Elliott State Forest, Jan. 3

Dennis Richardson takes over as Oregon’s Secretary of State today in Salem. The Republican has already indicated that the Elliott State Forest of Southwest Oregon will be one of his priorities.  In August of 2015, the State Land Board, which consists of the Governor, Secretary of State and State Treasurer, voted to sell the 83,000 acre forest to private ownership. That move has been deemed highly controversial and the proposal has been put on hold for consideration until February 2017.  Richardson says he will take a balanced approach to the future of the forest, which was established in 1930 to provide funding for the Common School Fund.  However, environmental challenges have tied up timber sales within the forest between Coos & Douglas counties the last several years.