Oregon has taken the next step in its plan to sell a public forest near Coos Bay.
that anyone interested in buying the Elliott State Forest will have to meet key requirements.
Buyers will have to pay market value for the entire 84,000-acre forest. They also have to promise to allow public recreation on at least half of the land. And they have to formally express interest in purchasing the property by Dec. 15.
The Department of State Lands expects to pick a buyer by late next year, and to sell the forest in 2017.
The state says it wants to sell the forest because it costs too much to manage.