*** This is a temporary DRAFT version of the 2021 Dalles Forestland Classification polygons****

The purpose for Forestland Classification is to provide an accurate classification to ensure fair and equitable funding for fire protection.

Forestland classification is a process by which a committee studies all lands within the fire protection district boundary to determine which lands are "forestland." Once lands have been determined to meet the definition of forestland, they are further classified as lands primarily suitable for timber production, grazing use, or a combination of the two.​

"Forestland" means 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 judgment of the forester, a fire hazard, regardless of how the land is zoned or taxed.​

Forest landowners are required by law to provide protection from fire for their lands. Rather than having their own firefighting force, most private landowners have ODF or their local fire protective association protect their lands. To fund this service, they pay a forest patrol assessment to the state. Forestland classification is done at the local level. Each county within a forest protection district has a committee that meets periodically to determine which lands meet the definition of forestland and are subject to the forest patrol assessment.

Oregon’s forestland classification system has been guided primarily by the 1937 Forest Land Classification Act and the statutes in ORS 526.305 - ORS 526.350. This act described a process for classifying forestland into:

• Class 1 = timber class

• Class 2 = timber and grazing class

• Class 3 = grazing or other agricultural use class

Statutes in other chapters passed in subsequent years also address forestland classification. The 1997 Urban Interface Fire Protection Act (Oregon Senate Bill 360) addresses the complex and unique fire protection challenges in the WUI. The 1997 Act clearly recognizes that ODF has a key role in WUI fire protection. Many of the statutes passed subsequently to the 1937 Forest Land Classification Act were put in place at a specific time to address a specific issue.

Contacts:

Christie Shaw

Public Information Officer

Prineville

Oregon Department of Forestry

Christie.SHAW@odf.oregon.gov

541.263.0661

Steve Timbrook

GIS Data Administrator

Administrative Branch

Information Technology Program - GIS Unit

Oregon Department of Forestry

steve.timbrook@odf.oregon.gov

503.945.7380