Board hears forestry proposals; staff to revise forest-reserve ordinance and bring changes to workshop

Director Streeter presented two forestry items: a draft order to designate newly purchased property as county forest and proposed language to establish a forest reserve fund for the county's forestry operations.

Streeter said state law (referenced as ORS in the meeting) requires land purchased from the property-reserve fund (which holds proceeds from sales of designated forestry lands) to be designated as forestry land. The board discussed ordinance language for a forest reserve fund intended to provide carryover funding so forestry managers can time timber sales against market volatility; Streeter referenced a two-year target and earlier proposals for a $5 million carryover figure.

Nut graf: Commissioners suggested stronger language in the draft resolution (changing phrasing such as "shall target" to "shall have" to create a firmer carryover requirement), discussed whether to set a fixed dollar target or a rolling two-year target, and asked staff to draft edits. The board agreed to send the revised language and the land-designation matter to the Friday workshop (WBS) for further review.

Discussion and next steps Commissioners and the director discussed whether the reserve should be a fixed dollar amount ($5 million was discussed as one prior suggestion) or a rolling number of fiscal years of operating funds. One commissioner suggested "shall have" rather than "shall target" to make the carryover requirement stronger. The board asked Streeter to provide legal and budgetary edits and to send the revised draft to the county legal team; staff will present the updated proposal at the Friday WBS.

Ending: The board did not adopt the ordinance or resolution at the meeting; staff will revise the draft language and present it at the next workshop for potential adoption scheduling.