| State Forest Annual Operations Planning |
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| Annual Operations Plans (AOPs) |
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Annual operations plans identify and describe specific projects such as timber sales, road maintenance, stream enhancement and trail building. The objectives in the annual plans are based on the goals and strategies found in long-range forest management plans.
Final AOPs have been approved for fiscal year 2005, for nine state forest districts. Public review of the draft AOPs began March 1, 2004, and ended April 14, and these comments were considered in revising the draft plans for district forester approval. Fiscal year 2005 plans are for the period from July 2004 through June 2005. The final plans are available from this web site.
Planned harvest levels for the Department's three northwest Oregon districts (Tillamook, Forest Grove and Astoria) for the Tillamook and Clatsop state forests increased from 191 MMBF in the 2004 plans, to 222 MMBF in the 2005 plans. An earlier draft of the 2005 plans suggested a goal of 252 MMBF for these three districts. The revised harvest levels came as a result of the agency's clarifying with legislators the intent of a legislative budget note. The budget note directs ODF to temporarily operate at the high end of its management range. The revision also reflects the staffing level authorized by the legislative emergency board.
The results of a harvest and habitat modeling project, completed in the spring of 2006, are expected to provide a better foundation to establish sustainable harvest levels in the future. The short-term increase in harvests will not affect long-term sustainability or adversely affect environmental goals for the forests.
During review of the draft AOPs, districts analyzed and evaluated all comments received. The comments were also considered by a department evaluation committee, made up of representatives from each of the nine districts. The districts then made changes to the operations plans as appropriate. District foresters approve the annual operations plans for their districts by July of each year.
The public involvement process provides an opportunity for ODF districts to share their annual plans with the public. It also is a time for the public to ask questions and offer comments on the planned activities on state forest lands.
All state forest lands are actively managed under adopted forest management plans to provide economic, environmental and social benefits to Oregonians. Most of the revenue from timber sales goes to county governments and local taxing districts, and to the Common School Fund to benefit schools throughout the state.
AOPs must be consistent with the forest management plans (four plans cover the nine state forest districts) and any district implementation plans. (Klamath-Lake and Coos districts do not have implementation plans.)
Modifications - Occasionally AOPs need to be modified after approval, due to new information, changes in budget levels, or unforeseen circumstances. Modifications that significantly change the character of the operation are reviewed by appropriate resource specialists, and approved by the district forester. Input from resource specialists, agency administrators, as well as the public comments received during the official comment period, are considered by the district forester before approving modifications to AOPs. (Substituting an alternate timber sale already included in an approved AOP is not considered a major modification.)
How to Comment on Annual Operations Plans (AOPs):
Guidelines on how to provide useful comments on annual plans are detailed here.
Annual Operations Plans Downloads
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| Harvest Type Definitions |
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This document provides definitions for terms that describe the harvest types that take place on State Forests.
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Figure 1 illustrates the range of harvest types used on State Forests, from Clearcut through Modified Clearcut, Retention Cut and various levels of Thinning.
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| Public Comments |
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Public Comments for Previous AOPs
Public Comment Resolution Matrix documents contain all comments provided during the public comment period, and the district evaluations and responses. (PDF documents require Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
FY 2004
FY 2003
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Evaluation Process Summary, HTM (10 KB)
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| Obtaining Copies of Plans |
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State forest management documents include long-range forest management plans and habitat conservation plans (FMPs and HCPs); district implementation plans (IPs), that look ahead approximately 10 years; and annual operations plans (AOPs) for each state forest district. Copies of these plans may be obtained from the Planning Specialist, Oregon Department of Forestry, 2600 State Street, Salem, OR 97310 (503-945-7258, FAX 503-945-7376, TTY 1-800-437-4498). Forest management plans are also available at Department of Forestry offices in Salem, Astoria, Tillamook, Forest Grove, Molalla, Lyons, Philomath, Veneta, Medford, and Grants Pass. Forest management plans are available at many libraries around the state.
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