Oregon Bill Aims to Reduce Wildfire Risk

The legislation targets over two million acres of "O&C" lands, which are federally managed forests spread in a checkerboard pattern across 18 western Oregon counties. These lands are a remnant of a 19th-century railroad grant and are governed by the 1937 O&C Act, which mandated that they be managed for permanent timber production to provide a steady source of timber and revenue for local counties. A major turning point in the management of these lands was the 1990 listing of the northern spotted owl as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. This led to the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan, which significantly restricted logging on 24 million acres of federal forests to protect the owl's old-growth habitat. Consequently, federal timber sales in western Oregon plummeted from an average of 2.9 billion board-feet in the late 1980s to less than 0.5 billion by 1996. The reduction in logging had severe economic consequences for the 18 O&C counties, which had historically relied on a 50% share of timber receipts to fund schools, roads, and public safety. Timber payments to these counties dropped from over $109 million in 1989 to just $21 million by 1995, and the cumulative loss in revenue for local governments from timber tax cuts and reduced harvests since the 1990s is estimated to be in the billions. This has led to mill closures and significant job losses in the timber industry. Proponents of the O&C Renewal Act argue that decades of reduced logging have left these forests overgrown, unhealthy, and dangerously susceptible to catastrophic wildfires. They contend that restoring active management and increasing timber harvests will reduce fuel loads and create more resilient forest conditions. However, the link between logging and wildfire risk is a subject of scientific debate. Some studies suggest that commercial logging practices, which can result in dense, evenly spaced tree plantations, may actually increase the severity of wildfires. Research has found that privately owned timberlands can be more likely to experience high-severity fires compared to public lands with less timber production. The debate also involves the legacy of fire suppression and the influence of climate change, which are contributing to hotter, drier conditions that exacerbate wildfire risk. In 2024, Oregon experienced its worst wildfire season on record, with over 1.9 million acres burned. While the 2025 season saw significantly fewer acres burned, the number of human-caused fires was above the ten-year average.