Oregon Starts Search For Elliott State Forest Buyer

OPB.org - Full Article by Jes Burns and Ashley Stewart OPB/EarthFix | Aug. 13, 2015 The State of Oregon will start looking for a buyer willing to take the Elliott State Forest off its hands. The State Land Board voted Thursday to move ahead with plans to sell the public forest located near Coos Bay. The Elliott is managed as part of the Common School Fund, and is obligated to make money for public schools. But with declines in timber sales in recent years, the state has been losing money on the land. The state was met with harsh criticism last year when it sold off two smaller pieces of the Elliott to timber companies to help meet its financial requirements. Officials hope to avoid that kind of backlash this time around by including stipulations on the sale that would preserve, at least in part, some of the “public” characteristics of the forest. Oregon will now look for a buyer to purchase the entire 84,000-acre Elliott, while still providing recreation access, habitat protections and community economic benefit... Read more here: http://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-elliott-state-forest-for-sale/