Ask a forester

OregonForests.org examines complex forest issues and provides a broad overview on a variety of topics. Of course, sometimes people just have questions about the basics.

Below is a list of the questions and answers that have been asked by users like you, who want to know more about Oregon’s forests and forestry. These questions were posed to and answered by working foresters.

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Ask a forester

Frequently asked questions:

What is Oregon’s law regarding replanting?

You advertising says "40 million trees planted every year." Can you explain that math to me?

Shouldn’t Oregon’s Forest Practices Act, passed in 1971, be updated to modern scientific standards?

Is Oregon’s Forest Practices Act weaker than Washington’s or California’s?

Why is so much timber harvested from Oregon’s forests?

Why don’t forest landowners plant different species of trees?

Why are we exporting logs instead of processing them into lumber here?

Given the growth of high-tech, is there a future for the forest products industry in our state?

Wouldn’t it be better to build our rural economies around recreation and tourism instead of forestry and logging?

Who owns Oregon’s forests?

What’s the problem with federal forests in Oregon, and what can be done about it?

What is the relationship between mountain pine beetle damage to our east-side forests and the risk of catastrophic fire?

Should we encourage bio-energy facilities in Oregon?

Shouldn’t we stop cutting timber so we can store carbon in forests as a means to offset greenhouse gases?

Why don’t we classify forest roads as point sources of pollution just like factories?

Why do landowners clearcut?

Don’t clearcuts destroy wildlife habitat?

Shouldn’t herbicides be banned from forestry?

What is the required logging buffer zone for scenic byways? Take Highway 242, for example...

Where can I purchase forestland? I'd like to get involved and start ownership of a family forest.

Why are there so many dead trees on Mckenzie Pass?

What is typical percentage by mass of water in a tree?

Is there somewhere to get help replanting after a clearcut?

I watched an online video called "Clean Water or Clear Cuts" about forestry in Oregon. Why don't we replant the trees after a clearcut?

Is it legal to export logs from public forestlands? How do they track those logs to make sure?

Can I cut down a tree from the wild forest for my own Christmas tree?

In general, how late into the winter season can replanting be delayed without risking loss of crop? As a reference, please consider replanting this year, a central Lane County location, and Douglas-fir in your response.

Was Oregon all forest at one time?

Who does custom debarking for export logs?

What is the purpose of all the tree cutting along the highway from Klamath Falls to Bend?

Is the property owner responsible for weed control after clearcutting their land?

I've heard that private timberland owners have to get the permission of those living within 5 miles to log one's own land. True or crazy talk?

I've noticed that most places that have been logged always have a single tree that wasn't ever touched. Why is that? Is it structural, mandatory, wrong tree species or something else?

Is logging allowed very close to a creek or river? Is the landowner required to get a permit?

I heard that some of the logs cleared out in a forest aren't used for construction because they have defects, and people can request to get these logs dumped at their property to use in their fireplaces. Is this true?

Can you explain the rule of replantation after cutting down trees in Oregon?

A logging company came in and clearcut a 25-acre parcel that borders our farm. It has not been replanted and is currently up for sale. I understand that they have 2 years to replant, but if a person were to buy that land ...

Is there is a federal law that requires logging companies to replant trees?

Why are some clearcuts on Highway 26 in Oregon, toward the beach, so far past the replant date?

I have a couple blue spruces i have been growing for a couple years. I wish to plant them on public lands because I live in an apartment. Where can I plant them in Oregon?

We want to harvest timber- but not by falling. I intend to cut deadfall from across the 88 acres, haul it out, limb it, and then sell it to a mill or find a portable mill if the wood is good enough to make economic sense ...

We piled split wood next to our fence. On the other side of the fence, our neighbors have a privacy row of Douglas-fir trees. (I think they are Douglas-fir.) I do not know for sure what kind of wood I stacked, since it was free on the side of the road ...

I've been reading about climate change and it's frightening. I read that trees are absorbing the C02 but they are being cut down faster than we can replace them and we have less than ten years to stop the warming. Any trees we plant now certainly can't

Is there anything in Oregon Forestry law that designates the hours in the day that companies may or may not be harvesting trees?

How can I get a landowner to replant after harvesting timber? It's been over three years, since harvest and there has been no movement towards reforestation. I don't know what I can do, to hopefully get landowner to comply with Oregon law.

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