In February, the Curry County Board of Commissioners proposed declaring a state of emergency in order to take over management of federal forests in the county.
The proclamation would have allowed logging on public lands currently set aside for conservation. Commissioners argued that new timber sales could boost county revenue — which has fallen so low that the sheriff’s office has reduced the types of calls it responds to — and help with wildfire prevention.
After facing public outcry and packed public hearings, the county abandoned the proposal. The issue has since largely disappeared from board agendas.
But since those contentious meetings in February, the county has kept the idea of managing public forests alive as commissioners continue to argue their case with federal officials.
A draft 25-year lease, obtained by JPR through a public records request, outlines "cooperative, sustainable timber harvesting” on 80,000 acres of national forest land in Curry County. The draft cites President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14225, calling for the expansion of timber production, as its legal basis.
Under the proposal, sustainable harvests would occur on up to 2,000 acres annually, with 90% of timber sale revenue kept by the county. The U.S. Forest Service would receive the remaining 10% for staffing and management. The draft notes that all activities would abide by federal regulations and environmental requirements.
Commissioner Patrick Hollinger has spearheaded the lease. According to the discussion at an early August board meeting, he traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with top U.S. Department of Agriculture officials.
“We're hoping that this will be a model contract for many other counties and states to use going forward,” Hollinger said at the meeting. He did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Commissioner Jay Trost said Hollinger also met with staff in the office of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
“They loved it," Trost said during the August meeting. "They said we have been looking for a partner to do this with since this started and since the executive order."
Hollinger said he expected to have a signed lease within the next month.
A USDA spokesperson confirmed in a statement that commissioners met with Forest Service officials this summer to hear the proposal.
“In the meeting, the Forest Service explained that we do not have authority to lease National Forest System lands for timber harvest as the county suggested,” according to the USDA.
Forest Service staff instead discussed other tools, such as Good Neighbor Authority agreements, which allow counties to work with the Forest Service on restoration and management.
This week, Rollins proposed ending the Forest Service’s “Roadless Rule,” which bars logging and development on around 2 million acres of forests in Oregon. A public comment period on the proposed rule change runs through Sept. 19 on the rule change.
