The Bureau of Land Management Distributes $26.9 Million in SRS Act Payments to 18 Oregon Counties

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has issued $26.9 million in payments from Fiscal Year 2020 to 18 counties in western Oregon under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (SRS Act). Most of the funding will go directly to the counties, supporting investments in education, infrastructure, public safety, and health services.

“We have a multiple-use and sustained yield mission,” said Oregon/Washington State Director Barry Bushue. “We are committed to managing these lands to support the local economy and family-supporting jobs for our neighbors, while also conserving and restoring our shared public lands.”

The BLM is charged with managing 2.4 million acres of Oregon and California Railroad Revested Lands, known as the O&C Lands, in 18 western Oregon counties for sustainable timber harvest. The revenue from harvests is shared with those 18 counties. The SRS Act payments are made in lieu of timber harvest receipts based on a formula set by Congress.

The O&C lands are some of the most productive timberlands in the world. They also contain a diversity of plant and animal species, recreation areas, mining claims, grazing lands, cultural and historical resources, scenic areas, wild and scenic rivers, and wilderness.

“Of the payments announced today, roughly $2.3 million will be made available under Title II of the Act,” said Bushue. “These funds are used to support cooperative projects, under the guidance of the Western Oregon Resource Advisory Committee, to restore healthy conditions on public lands or on private lands for the benefit of public land resources.”

Cooperative projects funded by the SRS Act include wildfire hazard reduction, stream and watershed restoration, forest road maintenance, road decommissioning or obliteration, control of noxious weeds, improvement of fish and wildlife habitat, and opportunities for youth training and employment.

Additional information about the Western Oregon Resource Advisory Committee is available at: www.blm.gov/get-involved/resource-advisory-council/near-you/oregon-washington/western-oregon-rac