(1) The State Forester may enter into agreements with nonfederal forest landowners as a means to market, register, transfer or sell forestry carbon offsets on behalf of the landowners to provide a stewardship incentive for nonfederal forestlands.

Terms Used In Oregon Statutes 526.780

  • Biomass: means any organic matter, including woody biomass, agricultural crops, wood wastes and residues, plants, aquatic plants, grasses, residues, fibers, animal wastes, municipal wastes and other waste materials. See Oregon Statutes 526.005
  • Board: means the State Board of Forestry. See Oregon Statutes 526.005
  • Department: means the State Forestry Department. See Oregon Statutes 526.005
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • Forester: means the State Forester or the authorized representative of the forester. See Oregon Statutes 526.005
  • 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. See Oregon Statutes 526.005
  • Forestry carbon offset: means a transferable unit based on a measured amount of carbon storage expressed as a carbon dioxide emission equivalent, or other equivalent standard, and accruing on forestland as live or dead matter in trees, shrubs, forest litter and soil. See Oregon Statutes 526.005
  • Person: includes individuals, corporations, associations, firms, partnerships, limited liability companies and joint stock companies. See Oregon Statutes 174.100

(2) The State Forester may enter into an agreement described in this section if all of the following criteria are met:

(a) The agreement must ensure continuous management of the nonfederal forestlands at a standard that, in the judgment of the State Forester, would not occur in the absence of the agreement.

(b) Any forestry carbon offsets managed by the agreement must be attributable to the subject nonfederal forestland as determined by the forestry carbon offset accounting system established in ORS § 526.783.

(c) Prices for the transfer or sale of forestry carbon offsets may be negotiated on behalf of the nonfederal forest landowner and must be at or greater than fair market value.

(d) The agreement must provide for the following distribution of proceeds from the transfer or sale of forest carbon offsets attributable to the subject nonfederal forestland:

(A) Not less than 50 percent to the nonfederal forest landowner;

(B) Not more than 25 percent to the State Forester to fund programs providing coordinated technical, financial or management planning assistance to nonindustrial private forest landowners; and

(C) Not more than 25 percent to the State Forester to fund administration of the forestry carbon offset program.

(3) All revenues received and any interest earned on moneys distributed to the State Forester under subsection (2)(d)(B) and (C) of this section shall be credited to the State Forestry Department Account and may be expended only for the purposes stated in subsection (2)(d)(B) and (C) of this section.

(4) A person or governmental agency may create a forestry carbon offset by performing, financing or otherwise causing one or more of the following activities:

(a) Afforestation or reforestation of underproducing lands that are not subject to required reforestation under the Oregon Forest Practices Act;

(b) Forest management activities not required under law existing at the point of creation of the forestry carbon offset, including but not limited to the following practices:

(A) Stand density control treatments in overstocked, underproducing stands of timber;

(B) Silvicultural practices that increase forest stand biomass, including but not limited to structure based management, variable retention, uneven age management, longer rotation ages and no harvest reserves;

(C) Expanded riparian buffers and other leave areas; and

(D) Deferred harvest rotations past 50 years or the age of economic maturity, whichever is longer; and

(c) Other activities as defined by rule by the State Board of Forestry. [2001 c.752 § 2]

 

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