The Western Oregon State Forest Habitat Conservation Plan, which was passed by the Oregon Board of Forestry in March, will reduce logging in western state forests to protect threatened species. Now a school district in Clatsop County is suing the state over the proposed plan. They argue reducing timber harvesting in the area could cause the district to lose millions.
Alex Baumhardt is a reporter for the Oregon Capital Chronicle and has been reporting on this issue. She joins us to share more.
This transcript was created by a computer and edited by a volunteer.
Dave Miller: This is Think Out Loud on OPB. I’m Dave Miller. Earlier this spring, after years of negotiations, the Oregon Board of Forestry passed the Western Oregon State Forest Habitat Conservation Plan. If approved by federal agencies, it would reduce logging on state forest land in the western half of the state as a way to protect threatened and endangered species. The logging industry and leaders in various western timber counties have railed against the plan. So has a small school district in Clatsop County. According to new reporting, the Jewell School District has already spent about $150,000 on a lawsuit fighting the plan.
Alex Baumhardt wrote about this for the Oregon Capitol Chronicle and joins us now, Alex. Welcome back.
Alex Baumhardt: Thanks so much.
Miller: So the reason for this lawsuit is something called the Western Oregon State Forest Habitat Conservation Plan – I just mentioned that. Why did the Oregon Board of Forestry say that a new plan was necessary?
Baumhardt: Well, another lawsuit, mostly. The Western State Forest Habitat Conservation Plan, like you said, it’s been decades in the making. But the sense of urgency around getting it done really ramped up last year following this lawsuit from conservation groups against the Oregon Department of Forestry that alleged too much logging in those state forests was threatening species, particularly coastal Coho salmon. So the state settled with the conservation groups to end the lawsuit. And as a part of that settlement, the state agreed to finish this habitat plan.
Miller: What does the plan actually do? What would be different under it?
Baumhardt: For the next 70 years, it would reduce logging on Oregon’s western state forests by about 20%. And that would be to protect 17 threatened endangered species, and more broadly, to protect the state from being sued under the Endangered Species Act.
Miller: Where does revenue from these timber sales on state forest go?
Baumhardt: About a third of it goes to the Oregon Department of Forestry so that it can operate. And then the rest, about two-thirds of it, is split among 14 Western Oregon counties where those state forests are located. So the counties, and then these little taxing districts within the counties, get that money, and they tend to use it on critical public services like firefighters and schools. And it’s been like that for about 80 years due to an agreement in the early 20th century that basically turned a lot of those forests over to the state from the counties, so that they could be managed more broadly for the public good of the state.
Miller: How big a reduction in revenue are those jurisdictions, counties or school districts, looking at statewide?
Baumhardt: On the high end, the projections are probably about $18 million per year. It will scale up, this is a 70 year plan. So the first few years are less intense than the later years. The reality is probably closer to $14 million a year that would be lost from scaling back logging on those forests.
Miller: Let’s turn to the Jewell School District in particular. How much do they get, on average, specifically from timber revenues?
Baumhardt: Their budget is $4.3 million, and that’s all timber revenue. They are, to put this into scale, a very small district. It is one K-12 school building that serves 145 kids. There’s 15 teachers, a number of support staff, two administrators. So it’s small. Budget is $4.3 million, and that’s all timber revenue on the whole. They don’t take any money from the state for their general budget.
Miller: So it’s $4.3 million. How much might they lose in that, assuming that the Feds say yes to the Department of Forestry’s plan?
Baumhardt: It sort of depends on who you ask. The superintendent of the Jewell School District, Cory Pederson, and the board, and the lawyer representing them, are projecting millions of dollars each year, tens of million dollars over the next decade. They said anywhere from 20% to 30% of the district’s budget. The state said it’s probably more like 17% of a budget decrease, given the state’s legal obligation to help fund the school should its operating dollars drop dramatically.
Miller: So what would the state do to make up for at least part of that loss of timber revenue?
Baumhardt: It would do what it does with every other school district in the state, which is apply a formula that takes into account enrollment, student needs for language services, disabilities, income levels, so on and so forth, and then ensure that every kid in that district and across the state gets an equal and fair amount of funding.
