Christie Shaw, Public Information Officer,
Forestland Classification Filed with Hood
River County
The
Dalles, Ore. — Final classification for forestlands within Hood River County
was adopted by the Hood River-Wasco Counties Forestland Classification
Committee during their committee meeting January 18th. The committee held a series of public
meetings and two public hearings in December seeking public input before finalizing
the draft classification. This completes
the work of the committee, which has been meeting since December 2019 (with a
pause due to Covid), to establish criteria and review changes to the previous classification
which had been adopted in 2012. Revisions
to the 2012 classification include administrative corrections to lands where
the criteria was not applied correctly, classifying CRP as Class 2 or 3
forestland as appropriate, classifying newly identified forestland, identifying
lands which no longer meet the definition of forestland and improved accuracy
of the classification due to better technology and newer data.
The final classification was filed with the Hood River
County’s Department of Records and Assessment Office January 21, 2022. This filing initiates the thirty-day appeal
period for the classification. As per
ORS 526.332 any landowner who is aggrieved by the classification may appeal to
the County Circuit Court in which their property is located.
By definition “forestland” is any woodland, brushland,
timberland, grazing land or clearing that, during any time of the year,
contains enough forest growth, slashing or vegetation to constitute, in the
judgement of the forester, a fire hazard, regardless of how the land is zoned
or taxed (ORS 526.005 (6)(a)). ORS
526.324 further classifies “forestland” in Oregon into Class 1 (timber), Class
2 (timber and grazing class) and Class 3 (grazing).
Beginning July 1, 2022 all classified forestland in Hood
River County will be included in ODF’s Forest Patrol and will have wildland
fire protection provided by ODF’s Central Oregon District. ODF is part of the complete and coordinated
fire protection system which includes local, rural, county, state, and federal
resources. Landowners who receive this
service will see a Forest Patrol Assessment on their county tax statement later
this fall. The per acre assessment rate
is based on a level of service determined by ODF with approval and oversight
from Eastern Oregon Forest Protective Association and a District Budget
Committee made up of local landowners from each of the counties in the
District. The rate is determined each
spring after the budgeting process. The
2021 Hood River County rate was $2.17 per acre for Class 1 (timber) and Class 2
(timber & grazing) forestland and $.74 per acre for Class 3 (grazing)
forestland. There is a minimum
assessment of $18.75 per taxlot for classified forestland.
The written order, finding of fact, and specific
classification acres by taxlot can be viewed at the Hood River County’s
Department of Records and Assessment Office and at the following website https://sites.google.com/view/hoodriver-wasco-counties-flc/home,
or by contacting Kristin Dodd
(541-296-4626), The Dalles Unit Forester, at The Dalles ODF Office. The office is located at 3701 West 13th
in The Dalles, Oregon.
The final classification including written order, finding of
fact, and classified acres by taxlot for Wasco County was filed with the Wasco
County Clerk’s Office January 20, 2022.