Farmland and Forests

Oregon’s farms and forests are working lands, and are sometimes referred to as “resource lands.” When planners and others talk about preserving these areas, they are referring to preservation of the land for continued use as a commercial farm or forest. Preserving these areas for resource use also benefits wildlife habitat conservation, recreation opportunities, and protection of the scenery Oregon is so well known for.

• The Farm and Forest Biennial Report to Legislature is an incredibly thorough explanation of Exclusive Farm Use (EFU) and Forest zoning, benefits, history, current trends, and issues in land usage and land use decisions.
• Urban expansion, rural rezoning, and nonfarm uses on farmland continue to take land out of farm use despite Oregon’s land use protections. Nonfarm uses on farmland harm agriculture by creating land value inflation that prices out new and diverse farmers; numerous conflicts such as trespass, traffic, theft; and an overall breakdown of agricultural communities. Death by 1000 Cuts: A 10-Point Plan to Protect Oregon’s Farmland, by 1000 Friends of Oregon, details the rise of nonfarm uses proliferating on EFU land and their cumulative impact and offers several realistic policy recommendations and research focus areas.
• Forest lands and small urban communities are under threat by the increased frequency and ferocity of wildfire. Timber sales provide nearly ten percent of the revenue that funds our Hood River County government and its services, and had the wind been coming from the opposite direction during the Eagle Creek fire of 2017, Hood River may well have joined Paradise, Lahaina, and Talent as an urban area destroyed by wildfire. A New Vision for Wildfire Planning describes the role of responsible land use in the reduction of wildfire risk.
• The Future of Oregon’s Agricultural Land is a comprehensive study of farmland ownership, farm succession, issues facing beginning farmers, the role of our land use system, and potential policies and tools to keep Oregon farmland producing for future generations.
• The Hood River Forest Collaborative is a great source of local information.