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AN OVERVIEW OF
FOREST FIRE FUNDING AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN OREGON
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Oregon Department of Forestry Fire Protection Mission:
The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) is responsible for wildland fire protection on about 15.8 million acres of forest land in Oregon, which includes privately-owned forest land; and city, county, state and some federal forest lands. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in western Oregon are provided forest fire protection through a contract. This is more than one-half the total forest land in the State. Essential elements of the Department’s fire protection program include planning, prevention, detection, initial attack, smoke management and fuels management.
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Two Broad categories of Protection:
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- District (Local) Protection:
Over 700 seasonal employees statewide are hired to fight wildland fires during the fire season, which typically begins in late spring and generally extends into late fall. Local crews take quick action on small fires, with a goal of stopping 95% of all fires at 10 acres burned or less. On all fires, ODF counts on the help of forest landowners and loggers. ODF also works closely with other fire protection agencies. The Department is simply not big enough to handle all the fires without this cooperation.
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2. Statewide Complete and Coordinated Protection System:
When fires exceed the capability of the local district to suppress them, districts have access to a wide variety of other protection resources that are not part of their regular district operation. A few examples include aerial retardant, smokejumpers, helicopters, additional crews and equipment, and fire management teams.
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Landowner Responsibilities:
Private forest landowners are required to provide fire protection for their forest land in Oregon, a basic requirement that dates back to policy adopted by the Oregon Legislature in 1911. A landowner can meet this statutory obligation by paying a fire patrol assessment to the Department of Forestry (or a private operating forest fire association). Then, once a fire occurs, a landowner has no additional obligation. The exception to this responsibility occurs when a landowner:
- Is willful, malicious or negligent in the origin or subsequent spread of a forest fire.
- Is conducting a forest operation.
- Has allowed an extra slash hazard to exist.
These requirements have been in effect in Oregon since the latter 1930’s, partially in response to the devastating 1933 Tillamook Burn. Landowners who fail to meet these obligations or are willful, malicious or negligent in the origin or spread of a forest fire, are responsible for the suppression of the fire.
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How is all this paid for and what does it cost?:
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1. District Budget:
District fire budgets are funded from acreage assessments on private, city, county, state and federal forest land, and from the State General fund. The acreage assessments are calculated simply by dividing the budget by the acres protected; higher value timber land pays a greater assessment rate per acre than lower value grazing lands. The General Fund pays 50% of this acreage assessment on private land only.Each lot of record must pay a minimum assessment of $18, which helps defray some of the additional administrative and operational costs of providing wildland protection on small parcels.
Depending on fire season severity, there may be a surplus or deficit at the end of the fiscal year. A surplus is provided as a credit against next year’s budget reducing the assessment rate, a deficit is provided as a debit against the next year’s budget and would, thereby, increase the next year’s assessment rate.
Oversight for preparing and approving a district’s local budget is outlined in ORS 477.230- ORS 477.265. In a "Nutshell", the district forester and his staff prepare a tentative budget for the district. An advisory committee made up of representative landowners from the district and the Forest Protective Associations review the budget with ODF literally line by line. Associations represent major industrial landowners and small woodland owners.
After review and change as necessary, the budget is approved by the Board of Directors of the Association. A public budget meeting is advertised in the newspaper and held each year to formally answer questions from landowners and hear any concerns about the budget. Budget hearing aside, the intent is to maintain a very open process. The budget document is very detailed, but not difficult to understand with coaching. It is ODF’s philosophy to maintain an open and cost effective operation. Landowner involvement in the budgeting process is an integral part of maintaining this open communication and cooperation.
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2. OFLPF:
The Oregon Forest land Protection Fund (OFLPF) serves as kind of an " insurance policy" for the less than 5 percent of fires that are beyond the capability of the regularly funded local district protection forces. It works much like your car insurance. A deductible must be expended in hiring extra resources in a given fire season before a district can be eligible for expending OFLPF dollars; this deductible amounts to $.08 per acre. In addition, a $25,000 daily deductible must also be met on large fires, up to a maximum of $.15/acre on forest land ($.06 on grazing land). These deductible amounts are included in the budget annually. In the event that these deductibles are not completely expended in an easy fire season, the balance becomes part of the credit against the next year´s’ budget.
Funding for the OFLPF comes from the following sources:
- Harvest tax of $.50 per thousand board feet of timber harvested in Oregon.
- $.06 per acre of ODF-protected forest land (this assessment is not matched by the General Fund).
- $3 out of each minimum assessed lot (small lots where, figured on an acreage basis, the assessment for forest protection would not reach $18).
- $38 on each lot with an improvement on it (house, shed, utilities etc.). In establishing the surcharge, the Legislature used the logic that the cost of fire suppression tactics and the incidence of fire are much higher where homes are involved.
Revenue from these sources totals about $7 million dollars per year. In addition, insurance is purchased to increase the available fire fighting funds to about $35 million. There were a few occasions in recent years where the OFLPF was bankrupted as a result of numerous large fires around the state. When that happens, money is borrowed from the State Treasurer to pay the bills and all revenue sources are increased proportionately the following year to pay the borrowed money back. Ultimately the forest landowner is responsible for any deficits incurred.
Oversight for the OFLPF is provided by the Emergency Fire Cost Committee (EFCC), a committee appointed by the Oregon Board of Forestry. Not unlike the district budget committee, landowner representatives serve on the committee as well as a member of the Board of Forestry. This group generally meets quarterly in Salem. Meetings are advertised and open to the public. OFLPF expenditures by districts are audited annually to be sure the expenditures are consistent with established guidance and administrative rule. Primary authority and structure for the OFLPF are established by the legislature and can be found in ORS 477.750 – ORS 477.960.
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3. Additional Sources of Revenue:
In addition to the primary funding system, two other important sources of funds exist which support the protection system. One is ODF’s fire cost recovery program. All fires are investigated to determine specific causes. In fires where negligence is involved or in fires resulting from logging operations, ODF collects actual costs from the responsible party to replace state taxpayer dollars already spent on fire fighting. The Department’s aggressive wildfire cost collection program has recovered almost $9 million since 1980. The second source of revenue is from the federal government. If a wildfire threatens or involves homes on a large scale, in most cases the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) may reimburse 70 percent of fire suppression costs during the length of time that the structures are threatened.
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Summary:
The forest protection system in Oregon, and its funding, is very complex. This is an attempt to provide a brief overview of ODF’s role and funding for the system. The system is intended to maintain a cost-effective level of protection that appropriately reflects the risk. The system, as well as its budgeting and funding process, is open and accessible to those who pay the bills.
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