[ODF_Private_Forests] Committee for Family Forestlands meets November 19 in Salem

[WEEKS Kevin]

Oregon Department of Forestry
NEWS RELEASE

Committee for Family Forestlands meets November 19 in Salem

November 16, 2009
Contact: Kevin Weeks (503) 945-7427

Family forest owners have a voice in Oregon's forest policy development through the 10-member Committee for Family Forestlands, which serves an advisory role to the Oregon Board of Forestry regarding issues of concern to Oregon's family-owned forests.

The Committee for Family Forestlands will meet at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday November 19, 2009 at the Oregon Department of Forestry headquarters, 2600 State Street (Operations Building D, Santiam meeting room) in Salem. The agenda for the meeting includes reports from ODF staff regarding the impacts to family forest owners of budget reductions in the 2009-2011 budget for the Oregon Department of Forestry.

The membership of the Committee includes family forest landowners, forest industry representatives, environmental community and public members, and staff representing the Oregon Department of Forestry, Oregon State University and the Oregon Forest Resources Institute.

Members of the public are invited to attend and participate in the meeting. The meeting location is accessible to persons with disabilities. Requests for an interpreter for the hearing impaired or other accommodations for persons with disabilities should be made at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. Questions about accessibility or special accommodations for the meeting can be directed to the Oregon Department of Forestry at (503) 945-7427.

Small-acreage private woodland owners and forest-owning families manage 4.7 million acres of Oregon's forests, about 15 percent of the state's forest footprint. More than half of Oregon's family forest owners are over 65, with many in their 70's and 80's. Many thousands of acres of Oregon's forest land are poised to change ownership within the next decade, with economic pressures driving both new and long-time forest owners to consider converting their forest to other uses, including residential development or commercial land.

Additional information about the Oregon Department of Forestry is available on ODF's web site, www.oregon.gov/ODF<http://www.oregon.gov/ODF>.

###

Kevin Weeks
Public Information Officer
ODF Agency Affairs Office
(503) 945-7427
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/private_forests/attachments/20091116/8690dd57/attachment.html>