Elliott State Forest (For Now)

Elliott State Forest (For Now)

Web Reference: http://www.blogpacifica.com/elliott.htmAuthor: Jim HarganCopyright: 2015, All Rights ReservedAnnotated with References

August 2015. The State of Oregon is trying to sell the 93,000 acre Elliott State Forest to a single buyer, almost certainly a logging company. The State of Oregon Land Board, made up of Oregon's three highest elected officials[1], announced this on August 13th, 2015[2].

That wasn't what I had intended for a lead. I had planned to start with some nice statements about The Elliott's fine system of backroads and wonderful scenery. Current events, however, have overtaken my plans. So I'll start by describing the Elliott, then finish with the recent news of its intended sale.

The Elliott State Forest occupies 144 square miles[3] of steep, second growth land between Coos Bay and Reedsport. Like much of the Coast Range it features slopes in excess of 70% covered in forests[4], mostly Douglas Fir mixed with red alder, western red cedar, maple, and western hemlock[5]. Although these mountains are steep they are not particularly high, with ridge tops running consistently above 1,000 feet but never quite reaching 2,000[6]. Clearcuts are fairly common[7], although lawsuits have limited them in the last few years[8]. More on this later.

These are not old forests. A 2003 state hydrologic study found only 189 acres greater than 200 years old, two-tenths of one percent of the forest. Less than half of the forest is as much as a century old[9]. There's a reason for this; in the 1860s and 70s, long before logging took place, virtually the entire Elliott burnt down, scorched to the soil[10]. So what you see today are healthy young forests made up of same-age stands.

In 1927 the Siuslaw National Forest traded what was then known as the Millicoma Tract to Oregon's Department of forestry in exchange for a similar acreage in small, scattered tracts within the Siuslaw. Because the lands Oregon used in the trade were part of the Common School Fund, a portfolio of lands established in 1859 to fund public schools, the new state forest became part of that fund. When the Department of Forestry's founding Forester, Francis Elliott, died in 1930 the state changed the name of the Millicoma Tract to Elliott State Forest.[11]

Like most of the Coast Range, Elliott State Forest looks like a mad jumble of ridges and streams. It's not; there's a sensible organization to it. The Elliott consists of the watershed of the 35 mile long[12] West Fork Millicoma River, along with its surrounding ridgeline and the ridges that radiate away from it into the adjacent watersheds. This watershed ridgeline forms a great oval at the center of the forest, and is followed virtually in its entirety by fairly good gravel roads.

The Ridgetop Drive

This ridgetop drive — highlighted in green on the map — is the heart of the forest, and everything radiates from it. This is the prime backroad drive in the forest, giving you a topside view of the entire tract. It also serves as the forest's mainline, and forestry activities tend to concentrate along it. Views from the tops of clearcuts (which are more common here than elsewhere) can be very dramatic, and there are plenty of stretches through mature young forests that haven't seen an axe since the state took it over.

Ridgetop Cross-Connectors

Two roads run through the area inside the ridgetop loop, offering cross access and (more importantly) access to the West Fork Millicoma River and its tributaries. The map above highlights them in blue. The southern one, SFR 2300[13], is short and good quality. The northern one, SFR 8000, gives good access to the Millicoma if approached from the west, but from there on is badly maintained and not suitable for an ordinary auto. It also has the more attractive scenery of the two.

Outside Connectors

You can reach the ridgetop loop at any of six places, highlighted in brown on the map. Two are on the east, reached from Loon Lake Road; three are on the west, reached from county roads off US 101; and one is on the north, reached from State Highway 38, known as the Umpqua River Scenic Byway. The southwestern-most approach, SFR 3000, is the longest, best surfaced, and most dramatic, with both fine forests and wide clearcut views.

Why is the Elliott For Sale?

The Elliott is a great place! So why does the state want to sell it?

It's important to remember that this is not a park, and it's not a "state land". It's part of an investment portfolio owned by the Oregon public school system — and it's losing money hand over teakettle. Oregon's schools have already shelled out three million bucks for its upkeep[14], and only land sales (1400 acres last year)[15] have kept this from going higher.

