NRCS ANNOUNCES SIGNUP FOR THE HEALTHY FOREST RESERVE PROGRAM IN OREGON
 
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact information:
Meta Loftsgaarden, USDA NRCS Program Manager: (503) 414-3236, Meta.Loftsgaarden@or.usda.gov
 

PORTLAND, OR, March 30, 2009 – The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has announced funding for management activities on working forest lands through the Healthy Forest Reserve Program (HFRP).

The Oregon HFRP sign up is open from April 6 until April 30, 2009 for lands in Oregon’s Lane, Coos, Douglas, Josephine, Curry and Jackson Counties.

In Oregon, the focus of HFRP is to encourage landowners to manage their land for sustainable, profitable timber harvests while promoting forest conditions that improve habitat for the threatened Northern Spotted Owl. Participating landowners will receive long-term assurances that no additional regulatory restrictions under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) will be imposed beyond the current, baseline conditions if they follow a plan that benefits Northern Spotted Owls.

Through HFRP, landowners may apply for financial assistance. After developing a Forest Stewardship Plan, program participants receive funding to implement selected forest management activities, such as thinning, tree planting and stream buffers. With HFRP, landowners participate through one of the following enrollment options:

10-Year HFRP Restoration Agreement:
Program participants develop a Forest Stewardship Plan to manage the land for sustainable timber harvests and Northern Spotted Owl habitat and receive 50 percent of the cost of selected conservation practices. With HFRP, the landowners continue harvests as described in the Forest Stewardship Plan. The plan will also set forth a strategy to provide a net conservation benefit for Northern Spotted Owls. As long as the Stewardship Plan is followed, the landowner will retain regulatory assurances that no additional ESA regulations will be imposed for the Northern Spotted Owl as a result of their timber harvest or management activities.

HFRP Permanent Easement:
With a permanent easement, landowners continue to manage the land for timber production while permanently maintaining the property as working forest land and Northern Spotted Owl habitat. The program pays 100 percent of the easement value and 100 percent of the cost of selected activities described in a Forest Stewardship Plan. The plan will also set forth a strategy to provide a net conservation benefit for Northern Spotted Owls. As long as the Stewardship Plan is followed, the landowner will retain regulatory assurances that no additional ESA regulations will be imposed for the Northern Spotted Owl as a result of their timber harvest or management activities.

To be eligible for HFRP in Oregon, applications must meet the following criteria:

• The property is 40 acres or more of privately owned Douglas fir/mixed conifer forest land;
• The land includes known or potential Northern Spotted Owl habitat or provides connectivity between Coast and Cascade Range habitats;
• The landowner agrees to implement a Forest Stewardship Plan on the land; and
• The landowner intends to maintain the property as working forest land.

This is the first year HFRP has been available in Oregon. Additional information about HFRP in Oregon can be found online at: http://www.or.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/hfrp/index.html.

Based on funding, a limited number of applications will be awarded. HFRP is reauthorized under the 2008 Farm Bill; the proposed 2008 program rule can be viewed on the Federal Register Web site at: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/farmbill/2008/pdfs/hfrp1-14-09.pdf

Additional options for forest management assistance are available to private, non-industrial forest landowners statewide through Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). EQIP provides program participants with payments to offset the cost of developing forest management plans and installing conservation practices.

For more information on HFRP or EQIP, landowners and land managers can visit the NRCS Web site at: www.or.nrcs.usda.gov or contact one of the following NRCS offices:

Coquille Service Center
382 North Central; Coquille, Oregon 97423-1296
Phone: (541) 396-2841

Eugene Service Center
780 Bailey Hill Road, Suite 5; Eugene, Oregon 97402
Phone: (541) 465-6443

Medford Service Center
573 Parsons Drive, Suite 102; Medford Oregon 97501
Phone: (541) 776-4267 or (541) 776-4263

Newport NRCS Office
23 North Coast Highway; Newport, Oregon 97365
Phone: (541) 265-2631

Roseburg Service Center
2440 NW Troost St., Suite 202; Roseburg, Oregon 97470-2089
Phone: (541) 673-6071
 

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