The Oregon Board of Forestry will discuss the status of a preliminary study analyzing the possible sale of the 93,000-acre Elliott State Forest at its next regular business meeting, which will be held in Coos Bay on April 23.

The first item on the board's agenda for the Friday meeting is the status of a report detailing the costs and benefits of selling the Elliott State Forest versus retaining it in state ownership. Jeff Foreman, an Oregon Department of Forestry spokesman, said the analysis, a joint effort by the Department of State Lands and ODF, is expected to be assigned within the next 30 to 60 days and should be completed by December.

"The lands are not producing capacity-wise due to environmental constraints associated with state and federal endangered species laws," Foreman said. "We're operating under a Forest Management Plan and a Habitat Conservation Plan that were approved in the mid-'90s. That has determined our harvest level."

Foreman said the department is in the process of updating those plans as well.

Rep. Joanne Verger, D-Coos Bay, said she would have to be presented with a compelling long-term argument to favor such a sale.

"I'd have to hear some very persuasive arguments to take it away from the state, where it has the potential of producing income and funding for our schools," she said.

"I've got to compare today's quick money to what we gain over the long haul."

Funds generated from timber harvesting at the Elliott State Forest are placed in the Common School Fund, which helps pay for education in Oregon.

Foreman said the analysis will attempt to determine whether the state could sell the land, invest the funds and generate more money than by maintaining and harvesting the land.

Verger has been critical of the amount of cutting in the Elliott State Forest, which she said has not reached its allowable potential.

"The forest management plan has a sustainable yield level for the Elliott and we have been undercutting while we need money for schools," she said.

The board's Friday meeting will begin at 8 a.m. at the Red Lion Inn, 1313 N. Bayshore Drive, in Coos Bay. Public comments will be allowed from 1 to 1:30 p.m. Accommodations for people with disabilities, and special materials, services or assistance can be arranged by calling the Oregon Department of Forestry Public Affairs Office at least 48 hours before the meeting at (503) 945-7200, or through a text telephone at (503) 945-7213.

Other items on the April 23 agenda include:

- a presentation of draft language for Forest Practices Act rules on water protection and riparian functions;

- a Department of Forestry request to appear before the Legislative Emergency Board in June to seek approval to apply for federal grants to fund bark beetle mitigation and computer mapping of forest landowner stewardship plans;

- consideration of a final order in a contested case involving the G&N Land Exchange;

- consideration of a timeline to revise Forest Practices Act rules to align with House Bill 3264 (became law in 2003), which pertains to timber harvest notification;

- an update on the development and implementation of watershed analysis for state forests; and

- a department request for authorization to repeal an administrative rule relating to the Western Oregon Small Tract Optional Tax Program.

On April 22, a day before the meeting, a tour of the Elliott State Forest will begin at the Red Lion Inn in Coos Bay at 8 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. Public members interested in attending are asked to bring their own lunches.

A discussion will focus on the current and revised forest management plan for the Elliott State Forest. Topics on the all-day tour will include discussions about marbled murrelet and northern spotted owl studies, watershed issues, revenue from timber harvesting, and reforestation.

Persons interested in participating in the tour can contact the Oregon Department of Forestry's Coos District Office at 267-4136, by April 20. Public participants should plan to provide their own transportation.

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On the Net:

Oregon Board of Forestry: http://www.oregonforestry.org