The question of whether or not the Elliott State Forest should be privatized comes with a lot of different factors. Some of the pros of privatizing the forest are that the Oregon government would be profited $220.8 million, the timber company, Lone Rock Timber Management, would provide 40 new jobs for the Oregon community, and some of the local tribes would gain ownership over their land back. However, there are also several cons about privatizing the forest. For example, endangered species, like the Northern Spotted Owl, would be put into danger, the uses of the forest ranging from water supply to recreational uses would be compromised, and the benefits that the forest provides for the reduction of climate change would be taken away. Overall, our group did not come to a unanimous decision.

When we first began this project, there was no official decision on the status of the forest. However, on the week of May 12th, 2017 an official decision was made. The Elliott State Forest is to remain public land. This decision opened up a lot of different possibilities for the forest’s future. There are several different potential plans, but there has not been an official decision on which plan will be used. Governor Kate Brown wants to borrow $100 in order to get rid of the policy that requires parts of the forest to be used as revenue for public schools, and she wants to create a blueprint for logging. Secretary of State Dennis Richardson does not want to borrow any money and instead swap the forest for federal land. Tobias Read would like to invest $120 million into the forest and use it for research. As mentioned earlier, there has not been an official decision on the forest’s future, but the fact that it is to remain public land is one step closer to securing its fate.

sources:

(http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2017/05/its_unanimous_elliott_state_fo.html)

(http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2017/05/everything_you_need_to_know_ab_1.html)