Oregon’s 82,500-acre Elliott State Forest is well known by sportsmen and women for the coveted public access it provides to high quality hunting and fishing. Roosevelt elk, blacktail deer and wild populations of salmon, steelhead and coastal cutthroat trout call the old growth timber and cold, clean waters home.
Established in 1930 as Oregon’s first state forest, the Elliott was dedicated to provide a sustainable source of timber revenue to Oregon schools. Unfortunately, the Elliott stands today as an example of what can happen when states take on the responsibility of managing public lands. Shifting public attitudes over forest management resulted in declining timber revenue, and the state was forced to sell a portion of the forest in 2014 to private companies. At least one of those parcels has already been closed to the public, and the state has put the remainder of the Elliott State Forest on the auction block for sale in 2016.
This report published by Oregon BHA describes what you can do to help - and why we need to protect public access to the Elliott and advocate for the future of our outdoor traditions.
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is leading the fight to ensure that public hunting and fishing access is retained on these lands, but we need your help to do it. Please take a minute to sign our petition urging the Oregon State Land Board to prioritize the retention of public hunting and fishing access as a condition of this state land sell-off. If you’re interested in getting more involved with this effort consider joining BHA.
About Oregon BHA Chapter