from the counties, creating the foundation for some of Oregon’s earliest state forests. Today the department manages 818,807 acres of forestlands, including 120,000 acres of Common School Forest Lands for the Oregon Department of State Lands, for a variety of environmental, economic, and social benefits.
- Urban Forestry: The Oregon Department of Forestry also supports Oregoon's urban and community forests - the forests where 80 percent of Oregonians live. This includes fostering public awareness of the contributions that urban forest ecosystems make to the quality of life and environmental and economic well-being of Oregon's cities and communities. ODF Urban Forestry and other employees also actively participate in Oregon's "Tree City USA" programs; since 1976, 54 Oregon cities have obtained status as Tree City USA communities.
Oregon’s land and citizenry have experienced considerable change over the past century, and the Oregon Department of Forestry reflects that evolution. Despite development and land conversion, 92 percent of the land that was forest in 1850 remains in forest cover today, and retaining forestland as forestland is a central priority of both the Board and the Department.
|
| Celebrate With Us! |
|
|
|
Oregon Department of Forestry - Salem - in April 1947
|
In honor of the Oregon Department of Forestry's 100th anniversary, we are planning a variety of displays, exhibits, and activities throughout the year that will focus on our Centennial and our agency's history. The department will have centennial displays at their booth at the Oregon State Fair in August-September; the Tillamook Forest Center will have special agency centennial celebrations upon their re-opening on March 2, and throughout the year, there will be ongoing displays at the Forest History Center, located on the department's Salem Campus at 2600 State Street.
For questions about any of these activities or the agency's Centennial, contact Dan Postrel, Agency Affairs Director, at 503-945-7420 or dpostrel@odf.state.or.us.
|
| Remembering in the years to come |
|
In honor of the department's 100th anniversary, a fun selection of keepsakes will be available for Oregonians to celebrate and share the beauty of Oregon's Forests. These collectable items will make great gifts and tokens of appreciation for family, friends, employees, cooperators,
and volunteers. These items are limited and will only be
available through the centennial year, so get your orders in now!
Order forms and details are available through the Tillamook Forest Center's Centennial Keepsake Shop.
If you have questions or want more information, please call 503-815-6808.
Thank you for your interest!
|
|
| |
|
|
