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Counties, industry and conservationists spar over bill requiring 10‑year sustainable harvest level for state forests
Summary
Supporters say House Bill 3103 would provide budgeting certainty and transparency for counties and mills; opponents warn it could undermine habitat conservation plans and long‑term carbon and water protections. Committee held a lengthy public hearing and took no formal vote.
House Committee on Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water held a full public hearing March 3 on House Bill 3103, a bill that would require the State Forester to calculate and adopt by rule a 10‑year sustainable timber harvest level for state forest lands and to annually report timber sales against that level.
Supporters, including county officials, timber purchasers and forest industry groups, said the measure is a governance and transparency tool needed after what they described as fluctuating harvest projections that have strained local budgets and timber‑dependent economies. Brandon Persinger, executive director of the Council of Forest Trust Land Counties, told the committee the bill would restore “a level of certainty” in budgets for counties that deeded lands to the state under ORS chapter 530. Michael Eiesen of the Oregon Forest Industries Council said the measure does not mandate a numerical harvest level but requires the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) to adopt and manage to a stated level and explain adjustments.
Opponents — including conservation…
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