Elliott State Research Forest Proposal
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COLLEGE OF FORESTRY PROPOSAL Elliott State Research Forest ELLIOTT STATE RESEARCH FOREST PROPOSAL Table of Contents SECTION 1 PAGE 3 Executive Summary SECTION 2 PAGE 6 Introduction to an Elliott State Research Forest SECTION 3 PAGE 10 Guiding Principles and College of Forestry Commitments SECTION 4 PAGE 16 Summary of the Research Platform SECTION 5 PAGE 23 Adaptive Management and Phased Research Implementation SECTION 6 PAGE 24 Governance Structure SECTION 7 PAGE 29 Financing Management, Operations, and Research SECTION 8 Page 33 Appendices Appendix 1 Research Charter Appendix 2 Research Opportunities Within the Triad Research Design Appendix 3 Example Research Projects Appendix 4 Draft Research Treatment Allocation Process Appendix 5 Descriptions of Research Treatments (intensive, extensive, reserve) Appendix 6 Aquatic and Riparian Area Research Strategy Appendix 7 Riparian Area Research and Conservation Treatments Appendix 8 Integrating Riparian Areas with Adjacent Research Treatments Appendix 9 Figures, Tables, and Photos Appendix 10 Power Analysis of the Elliott State Forest Research Design Appendix 11 Potential Marbled Murrelet Habitat Distribution and Research Strategy at the Elliott State Forest Appendix 12 Summary of the Research Design for Peer Review Appendix 13 Summary of Peer Reviews Appendix 14 Summary of Science Advisory Panel Engagement and Feedback 2 OSU COLLEGE OF FORESTRY ELLIOTT STATE RESEARCH FOREST PROPOSAL SECTION 1 MANAGEMENT PLATFORM TO SUPPORT PUBLIC VALUES The State Land Board and Oregonians have been clear that the ESRF must always be a public forest. Accordingly, this enclosed proposal includes specific commitments to ensure Executive Summary that key public values always are honored. These include commitments to recreation and public access, partnerships to promote education programs, a transparent governance structure, adherence to strong and enduring conservation ethics, and plans for a working research forest infrastructure In December 2018, the State Land Board requested that that will support local rural and Tribal communities. Oregon State University explore with the Oregon Department of State Lands the potential transformation of the Elliott State Forest into a state research forest managed by OSU and its RESEARCH TO INFORM FUTURE DECISIONS College of Forestry. This exploratory work has been ongoing Practical, relevant and collaborative scientific research conducted since early 2019 and has included the engagement of advisory at the Elliott State Research Forest will yield critical insights committees at the state and college level and the solicitation of into sustainable forest management. We aim to tackle the input from stakeholders. This document outlines OSU’s initial fundamental question: What is the best landscape-scale approach proposal in response to the state’s request. to providing society with sustainable wood resources without compromising biodiversity, ecosystem function, climate resilience, and social benefits? For decades, a wide range of approaches THE OPPORTUNITY FOR OREGON have been proposed but to our knowledge, a quantitative The world faces growing climate and sustainability crises. comparison of these potential practices has not yet been Forestry as a profession has a responsibility and the potential conducted anywhere in the world. We therefore plan to employ to contribute to a more sustainable future. Oregon State the first replicated landscape-scale experimental assessment University believes forests should be managed to support of the best way to manage forests to integrate the needs of human needs, foster economic opportunity, and not only humans and nature. Is it best to conserve nature in reserves, and sustain but advance the environment. In order to accomplish intensify production in tree plantations? Or is a better strategy those objectives, it is imperative that sustainable forestry to reduce harvest impacts using extensive (e.g., ecological practices be developed through careful scientific inquiry. Of forestry), but spread out harvests across the landscape? We particular importance is research that will inform how forests will test a range of intermediate strategies too, that include can help achieve broad-scale conservation goals and alleviate differing proportions reserve, plantations and extensive forestry. climate change while producing traditional and alternative In these experiments, scientists at OSU and other universities will forest products for a growing global population. measure water quality (and flow), carbon storage, endangered species (e.g., murrelets, owls, and salmon) and a host of other It is possible to accelerate high impact research that meaningfully plants and animals, landslides, fire