Elliott Forest: OSU January 29, 2021 Trustees Meeting

January 29, 2021 OSU Board of Trustees Meeting
ORWW Elliott State Forest Index: Testimony, Presentation & Questions

Bob Zybach and McKenzie Peters, NW Maps Co.
February 18, 2021

Edited Audio Recording of January 29, 2021 OSU Board of Trustees Meeting (MP3_1:24:55)

ORWW February 18, 2021 Print Recording Index (PDF_4_pp.)

Background Links

May 31, 2012 Cascadia Wildlands/Portland Audubon Elliott Lawsuit: logging vs. marbled murrelets http://www.orww.org/Elliott_Forest/References/Legal

October 26, 2020 OSU/DSL Elliott Forest Proposal “Public Forum” video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4z_brQuoU4)

November 3, 2020 OSU/DSL Elliott Forest Proposal (PDF_121_pp.)

January 11, 2021 ORWW Letter to OSU President and Forestry Dean: 10 Questions (PDF_2_pp._w/appendix)

January 11, 2021 ORWW Keep The Childrens Forest Website (HTML_15_webpages)

January 20, 2021 OSU Trustees: Agenda Item 7d. Elliott State Forest (PDF_11_pp.)

January 29, 2021 OSU Forestry Dean’s Elliott PowerPoint Presentation (PPT_23_slides)

February 16, 2021 Cascadia Wildlands Elliott Website (PDF_8_pp.)

February 16. 2021 Portland Audubon Society Elliott Website (PDF_7_pp.)

Part 1. Elliott Public Testimony (MP3 Recording)

1.1_Rani Borkar 0:00-OSU Trustees Chair/Microsoft VP/University of Mumbai, India

1.2_Debbie Colbert 1:10-OSU Trustees Secretary/OSU 2000 Oceanography

1.3_Bob Zybach 1:36-Program Manager, Oregon Websites & Watersheds Project, Inc./OSU

1.4_Dave Sullivan 4:10-President, Oregon Websites & Watersheds Project, Inc./OSU

1.5 Keith Tymchuk 8:01-DSL Advisory/Retired Teacher, Former Reedsport Mayor/UO

1.0 Paul Beck 11:30-DSL Advisory Board/Douglas Timber Operators (Absent)/OSU

1.6_Mary Paulson 11:48-DSL Advisory/Oregon School Boards Association (1400 members)

1.7_Bob Sallinger 15:29-DSL Advisory/Portland Audubon Society (35 employees)

1.8_Josh Laughlin 19:00-DSL Advisory/Cascadia Wildlands (13 employees)

Part 2. College of Forestry Presentation (MP3 Recording)

Rani Borkar 22:16-BOT Agenda Item 7d. Elliott State Forest

2.1_Ed Feser 22:58-OSU Provost and Executive VP/North Carolina 1997 Urban Planning

2.2_Tom DeLuca 29:12-OSU College of Forestry Dean/Elliott PowerPoint Presentation/Iowa State 1993 Soils

Slide 01 33:01-Title Page

Slide 02 33:16-1) Public Access, 2) Complete Decoupling, 3) Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), 4) Jobs

Slide 03 34:33-Collaborative planning: public, scientists, environmentalists, Tribes, “stakeholders,” etc.

Slide 04 36:34-Outcomes: Based on models = “climate action” (CO2), largest reserve, 100-year-old trees

Slide 05 37:31-More: fish, “critical habitat,” recreation, Oregon schoolkids; “whole intent is education”

Slide 06 38:32-Guiding Principles: forest governance, conservation, recreation, education, local jobs

Slide 07 38:56-Educational opportunities: “education is core of what we intend to do,” K-12, TEK, etc.

Slide 08 40:19-Research opportunities: 1) climate change, 2) economics, 3) biodiversity, 4) disturbances

Slide 09 42:13-Research Design: “forest reserve”; “murrelet habitat”; “not good for active management”

Slide 10 43:35-“New Reserve Network”: 34,000 A. combined w/ Devil’s Staircase = 66,000 A. reserve

Slide 11 44:24-“Creating older forests objective”: in 50 years, 73% of Elliott will be older than 100 years

Slide 12 45:02-Research Design (2): southeastern watershed treatments “based on history”; “next slide”

Slide 13 45:28-“Triad Platform” (subwatershed) treatments: Ecological, Extensive, Intensive

Slide 14 47:03-Stand Level Treatments: Intensive, Extensive, Reserve

Slide 15 47:10-Percentages of Treatments: Reserve (65%), Intensive (17%), Extensive (18%)

Slide 16 47:22-Annual Harvest Volume: “only about 1%, or 735 A./year, harvested on an annual basis”

Slide 17 47:32-Riparian aquatic reserves a “significant portion of research platform”

