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Oregon plans to reserve a state forest as a carbon warehouse

Coast Range fog settles on the Elliott State Forest near Coos Bay.
Jes Burns
/
OPB/EarthFix
Coast Range fog settles on the Elliott State Forest near Coos Bay.

Oregon’s leaders decided for the first time to dedicate an entire state forest to storing harmful greenhouse gases to combat climate change while generating revenue from selling carbon credits.

(she/her), Director of Communications, Oregon Department of State Lands joins the Exchange to discuss.

The fate of the near Coos Bay has been the subject of intense negotiation for years, but on Tuesday morning the three members of the State Land Board – Gov. Tina Kotek, Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade and state Treasurer Tobias Read – voted unanimously to support a proposed forest management plan for the Elliott’s future that prioritizes research, protecting animal habitat, increasing forest carbon storage to combat climate change and produce income from the sale of carbon credits.

Logging would still be allowed in parts of the forest, but would be significantly reduced from previous decades. The decision makes Oregon the second state nationwide to enroll an entire state forest in a plan focused on storing harmful emissions in exchange for carbon credits, after Michigan.

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Mike Green is host of the ÀÏ·ò×Ó´«Ã½ Exchange. Mike has lived in Southern Oregon for more than two decades. He is an award-winning print journalist with over 20 years experience in media, specializing in media innovation, inclusive economics and entrepreneurship.
Natalie Golay is the Senior Producer of the ÀÏ·ò×Ó´«Ã½ Exchange. She has a B.A. in Visual Arts, a multimedia certificate from the Vancouver Film school, and a law degree from the University of British Columbia. A communications professional for over 20 years, she is a natural storyteller with extensive audio and video production skills.