In December 2018, the State Land Board directed the Department of State Lands to work collaboratively with OSU to develop a plan to transform the Elliott State Forest into a research forest. DSL and OSU anticipate a proposed plan will be presented to the Land Board for consideration in December 2019. This page will provide information about the OSU-led portion of the process. To learn more about the process led by the State of Oregon Department of State Lands, please visit the Elliott State Forest website. Additional information is also included below.

Elliott State Research Forest Listening Sessions Summary - June 4-6, 2019

2019 Elliott State Research Forest Feasibility Study - College of Forestry Work Plan

This document outlines the key processes that the College will undertake to determine the necessary terms for a proposal to create an Elliott State Research Forest.

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A successful plan will be consistent with the Land Board vision for the forest, which includes: 

• Keeping the forest publicly owned with public access
• Decoupling the forest from the Common School Fund, compensating the school fund for the forest and releasing the forest from its obligation to generate revenue for schools 
• Continuing habitat conservation planning to protect species and allow for harvest
• Providing for multiple forest benefits, including recreation, education, and working forest research

DSL and OSU anticipate a proposed plan will be presented to the Land Board for consideration in December 2019. 

Elliott State Research Forest Advisory Committee. 

DSL has formed an Advisory Committee to provide insight and input on key elements of a proposed plan. The committee, which represents a variety of perspectives on the forest, began meeting in April 2019. Committee Roster 

Upcoming Advisory Committee Meeting

Thursday, Nov. 21

9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

CH2M Hill Alumni Center, Willamette Room

Oregon State University

725 SW 26th St., Corvallis, OR 97331

Past Advisory Committee meeting summaries and materials:

               April 10, 2019

               May 1, 2019

               May 30, 2019

               June 25, 2019

               July 30, 2019

               August 22, 2019

               September 25, 2019

               October 24-25, 2019

               November 8, 2019

               November 14, 2019 (not yet posted)

Public Events. Public events will be held during the planning process for Oregonians to learn more and to provide input. Please watch this space for announcements on future meetings or events.

Coos Bay public meeting - Oct. 23

Portland public meeting – Sept. 24

Roseburg public meeting - July 30

Salem public meeting - May 7 

The Oregon Department of State Lands will host a public informational meeting in Coos Bay on Wednesday, Oct. 23 to share information and answer questions about the possible proposal by Oregon State University to establish a research forest on the Elliott. Oregon State University will attend the meeting to help answer questions about the project. This will be an informational meeting only, and will not be a public hearing to receive testimony.

Meeting date/location:

Wednesday, Oct. 23

5:30 – 7 p.m.

Coos History Museum, Sprague Gallery

1210 N. Front St., Coos Bay, OR 97420 

Project Documents (via DSL and OSU)

OSU Listening Sessions: Summary
DSL Response to Recent OSU Harvest in the McDonald Forest
Oregon State University College of Forestry Seeking Qualified Consultant for Carbon Assessment & Financial Modeling for an Elliott State Research Forest
Oregon Department of State Lands and Oregon State University Memorandum of Understanding
The Oregon Consensus Report on the Elliott State Forest: Next step considerations for decoupling from Oregon’s Common School Fund
Oregon Consensus Report Comment Summary and Complete Comments Received
November 2018 Potential public owners of Elliott State Forest asked to indicate interest
August 2017 Memo to State Land Board

2018 Financial Analysis Presented to DSL Advisory Committee

About the Elliott State Forest 

Approximately 90 percent of the Elliott State Forest’s 91,000 acres are a land asset of the Common School Fund. The act of Congress admitting Oregon to the Union in 1859 granted land to our new state specifically for the use of schools.  

Oregon’s school lands are required – as a condition of their granting and by our state constitution – to benefit schools. As a result, there is limited flexibility in how the Elliott State Forest and other school lands are managed.  

Since the forest was established in 1930, revenue from timber harvest has been the primary way the forest contributes to the Common School Fund. Before 2013, the Elliott generated millions of dollars from harvesting on average about one percent of the forest per year.

Since July 2012, because of harvest limitations prompted by a lawsuit over federally protected species, owning the Elliott has cost Oregon schools over $3 million. The forest is projected to continue to lose money because of these restrictions.

The Elliott State Forest Public Ownership Project seeks a solution that will address the financial impact to the school fund, while also achieving the other elements of the Land Board vision.

Elliott Dropbox Materials (via DSL)