| Committe For Family Forestlands |
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| Accomplishments |
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During the past year (June, 2006 – July, 2007), the Committee for Family Forestlands conducted eleven public meetings addressing many items on the Committee’s annual work plan, as well as addressing several additional issues. Clearly, our major focus over the year was planning and developing the second family forestland Symposium, Looking Forward II, Oregon Families & Their Forestlands: What’s at Stake. Our full Committee and the Symposium subcommittees spent many hours on the Symposium project.
Following is a listing of some of the Committee's activities:
- Successfully conducted the Symposium and the several regional workshops held in various parts of the State several weeks prior to the Symposium. Success was aided substantially by the sponsorship, support, and assistance of the Board, the Department, OFRI, OSWA, and other organizations and individuals.
- Helped complete the first Symposium product, the Symposium proceedings, “Looking Forward II: Oregon Families & Their Forestlands: What’s at Stake. Proceedings of a Conference. April 27-28, 2007.”
- Submitted family forestland issues to the Board of Forestry’s issues scan (attachment 3). Committee member, Bill Arsenault, represented the Committee on the issues scan group, as he had the previous year.
- Representatives of the Committee gave testimony before legislative committees in support of the Department’s budget and proposed legislation.
- Kept in touch with the Department on status of the DL Phipps State Forest Nursery issue. The Committee remains committed to the proposition that, when the nursery property is sold, the Department will continue to ensure that forest seedlings are available for Oregon’s family forestland owners, in order to meet the Forest Practices Act reforestation requirements and landowner needs.
- Requested information from the Department on the invasive species problem and indicated our support for actions to combat invasives.
- Reviewed and updated the CFF Charter, and examined ways to improve participation of Committee members. We will be bring proposals to revise the charter and suggested appointments for Committee membership to the next Board of Forestry meeting.
- Reviewed and commented on the Annual Forest Practices Monitoring Update.
- Reviewed and commented on the Forest Resource Trust Update.
- Reviewed and commented on Rule Concepts 3 (Riparian management areas above fish barriers) and 4 (Wood from debris flows and landslides). Rules based on these concepts are scheduled to be implemented in October.
- Requested and commented on information concerning the challenge of enforcement of the FPA, with limited ODF resources.
- Reviewed and commented on the Annual Forest Health Update.
- Reviewed and commented on Measure 37 issues and implications for family forestland owners.
- Participated in the development of the sustainability indicators. Committee member Gary Springer served on the advisory group for this project.
- Moved forward on its Communication Plan, developed with the diligent assistance of Arlene Whalen. Lessons learned from the Symposium and our Committee’s response to it will help improve the Communication Plan.
- Began implementing communication plan by producing articles for Oregon Small Woodlands Association’s newsletter. Helped develop outreach material pre and post symposium.
- Discussed the Spotted Owl issue on several occasions. Forwarded Committee comments on the Draft Spotted Owl Recovery Plan to the Department.
- Periodically provided testimony to the Board on various family forestland issues and Committee activities.
- Dedicated a Willamette Valley ponderosa pine seedling in honor of Ilene Waldorf, who is a founding member of the Committee for Family Forestlands, a successful and dedicated forestland owner, and very involved in the small woodlands community. The tree and plaque are located at the Salem campus, along side Mill Creek behind Building C.
WORKPLAN FOR 2007-2008
Over the coming year, the Committee anticipates doing the following:
- Complete promised products of the symposium, including helping direct the development of an action plan to address issues raised by symposium participants. We expect the Department, OSU Extension, OSWA, OFRI, interested conservation groups, and others to collaborate in this effort.
- Present the results of the Family Forestland Symposium at the Society of American Foresters’ national convention in Portland in October 2007.
- Work on the emerging issues and opportunities with ecosystem services payments, as directed by the findings of the Family Forestland Symposium. Participate in ecosystem services discussions led by the Department and Defenders of Wildlife.
- Examine potential for interaction with biomass energy efforts and emerging carbon markets.
- Continue to monitor the availability of seedlings for family forestland owners, to ensure that the Department takes a whole systems approach in supporting an adequate process for providing information, seed, seedlings, and cold storage. Our overarching goal is to help landowners successfully meet FPA reforestation requirements and to achieve their own management goals.
- Help develop new models of collaborative delivery of stewardship services in coordination with USDA Forest Service’s State and Private Forest Program redesign effort.
- Examine ways to improve communication, connections, and collaboration with non-governmental environmental and conservation organizations, as directed by the findings of the Family Forestland Symposium. Example approaches include 1) connecting supply chain for sustainable wood, and 2) leadership by Nature Conservancy for forest health treatments on National Forests in eastern Oregon.
- Encourage family forestland owners to develop greater political standing and be more effective in policy formation. Encourage and aid wherever possible the development and operation a legislative natural resource caucus.
- Participate in the development of the Department’s community forestry initiative. Evaluate ways to improve service to forestland owners and regulatory enforcement on forestlands in the urban/rural interface.
- Continue to provide input on current issues affecting family forestland owners (e.g., spotted owl and other sensitive species protection measures, and special resource sites).
- Continue development and implementation of the CFF communications plan, leading to strengthened two-way communication with all family forestland owners. Explore distribution of new OFRI special report on family forestlands to all family forestland owners.
AREAS OF COMMITTEE CONCERN
A major concern and interest of the Committee for the coming year will be to assist the Board and the Department in any ways that it can to respond effectively to issues and the “Best Ideas” raised by participants at the Symposium. A copy of the Symposium Proceedings is attached. The issues and suggested solutions are indicated on pages 9-12. Challenges are discussed on pages 13 and 14, and other Good Ideas are listed on page 15.
Last year’s Annual Report to the Board indicated under AREAS OF COMMITTEE CONCERN that “Two significant areas of concern the Committee has that are impacting family forestland owners include the intergenerational transfer of family forest-lands and the continued reduction in the availability of technical resources to support family forestland owners.” These two concerns remain of major interest to the Committee. They were topics of discussion at the Symposium and are included in the Proceedings of the Symposium and its recommendations.
In summary, the members of the Committee for Family Forestlands look forward over the next year to provide input to the Board on a range of policy issues and questions that affect family forestlands.
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