Known as the General School Fund, this land portfolio is no new innovation, nor is it some past legislature's bright idea easily undone with new laws. It was mandated by the US Congress as a condition of statehood in 1859 and incorporated into the state's constitution. The fund's manager is a group known as the State Land Board, and is made up of the Governor, the Treasurer, and the Secretary of State[16]. (The newspaper The Oregonian described the current incumbents as "Democratic politicians with ties to the state's environmental movement."[17]) According to a 1993 Attorneys General opinion they have a fiduciary responsibility to run the School Fund to maximize profits for the school system[18], just like any other fund manager has a legally enforceable responsibility to run its fund for the benefit of its investors. The Land Board members may well want to operate the Elliott at a loss for its recreational and conservation value, but that would be illegal, a violation of their fiduciary responsibility, a corrupt act.

Once upon a time the Elliott posted good profits for the public schools, averaging nearly twelve million dollars a year from 2000 through 2005[19]. But then the lawsuits started. Three not-for-profits (the Audubon Society of Portland, Cascadia Wildlands, and the Center for Biological Diversity)[20] and two federal agencies (NOAA Fisheries and the National Fish and Wildlife Service)[21] have launched a web of litigation under the Endangered Species Act that has put the Elliott deep into red ink. All five — as well as any other potential actor — have to sign onto a plan that allows the Elliott to make a responsible return on its operating costs.[22] If this cannot happen (and the signs are grim) the Land Board must remove this bad investment from the Land Fund, or else be in violation of its fiduciary duty.[23]

What are the plans for economic exploitation that these five groups object to so strenuously? The Land Board wants to harvest 825 acres (0.9%) of the Elliott annually as clearcuts, as opposed to their previous practice of harvesting 400 acres (0.4%) of the land as clearcuts. In addition the Land Board wants to continue managing habitat for the threatened marbled murrelet using the "Take Avoidance" strategy (in use since 1995) instead of switching to the "Habitat Conservation Plan" strategy.[24] While I don't have figures on comparative private land clearcutting, the pictures to the right should give some perspective.

The board's current plan is to liquidate the forest over the next 24 months to a single buyer, who will pay market price for the entire 144 square mile tract while agreeing to stringent conservation measures and allowing limited public access.[25] What happens if this very complicated sale plan doesn't attract a bidder? The planning document says, "… even a failed effort will not be without benefit. … potential ownership transferees for a transfer that does not involve enhanced public benefits may be identified…" In other words, the board can market the lands with the restrictions removed.[26]

[1] http://www.oregon.gov/DSL/SLB/pages/index.aspx, the official site for the State Land Board.

[2] Oregon Department of State Lands, Newsroom, “State Land Board votes to support ownership transfer of the Elliott State Forest”, Aug 13, 2015. Note that this press release cites the size of the Elliott as 92,000 acres instead of the 93,000 acres commonly cited in the press. http://www.oregon.gov/dsl/Pages/news/2015%20Releases/pr1515_slb_elliott_action.aspx

[3] 92,000 acres / 640 acres/mi2

[4]Oregon Dept. of Forestry, Elliott State Forest Watershed Analysis, 2003, Map 2.4 http://www.oregon.gov/odf/state_forests/docs/watershed/esf_watershed_analysis/maps/124_elliott_wa_map_2-4.pdf

[5] http://publiclands.org/explore/site.php?id=4388 via Wikipedia.

[6] Author’s inspection of USGS Topographic Quadrangles.

