The project seeks a public option for the forest that will:
- Keep the forest publicly owned
- Decouple the forest from the Common School Fund, compensating the school fund for the forest and releasing the
forest from its obligation to generate revenue for schools
- Continue habitat conservation planning to protect species and allow for harvest
The 2017 Oregon Legislature approved $100 million in bond proceeds to compensate the Common School Fund for loss of revenue, and also allocated $1.5 million for the public ownership project.
The two major project elements are Common School Fund Decoupling and Habitat Conservation Plan Development.
Common School Fund Decoupling
DSL engaged Oregon Consensus, a program of the National Policy Consensus Center at Portland State University, as a neutral party to assist with outreach and overall work toward decoupling. Between March-August 2018, Oregon Consensus gathered perspectives on decoupling by conducting interviews with individuals representing federal, tribal, state and local governments, as well as individuals representing timber, conservation, school funding beneficiaries, recreation, land trusts, labor and others.
In October 2018, Oregon Consensus submitted a final report summarizing what was heard in the interviews, as well as discussion of key themes, issues, and considerations for successful decoupling. Feedback on the final report was accepted until November 15, 2018 at 5 p.m. See Project Documents for the report and comments received.
Habitat Conservation Plan Development
DSL has contracted with ICF, Inc. to develop a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). Work began in summer 2018.