Right now, the state says, “Jewell, you’ve got plenty of timber revenue, you don’t need our money. In fact, you enjoy a more robust budget than you would have with our money. Go for it.” If that money declines, the state would step in and make up the difference. So if the state came in and entirely funded that school district, it would get $3.62 million a year, which is to their point, about 17% less than the $4.3 million the school district currently operates with.
Miller: But the state is saying it is in line with the per pupil amount that other districts around the state are already getting?
Baumhardt: Exactly. I think the state says, “Jewell, you’ve enjoyed really robust funding. That’s great. No matter what, if all of this funding disappeared tomorrow, we have a plan to ensure you get the same funding that every other school district in Oregon gets based on our equation.”
Miller: How much is the Jewell District an anomaly here? How common is it for school districts to rely on state logging revenue as opposed to money from the general fund?
Baumhardt: It’s pretty rare. The governor’s office and the Department of Education said there’s only two or three districts in those timber counties that really get enough of this money to completely fund their schools with it. And it’s worth noting that the Jewell School District also has a $20 million investment fund that is largely a coffer that’s been built up with timber revenue. And that is also kind of rare. Districts don’t really have to report that to the state, but that $20 million fund, the superintendent said the bulk of it he wants to leverage for infrastructure investments and capital. They don’t have a huge property tax base, so it would be helpful if they need to build a new gym or more classrooms.
So $12 million of that $20 million they want to use for capital, the other $8 million was not spoken for. They have a pretty robust investment fund as well, which is sort of anomalous and it’s not very common for schools to rely on timber revenue entirely.
Miller: What exactly is the district asking for from the judge?
Baumhardt: They want the habitat plan overturned, this Western [Oregon] State Forest Habitat Plan. They want the state to go back to the drawing board and rewrite a plan that allows more logging on those forests, and by virtue of that, sustains the revenue that they have historically enjoyed, and those 14 other counties-at-large have enjoyed. They most broadly just want this plan to allow for the same logging that’s occurred historically,
Miller: Your recent reporting focused on the amount of money the district is spending to fight this conservation plan – about $150,000 and counting. How did the district justify that expense?
Baumhardt: The superintendent only answered a few of my questions about this via email and through a lawyer. But he said that any money spent now on this lawsuit will save them greater financial pain later. So if the plan is passed, they stand to lose, according to him, tens of millions of dollars. So this is a little bit of pain now to save pain later.
Miller: What did you hear from their lawyer, John DiLorenzo?
Baumhardt: He feels confident he has a winning case. He’s sort of famous in the timber conservation legal world for unsuccessfully suing the state for over a billion dollars in 2019, for not allowing enough logging in state forest. He says that experience on that case, regardless of the outcome, justifies his expense, a $955 per hour fee. And he says that this will be worthwhile in the long-term for the school district.
Miller: And just to go back to the legal argument that the district is making, is it that they are owed this money? Or that there is something wrong with the conservation plan itself? Because those are separate issues, related but distinct.
Baumhardt: It’s a really good point. And what is a little bit convoluted about the lawsuit is that the general story here is a school district losing money. But the legal argument being made here is not only that the district will suffer, but that the Oregon Department of Forestry, by scaling back logging and scaling back its revenues – revenues that the Department of Forestry also relies on to operate – that it is reneging on its duty to ensure it’s adequately funded. And that is a legal obligation. The Oregon Department of Forestry needs to maintain a level of funding that allows it to perform critical services.
So not only is the district saying more broadly to the public, “Hey, we’re losing money we’ve enjoyed,” but (b) the Department of Forestry, which gets 30% of this state forest logging money, is reneging on its duty to stay fully funded so it can provide these critical services. It is a two-pronged argument, and perhaps a stronger legal one is the obligation the Department of Forestry has to fund itself.
Miller: But what’s the timing now, in terms of both this suit and the conservation plan itself?
Baumhardt: The plan passed the Board of Forestry earlier this year. It’s with federal agencies like the US Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA right now, so they’ll review it and say yes or no. It’s more than likely it’ll be approved end of this year, early next it’ll be implemented. The lawsuit is currently with a judge. The state has asked for a dismissal, and we’re sort of waiting to hear what happens next.
Miller: Alex, thanks very much.
Baumhardt: Thanks so much for having me.
Miller: Alex Baumhardt is a reporter for the Oregon Capital Chronicle.
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