Forestland Area
Nearly half of Oregon is forestland. About 80 percent of this forestland is classified as “timberland.” Timberland is forestland that can productively grow commercial-grade timber. It excludes forestland with low growth and reserve areas where logging is restricted, such as wilderness areas and national parks.
Learn more at OregonForestFacts.org
From the end of World War II until 1989, annual timber harvests in Oregon generally ranged from 7 to 9 billion board feet. Between 1989 and 1995, timber harvest on federal lands dropped about 90 percent, caused mainly by environmental litigation, the listing of the northern spotted owl and a number of fish as threatened species, and related changes in federal management emphasis. Harvests from private lands have remained relatively stable, except during the Great Recession (2007-09), when the collapse of the housing market caused a severe contraction in the U.S. demand for lumber. Consequently, Oregon’s timber harvest reached a modern-era low in 2009, the smallest harvest since the Great Depression in 1934. By 2013, the harvest had rebounded to 4.2 billion board feet, roughly pre-recession levels.
Learn more at OregonForestFacts.org
In response to listings of salmon species under the federal Endangered Species Act, Oregon lawmakers joined with landowners in 1997 to create the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. The Oregon Plan seeks to restore salmon runs, improve water quality and achieve healthy watersheds statewide through the joint efforts of government, landowners and citizen volunteers. The plan is unique among state protection plans for its emphasis on landowners voluntarily exceeding regulations, and for its engagement of communities to restore their watersheds. Combined efforts have restored more than 7,900 miles of stream banks and opened an additional 5,100 miles of streams to fish through stream-crossing improvements.
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Oregon forest landowners meet some of the strictest environmental standards in the world through compliance with the Oregon Forest Practices Act. Yet they may choose to meet additional standards to gain recognition from independent, third-party forest sustainability certification systems. America’s three largest certification systems are the American Tree Farm System, the Forest Stewardship Council, and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. Forest certification gives wood products consumers, architects, engineers and builders an added level of assurance that the products areproduced using responsible and sustainable forestry practices.
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In both 2011 and 2016, the total number of acres burned was less than the average for the previous 10 years. The cost of fighting large fires on state-protected lands was also down in 2016. It dropped below the 10-year average of $33.8 million to $18 million.
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Oregon’s forest sector has a wide variety of employment, from forestry, logging, millwork and cabinetmaking to engineering, hydrology, business management and academic research. Economists estimate that each million board feet of timber harvested creates or retains about 11 forest sector jobs.
Learn more at OregonForestFacts.org