risk, climate resilience, guides and informs sustainable forest management, yielding as well as social values such as employment, recreation and substantial benefits for Oregon’s environment, economy and education. Importantly, this approach will also allow us to communities, if that work can be conducted on a landscape of test the most effective ways to conduct a range of climate sufficient scale and diversity. An Elliott State Research Forest adaptive silvicultural practices. For instance, we know little (ESRF) could be that landscape and opportunity. about how to conduct ecological forestry in this region, because the focus on most landownerships to date has been In addition to being a platform for this critical research, an on intensive production. This framework will also afford the ESRF would provide Oregonians with access to forest education implementation of a range of nested experiments within the and recreation, as well as jobs in forest products, forestry and larger platform allowing researchers to conduct a host of short- forest research. Together, these elements would make the ESRF term and site specific experiments. a global model for holistic management and best practice in environmental and natural resources policy. The research platform outlined in this proposal provides a landscape-scale approach to projecting how long-term OSU College of Forestry’s proposal for an Elliott State Research sustainable forestry research could be conducted at this scale in Forest is a collaboratively developed research design, including a manner that is adaptive, dynamic and flexible. Results gleaned a structure for governing the forest, and a financial framework. from this research platform will inform future policy and decision These components are designed to enable an ESRF not only making in state, federal, indigenous and private forest landscapes to meet the State Land Board’s vision of providing a forest throughout the Pacific Northwest, the Nation, and globally. that shares Oregonians’ values, but also provide world-class scientific research aimed at addressing policy and information In this research plan, over 65% of the forest will be in needs of crucial importance to Oregonians and the world. reserve with approximately 34,000 contiguous acres in 3 OSU COLLEGE OF FORESTRY ELLIOTT STATE RESEARCH FOREST PROPOSAL the Northwest portion of the forest set aside, creating one of FINANCIAL OVERVIEW the largest forests in reserve in the Oregon Coast range. The Total net annual revenue for a 50-year forecast of timber remaining 15,000 acres of reserve are smaller units protecting harvests that are aligned with the research and conservation older trees and critical species habitat and distributed goals of the proposal is estimated at $5.7 million, which is throughout subwatersheds that also receive smaller units of insufficient to support projected core annual forest management intensive forest management. In 50 years, about 73% of the and operations expenses (including personnel, equipment, fire forest will be 100 years old or older – nearly a 50% increase management and recreation management) and core annual from today. See ‘Summary of the Research Platform’ and research management and operations expenses (including ‘Appendix 4’ for details. personnel, monitoring, maintenance, and administrative overhead) of approximately $7.8 million. See ‘Financing With 17% of the forest assigned intensive treatments and 16% Management, Operations, and Research on the ESRF’ for details. assigned extensive treatments, harvests conducted within the OSU requires an additional $2.1 million annually from the state Elliott as a part of the research design will be relatively small. to operate the forest under the current proposed plan. The proposal includes a harvest of approximately 1% (about 735 acres) of the forest per year. The harvest acres are higher There is potential that an ESRF would create opportunity to initially given they include time-sensitive restoration-oriented enter into a carbon credit market to yield revenues that could thinning treatments conducted in former plantations of trees in help the state offset some of its costs of achieving one or more the first 20 years. After thinning treatments are complete, less of the following: decoupling from the Common School Fund; than 1% of the forest will be harvested annually as a part of the funding OSU’s working capital and start-up costs (estimated at research design. See ‘Financing Management, Operations and $35 million); funding OSU’s annual operating costs in excess Research’ section for details. of net harvest revenues (estimated $2.1 million annually). The research design does not preclude the potential sale of carbon to The research design allows for transformative landscape scale help the state’s expenses.