Oregon's zoning-based farm and forest land conservation programs have been in place for over 50 years. Since the start of the program, the Oregon Legislature, the Land Conservation and Development Commission, and the state's courts have passed laws, adopted administrative rules, and made decisions that have changed the programs. The farm and forest conservation programs are meant to change over time as the issues around farm and forest conservation change.
Over the past 10 years, stakeholders, the courts and DLCD Staff have identified a number of issues needing review. DLCD sees the Farm and Forest Conservation Program Improvements Project as a multi-year effort to address implementation of the farm and forest conservation program.
Scoping Phase
Staff will work with a technical advisory group to develop a Scoping Summary Report in the initial phase of this project. The Scoping Summary Report will document concerns with technical aspects of the farm and forest conservation program as well as possible ways to address the issues. The department will post the draft Scoping Summary Report on this webpage for public comment. Staff will consider the comments received and present the Scoping Summary Report to the
Land Conservation and Development Commission at a regularly scheduled meeting. The LCDC will provide guidance on future actions to pursue.
DLCD is convening a Technical Working Group to provide feedback that DLCD will consider in preparing the Scoping Summary Report. The department is hosting four Technical Working Group meetings during the fall and early winter of 2023.
Technical Working Group Summary Report
Link to the Technical Working Group Summary Report
The Technical Working Group Summary Report describes the process and results of the scoping phase of the process staff conducted to identify areas needing attention within the state’s zoning-based farm and forest land conservation programs and to develop recommendations for future action. The report documents the variety of issues discussed by the technical working group along with background information on each topic intended to provide the reader with additional context for the issue. Each section concludes with a table of a variety of recommendations provided by technical working group members specific to that topic. All actions suggested by members are presented in the report. A complete list of the issues identified, and the accompanying recommendations are also included as an attachment to the report.
The Land Conservation and Development Commission will be briefed on the Report during the January 26, 2024 commission meeting. For information on the upcoming meeting and to submit public comment on the report, please visit the
commission meeting webpage.
Technical Working Group Meetings
Farm & Forest Conservation Program Rulemakings
For information on rulemakings related to this project, please visit our rulemaking website.
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