May 30, 2025 3;30 p.m. 

Oregon’s Elliot State Research Forest has achieved another major milestone and first for Oregon.

An Oregon Department of State Lands release said on Wednesday the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced approval of the habitat conservation plan for the research forest and issuance of an Endangered Species Act permit for implementing the plan over the next 80 years.

The HCP is the state’s first for public forest lands and key as the Elliot begins actively operating in 2025 as Oregon’s first state research forest.

Governor Tina Kotek said, “Oregon’s Elliott State Research Forest is continuing to lead the way”. Kotek said, “With this habitat conservation plan comes certainty that innovative research, economic and environmental benefits, and wildlife protection can all be achieved on the Elliot for decades to come”.

The release said HCP’s ensure compliance with the federal Endangered Species Act, mapping out both specific management activities that may impact species and conservation commitments that protect those species and their habitat over time. Timber harvest and habitat restoration projects are among the activities covered by the approved HCP, which supports operation of the Elliot as a working research forest.

DSL said a 2012 lawsuit over protected species halted timber harvest on the Elliot, and ultimately led to the State Land Board’s vision of a privately owned research forest that would contribute multiple benefits to Oregon.

The Elliot State Forest is in Coos and Douglas counties.

More information about the forest is at: https://www.oregon.gov/dsl/pages/elliott.aspx