Goals (continued)

Goal 2 - Provide a sustainable supply of timber and other forest products that will help maintain the stability of local and regional economies, andcontribute valuable resources to the national economy on a predictableand long-term basis.

• Maintain permanent forest production in conformity with the principles of sustained yield.

The O&C Act of 1937 provides that the revested Oregon and California Railroad and reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road Act grant lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior that are classified as timberlands shall be:

“managed… for permanent forest production and the timber thereon shall be sold, cut, and removed in conformity with the principal [sic] of sustained yield for the purpose of providing a permanent source of timber supply, protecting watersheds, regulating stream flow, and contributing to the economic stability of local communities and industries, and providing recreational facilities.”

The O&C lands were seen by Congress as a resource for communities and as an opportunity to contribute to the long-range stability of communities by preventing over-cutting of the land and providing for reforestation of cut-over lands (USDI 1945).

• Annually declare and sell timber in an amount equal to the sustained yield capacity of the forested lands.

The O&C Act further required establishment of an annual productive capacity and the requirement to sell that amount annually:

“Provided, that timber from said lands in an amount not less than one-half billion feet board measure, or nor not less than the annual sustained yield capacity (emphasis added) when the same has been determined and declared, shall be sold annually (emphasis added), or so much thereof as can be sold at reasonable prices on a normal market.”

• Provide for multiple uses on public domain lands.

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act requires public lands to:

“… be managed in a manner that will protect the quality of scientific, scenic, historical, ecological, environmental, air and atmospheric, water resource, and archeological values; that, where appropriate, will preserve and protect certain public lands in their natural condition; that will provide food and habitat for fish and wildlife and domestic animals; and that will provide for outdoor recreation and human occupancy and use.”

The Act further states that public lands will “… be managed in a manner which recognizes the Nation’s need for domestic sources of minerals, food, timber, and fiber from the public lands ….”

The Act calls for the various resource values to be managed so that they are utilized in the combination that will best meet the present and future needs of the American people.

The Federal Lands and Policy Management Act acknowledged the unique purpose of the O&C lands, stating that in the event of conflict with or inconsistency between FLPMA and the O&C Act “…insofar as they [the Act] relate to management of timber resources, and disposition of revenues from lands and resources, the latter Acts shall prevail.”

In this case, the “latter Acts” refers to the O&C Act.

• Aquire adequate legal access to public lands for forest management activites and the removal of federal timber.

The BLM timber sale policy requires that federal timber offered for sale by competitive bidding have guaranteed legal access for all prospective purchasers.

Section 502 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to provide for acquisition, construction, and maintenance of roads that will permit maximum economy in harvesting timber from public lands and at the same time meet the requirements for protection, development, and management of such lands for utilization of other resources thereof.

Reference

USDI, General Land Office, 1945. Forever Timber: Perpetual Sustained Yield Forestry on the Revested Oregon and California Railroad Grant Lands and the Reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant Lands in Western Oregon.