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| Forestland classification review meeting set Feb. 6 | ||
| 01/25/2007 | ||
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Contact: Rod Nichols 503-945-7425 Increasingly in Oregon, blazes in wildlands with no fire protection are spreading onto protected forestlands. At the same time, urban sprawl into forests has elevated the wildfire risk and complicated firefighting efforts. These twin concerns have prompted a large-scale review of the state's classification system used to coordinate wildfire protection for forestlands and rural communities. A steering committee formed by the Oregon Department of Forestry will hold its first meeting on Feb. 6 in Salem to examine the 30-year-old system and recommend changes to update it. The 29-member committee includes representatives of a broad cross-section of private and public organizations that share an interest in protecting the forest resource and the expanding wildland-urban interface. At the meeting, Department of Forestry staff will provide historical background on the forestland classification system, including the pertinent state statutes and administrative rules, as well as the department's role in protecting those lands. The steering committee has been tasked with completing a set of recommendations by Jan. 1, 2008. The deadline would enable the Oregon Board of Forestry to consider proposed legislative concepts needed to implement the recommendations in time for the 2009 Oregon legislative session. The current forestland classification system developed as need arose locally. As a result, it lacks overall consistency. Also, rapid population growth has gradually transformed many of the unimproved lands originally classified as forest decades ago. "On one end of the spectrum, the rural-forest interface continues to expand, often into what had been protected commercial forestland," said Assistant State Forester Paul Bell. "On the other end of the spectrum, fires on unprotected lands have become problematic, threatening and burning onto protected forestland resulting in large, costly fires and, not infrequently, Conflagration Act mobilizations." The meeting will convene at 9 a.m. in the Tillamook Room, Building C, at Oregon Department of Forestry headquarters, 2600 State St. It is open to the public. Accommodations for people with disabilities, and special materials, services or assistance can be arranged by calling the Oregon Department of Forestry Agency Affairs Office at least 48 hours before the meeting - (503) 945-7200, text telephone (503) 945-7213 (in Salem). Cordless listening devices will be available to anyone with impaired hearing. They may be obtained at the sign-in table in the Tillamook Room. |
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