State Forests
The Tillamook, Clatsop and Elliott State Forests are amazing public forests that provide important habitat for a wide array of species including federally and state listed Northern Spotted Owls, Marbled Murrelets and salmon. They clean our air and water, store carbon and provide amazing recreational opportunities. However, these public forests, managed by the Oregon Department of Forestry, have also suffered from decades of mismanagement and industrial clearcut logging that has put wildlife populations in jeopardy, polluted streams, increased risk of forest fires and landslides, spread a web of logging roads, and reduced recreational opportunities.
Bird Alliance of Oregon has worked for decades to promote ecologically responsible management of these forests.
Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests
The Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests are less than an hour west of Portland and cover more than a half a million acres. Much of this area was burned in a series of forest fires beginning in 1933. Most of the Tillamook and Clatsop have been logged within the past century.
The Tillamook and Clatsop are managed under the Oregon Forest Practices Act and individual forest management plans. However, the Department of Forestry (ODF) continues to pursue unsustainable logging practices on these lands. ODF is currently considering developing Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) for the Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests. HCPs are plans developed in cooperation with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure that management activities comply with the requirements of the Endangered Species Act to protect listed species such as Northern Spotted Owls, Marbled Murrelets and Salmon. The HCP process will offer a significant opportunity to improve that management of the Tillamook and Clatsop and Bird Alliance of Oregon will be tracking these processes closely.
Elliott State Forest
Located near Coos Bay, the 93,000 acre Elliott State Forest contains more than 41,000 acres of untouched mature and old growth forest. It provides critical habitat for Northern Spotted Owls, Marbled Murrelets and some of the most productive and pristine streams for Coho salmon on the Oregon Coast. The Elliott State Forest Has been the site of some of Oregon’s fiercest conservation battles in recent years but there is hope on the horizon that this treasure will be permanently protect and managed for its habitat and recreational values. Learn More.