Slide 18 47:42-Governance Structure: an Executive Director would be hired that answers to the Dean

Slide 19 48:46-Financial Overview: Modeling = $35 million “start-up” + $2.1 million operating/year

Slide 20 49:36-Annual Harvest Volume: “You can skip this one and go to the next” (17 mmbf/year)

Slide 21 49:41-Personnel Funded: >26.0 FTE Managers, researchers, students + local volunteers

Slide 22 50:14-Considerations: Oregon opportunity: OSU Mission; finances; fire: legality; carbon

Ed Feser 51:38-Summary of OSU proposal

Slide 23 51:40-Big Picture: more work to do on a number of issues; carbon credit market; financing; resources; decoupling; forest management plan; HCP -- lots to do.

Part 3. Board of Trustees Questions (MP3 Recording)

Rani Borkar 52:20-Open to questions

3.1_Kirk Schueler 52:40-Bend Realtor/former State Board of Higher Education/UO 1987 Accounting
Question 1: Are there legal protections regarding land conveyance to OSU?

3.2 Terry Meehan 53:25-OSU Attorney and Legal Counsel/OSU 1983/UO 1988 Accounting
Answer: Must be fully decoupled; several safeguards; Oregon Supreme Court review

Question 2: 54:38-Are there protections for OSU against environmental anti-logging lawsuits?
Tom DeLuca 55:33-Answer: HCP being developed simultaneously w/OSU; collaborative planning
Terry Meehan 57:02-Answer: We would also want the land decoupled from the Common School Fund

Question 3: 57:21-So, Tom, that was the idea behind the collaborative planning?
Tom DeLuca 57:36-Answer: Yes, that was one of the key ideas; it’s kind of a landmark event

3.3 Patty Bedient 58:50-Former Weyerhaeuser CPA/OSU 1975 Business Administration
Question 4: 59:23-Is there a reasonable timeline for resolving all of these issues?
Tom DeLuca 59:34-Answer: Two years is short: governance is key, then forest management & HCP

Question 5: 1:00:59-Who has “final decision-making” authority? (will wait for an answer)

Question 6: 1:01:26-Who owns and manages the adjacent Devil’s Staircase reserve?
Tom DeLuca 1:01:43-Answer: “That’s a good question. Is it BLM?” (later corrected to USFS)

Question 7: 1:02:08-Will it work with so few acres for harvesting? (will wait for an answer)

3.4 Paul Kelly 1:03:28-Former Nike Attorney/Oregon State Board of Education/Georgetown J.D.
Question 8: 1:04:23-Can the $221 million evaluation be legally challenged?
Terry Meehan 1:04:42-Answer: Has been called into question. Maybe an executive session discussion

Question 9: 1:04:54-Can it be guaranteed there won’t be an operating cash problem?
Ed Feser 1:06:08-Answer: We must be certain that funding mechanism is not tuition dependent

3.5 Mike Thorne       1:07:58-Pendleton Wheat Farmer/WSU 1962 Agriculture
Question 10: 1:08:10-Despite best of intentions, is there an exit strategy if this doesn’t work out?
Terry Meehan           1:08:48-Answer: (Laughs) We share that concern. We need to address moving forward
Ed Feser                     1:09:26-Answer: No intention of putting OSU at risk; project scale is a concern
Tom DeLuca              1:10:02-Answer: Assumption w/DSL would be self-sufficient; bad carbon off-sets history

Question 11: 1:12:34-To be clear, it is not the intent to put OSU or student tuition at risk?
Rani Borkar 1:13:03-Answer: Good questions and details. Please keep working. This is critical

Patty Bedient Question 12: 1:14:06-Does the proposed increased stand ages result in greater wildfire risk?
Rani Borkar 1:14:48-Answer: Yes, because fires are a liability and there are a lot of questions

Kirk Scheuler 1:15:00-Reference to public testimony regarding fire threat to coastal communities
Question 13: 1:15:31-Should wildfire mitigation strategies be included in priorities?
Tom DeLuca 1:15:58-Answer: According to Zybach, yes; but OSU fire scientists are “truly experts”

Rani Borkar 1:21:17-“Before wrapping up, any comments from King?”

3.6 King Alexander OSU President/Wisconsin-Madison 1996 Education Administration

1:21:25-Answer: “Yes. We are not naive with this. We need an exit strategy if we need to. We are going to have to thread the needle on this one, and we cannot put OSU in jeopardy. It’s going to take time, and I’m naturally worried about liability down the road, so we’re cautiously moving forward and will keep the Board informed. So, this is an ongoing discussion, the first of many discussions.”

Rani Borkar 1:22:34-Yeah. Agreed. I look forward to bringing this back to the Board for formal action. That was our last agenda item. Thank you everyone. Adjourned.