[ODF_Private_Forests] Forestry Board to meet June 6 in Salem

[WEEKS Kevin]

The Oregon Dept. of Forestry issued this news release today.

Forestry Board to meet June 6 in Salem

For immediate release                                  Major media distribution
May 24, 2012                                                      Contact:
                                                                                Rod Nichols, 503-945-7425, rnichols at odf.state.or.us<mailto:rnichols at odf.state.or.us>
                                                                                Dan Postrel, 503-945-7420, dpostrel at odf.state.or.us<mailto:dpostrel at odf.state.or.us>

Budgets for local wildfire protection will top the agenda when the Oregon Board of Forestry meets on June 6 in Salem. Agenda highlights include:

Forest protection district budgets - Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) staff will present proposed budgets for the fiscal year beginning July 1 for the board to consider for approval. Local forest protection associations develop the budgets in collaboration with the ODF district offices. The budgets fund basic wildfire prevention and suppression services provided by the districts on the 16 million acres of private and public forestlands protected by the department. Landowners and the state share these protection costs.

Final orders on Forest Patrol Assessment appeals - The board will announce final orders for several landowners who requested a board hearing over the addition of their lands to the Forest Patrol Assessment rolls. Landowners who own forestland within Oregon's forest protection districts pay an assessment that helps fund wildfire protection on their lands. Land uses may change over time, and county classification committees examine the properties within their boundaries periodically to keep pace with those changes. As a result of these reclassification efforts, some lands may be removed from the assessment rolls while others are added.

Institute for Natural Resources review follow-up
ODF staff will discuss the results of meetings held this winter with the Institute for Natural Resources Science Advisory Team and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to discuss and clarify points made in the team's January 2011 scientific review requested by the Board of Forestry. The review examined the analysis considered for evaluating state forest management plan alternatives.

2013-15 ODF budget development
The board will receive an update on the planning and development of the next department biennial budget. The final-draft request budget will be presented to the board for consideration and approval at its July 27 meeting.

Public comment
The meeting is open to the public. During a general comment period at about 8:30 a.m., public comment will be received on forestry-related items that are not included in the agenda. Time will also be provided for comment on specific agenda items as the board takes them up.

Meeting time and location
The board meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the Tillamook Room - Building C, at the Oregon Department of Forestry headquarters office, 2600 State St., in Salem.

More information
More information on the Board of Forestry can be found at: www.oregonforestry.gov<http://www.oregonforestry.gov>. Background information on the June 6 meeting, including staff reports, is available through the 2012 "Meeting Schedules" link on the website.

Special needs
Accommodations for people with disabilities, and special materials, services or assistance can be arranged by calling the department's Public Affairs Office at least 48 hours before the meeting, 503-945-7200, text telephone 503-945-7213.

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