[7]Oregon Dept. of Forestry, Elliott State Forest Watershed Analysis, 2003, Map 9.4 http://www.oregon.gov/odf/state_forests/docs/watershed/esf_watershed_analysis/maps/194_elliott_wa_map_9-4.pdf

[8] Oregon State Land Board, Elliott Fact Sheet, 2014, p2. http://www.oregon.gov/dsl/LW/docs/Elliott%20State%20Forest%20Project/Elliott%20Fact%20Sheet%20June%202014.pdf See also Hillary Borrud, Sustainable Life, iAug 15, 2015. http://portlandtribune.com/sl/269602-144510-state-to-seek-buyer-for-elliott-state-forest

[9] Oregon Dept. of Forestry, Elliott State Forest Watershed Analysis, 2003, Table 2-5, page 2-13. See Map 9.4 op cit for location. Note this is 2000 coverage, and subsequent harvesting will have reduced the 100-year forest. http://www.oregon.gov/odf/state_forests/docs/watershed/esf_watershed_analysis/300_elliott_wa_entire_final_report.pdf

[10] Oregon Dept. of Forestry, Elliott State Forest Watershed Analysis, 2003, pp 2-8—2-12, op cit.

[11] Tonsfeldt, Ward Celebrating the Siuslaw: A Century of Growth, Siuslaw National Forest (pub), n.d. (2009-2010). https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/handle/1957/28677

[12] Measured by the author from USGS topographic quadrangles using DeLorme Topo North America 9 software.

[13] All road numbers are from the road map published on the Elliott State Forest’s web page, www.oregon.gov/odf/pages/state_forests/elliott.aspx, map at www.oregon.gov/odf/FIELD/COOS/docs/Online_ESF_8_5x11.pdf.

[14] Dept. of State Lands, ELLIOTT STATE FOREST ALTERNATIVES PROJECT: Supplemental Report, p 4. www.oregon.gov/dsl/Common_School_Fund_Property/Documents/Elliott%20State%20Forest%20Project/Phase%20Three%20Documents/APPENDIX%20A_SUPPLEMENTAL%20REPORT_ESF%20Brief_FINAL_8_5_15.pdf

[15] Oregon.Gov, Oregon Dept. of State Lands, Newsroom, “State completes Elliott State Forest land sales”, Jun 12, 2014 http://www.oregon.gov/dsl/Pages/news/2014%20Releases/pr1414_elliott_sales.aspx

[16] Oregon.Gov, Oregon State Land Board, Home and About Us. http://www.oregon.gov/dsl/SLB/Pages/about_us.aspx

[17] The Oregonian, “Oregon land board, holding out hope for conservation, will seek buyer for Elliott State Forest”, Aug 13, 1953. www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/08/oregon_land_board_holding_out.html

[18] Elliott State Forest, 2009-2011 Backgrounder, 2011, www.oregon.gov/ODF/docs/2009_Backgrounder_Elliott_State_Forest.pdf

[19] Elliott State Forest, 2009-2011 Backgrounder, op cit. Calculated from table on p1.

[20] Oregon State Land Board, Elliott Fact Sheet, 2014, p2, op cit.

[21] Dept. of State Lands, ELLIOTT STATE FOREST ALTERNATIVES PROJECT: Supplemental Report, p 7, op cit.

[22] Dept. of State Lands, ELLIOTT STATE FOREST ALTERNATIVES PROJECT: Supplemental Report, p 7-10, op cit.

[23] Dept. of State Lands, ELLIOTT STATE FOREST ALTERNATIVES PROJECT: Supplemental Report, p 12-13, op cit. See also Hillary Borrud, Sustainable Life, iAug 15, 2015, quoting the Deputy Executive Director of the Oregon School Boards Assoc, op cit.

[24] Dept. of State Lands & Dept. of Forestry, The 2011 Elliott State Forest Management Plan [Fact Sheet], Nov 2011, p3 (table) http://www.oregon.gov/odf/state_forests/docs/esf/elliott_fmp_2011/esf_plan_nov2011sheet.pdf

[25] Dept. of State Lands, ELLIOTT STATE FOREST ALTERNATIVES PROJECT: Supplemental Report, p 33-34, op cit.

[26] Dept. of State Lands, ELLIOTT STATE FOREST ALTERNATIVES PROJECT: Supplemental Report, p 20, op cit. The report states, “… even a failed effort will not be without benefit. … potential ownership transferees for a transfer that does not involve enhanced public benefits may be identified…”