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O&C FUNDING County leaders in Oregon decry BLM timber harvest plan Comment By CARISA CEGAVSKE The News-Review MailTribune.com By CARISA CEGAVSKE The News-Review Posted Apr. 25, 2015 at 11:53 AM By CARISA CEGAVSKE The News-Review Posted Apr. 25, 2015 at 11:53 AM » Social News The Bureau of Land Management released its plan for timber harvests on O & C Railroad Trust lands Friday, and the reaction from county leaders across Western Oregon was dismay. The draft plan released Friday outlines five alternatives for management of the 2.5 million acres the BLM administers in Western Oregon, but it names one plan as its preferred option. That plan falls woefully short of the harvest necessary to provide services in Douglas County and 18 other rural Oregon counties, Douglas County Commissioner Tim Freeman said Friday. Freeman said even the most favorable option — from the county's perspective — allows just 50 percent of the historic harvest levels and 50 percent of the revenue those timberlands once generated. Freeman said the O & C lands were set aside to provide a sustainable harvest to generate income for rural schools and county governments. The lands were never intended to be, like Forest Service lands, a mixed-use forest. When harvests declined due to environmental protections, the counties became dependent on temporary federal assistance in the form of Secure Rural Schools payments. Those payments, growing ever smaller and less certain, have been renewed a year or two at a time. Jackson County is expected to receive about $7.4 million in payments. When the program first began, the county received more than $23 million. Douglas County will receive about $9 million in safety-net payments, more than it brings in through property taxes. By the estimate of the Association of O&C Counties, the BLM's preferred plan would allow for 234 million board feet to be harvested sustainably, along with 97 million board feet of non-sustainable thinning. That's not enough to fulfil the promise made to rural counties that are dependent on payments from these timber harvests, according to association O&C President Tony Hyde of Columbia County. "Unless changes are made, the counties are going to wind up with the short end of the stick once again," Hyde said. The BLM's preferred alternative would provide just $4.5 million to Douglas County - half the amount it receives from safety-net payments. Jerome Perez, the BLM director for Oregon and Washington, said it's important to strike the right balance in managing its lands. "Some of the most productive forests in the world are managed by the BLM in western Oregon," Perez said. "Protecting endangered species by providing large blocks of older forest habitat, providing clean water and enhancing fire resiliency across the landscape are necessary for the BLM to be able to deliver a predictable and sustainable supply of timber. The BLM is committed to these environmental protections as well as providing predictability and sustainability to communities in Western Oregon." Public comment on the BLM's draft plan will be taken until July 23. The BLM will hold a meeting on the proposal in Medford on May 27. The time and location have not yet been announced. More information can be found at www.blm.gov/or/plans/rmpswesternoregon/deis.php . Comments may be sent by email to [email protected], by fax to 503-808-6021or by mail to BLM — EIS for Western Oregon, P.O. Box 2965, Portland, OR 97208. By CARISA CEGAVSKE The News-Review MailTribune.com By CARISA CEGAVSKE The News-Review Posted Apr. 25, 2015 at 11:53 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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