Sustainability is at the core of Oregon's laws regarding forest practices and land use planning. Oregon law states that the continued growing and harvesting of trees is the leading use of private forestland. And it requires landowners to protect soil, air, water and wildlife habitat for future generations.

Many communities throughout Oregon, especially those in rural areas, depend on forests for their livelihood. According to the most recent statistics, Oregon’s forest sector supports more than 62,000 direct jobs throughout the state in forest management and forest products manufacturing and distribution - about 3 percent - of total statewide employment.

Forest jobsOregonians are employed in a variety of forest-related jobs, from forestry, logging, millwork and cabinetmaking to engineering, hydrology, business management and academic research. This is what is known as the “forest sector.” The sector encompasses a diverse array of career paths that include firefighters, ecologists, park rangers, wildlife and fish biologists, and more. 

It is a cornerstone of Oregon’s forest practices rules. Requiring landowners to promptly replant trees after a timber harvest means future Oregonians will enjoy the same forest resources we do today, including wood products, healthy watersheds, recreational opportunities, and thriving fish and wildlife habitat.In a typical year, Oregon forest landowners plant about 40 million seedlings every year. And far more trees are planted each year than are harvested.

Tree Planting in FebruaryOregon tree planting crews

Seedlings, seedlings and more seedlingsPlanting.Landowners must complete replanting of harvested ground within two years.Ensuring success.Within six years of harvest, the young trees must be “free-to-grow.” That means they are vigorous and tall enough to out-compete grass and brush, and will grow into a new forest.Trees per acre.Depending on the site, the rules require that at least 100 to 200 trees per acre survive during reforestation, but landowners typically plant about 400 seedlings per acre.

Much of Oregon’s municipal water originates in forested watersheds, including those managed for wood production. As rain or snowmelt soaks into healthy forest soils, it is naturally filtered and over time is released to nearby streams or groundwater aquifers. To protect fish and safeguard drinking water sources, Oregon's forest practices laws restrict timber harvesting, road building and the use of chemicals near streams and other water bodies.

Forest roads are essential for getting timber to the mill, and for fighting wildfire. Yet some roads, especially older roads, are a source of sediment flowing into streams.With significant amounts of research and innovation over the past couple decades, the way forest roads are built – and where they are built – has been overhauled.Newer, higher standardsLocation is key

All of Oregon’s forests – whether they’re mostly new growth, old-growth or somewhere in between – provide habitat for wildlife. Historically, windstorms or fires created openings in the forest that eventually regrew, leading to a mosaic of different tree ages across the landscape. As a result, some animal species are dependent on young forests, while others thrive in middle-age or older forests. Young, open forests, for example, are especially important for migrating songbirds, while older forests are vital to species such as the northern spotted owl.

Every two years, the Oregon Forest Resources Institute compiles the latest data on Oregon’s forests into a detailed reference guide called Oregon Forest Facts. It contains a series of charts, graphs and maps that tell the story of the state’s forests and forest-based economy.

A number of Oregon companies are using innovative techniques to turn raw timber or lumber into value-added engineered wood products. These products, also known as advanced wood products or simply “mass timber,” typically mean more mills, more jobs and more money staying in Oregon.

Oregon is one of the best tree-growing regions in the world, but even our fast-growing, native species such as Douglas-fir can be smothered by weeds and other broadleaf plants. Both native species such as vine maple and invasive species such as Scotch broom and Himalayan blackberry can quickly overtake seedlings.

Logging is an essential part of Oregon’s economy, and plays a role in the way many forests are managed – whether they are owned by federal, state or local governments; small businesses or large corporations; or tribes, families and individuals.

In Oregon, private forest landowners, loggers and timber companies harvest trees in a variety of ways, but all must comply with the Oregon Forest Practices Act. The state law outlines a set of rules for private timber harvesting aimed to protect soil productivity, water quality and wildlife habitat, and ensure replanting after harvest.

Educating forest landownersIn Oregon, more than 60,000 people own between 10 and 5,000 acres of forestland. Most of these small private landowners, also known as family forest landowners, own 50 acres or less. They care for a combined 4.3 million acres of forestland, which accounts for about one-third of private forestland in Oregon, or about 14 percent of the state’s total forestland. 

Sustained wet weather on steep slopes can make soils unstable, causing a landslide. In remote areas, the impacts of landslides are minimal, but when they occur near homes and roads, the results can be devastating. On one hand, landslides are a natural geological event that occurs on rain-drenched hillsides. On the other, human activities such as timber harvests can exacerbate the risk.

Oregon is at the forefront of a growing movement in the U.S. to construct more commercial and multifamily buildings with engineered wood products such as cross-laminated timber (CLT).CLT is made by layering pieces of dimension lumber in alternating directions and bonding them together into massive panels several layers thick. CLT panels can be as large as 98 feet by 20 feet, and are strong enough to replace concrete and steel in mid-rise and even high-rise buildings.

The Oregon Forest Resources Institute serves as a clearinghouse of information regarding Oregon's forests, forest management and forest-based economy. Below is a list of resources the Institute has published that provide statistics and other information pertinent to media covering forestry, wildfire and other forest-related issues in Oregon, as well as the economic impacts of the forest sector – the part of the state's economy derived from forests.RESOURCES

The Oregon Forest Resources Institute values public involvement and feedback on our educational programs and materials. Stakeholder and public input is an important part of the process of developing a number of our projects and initiatives. These may include:

On some public forests in Oregon, forest managers are using a timber harvest method called variable-retention harvest. In a variable-retention harvest, timber is logged in patches of varying sizes, leaving behind certain trees or clusters of trees to protect wildlife habitat or serve other ecological needs.The Bureau of Land Management uses the silvicultural method in southwestern Oregon to design harvests with the competing goals of generating timber revenue while also protecting forest habitat for species such as the threatened northern spotted owl.

For many years, Oregon has led the nation in softwood lumber production. Softwood lumber is made with wood from conifer tree species such as Douglas-fir.Oregon’s softwood lumber output of 5.1 billion board feet in 2024 accounted for about 14 percent of total U.S. production. Softwood products are typically used for construction and include dimension lumber, beams, wood paneling, flooring, decking, molding and millwork, and door and window frames.

In addition to timber, Oregon’s forests are the source of an abundance of other vegetation with commercial value. These non-timber forest products include wild mushrooms, berries, ferns, tree boughs, cones, moss and medicinal herbs such as cascara bark and Oregon grape.

An acre of land can only grow so many trees. One acre of fertile forestland may be able to sustain 500 small trees, or 100 big trees. Thinning is an effective and powerful forest management tool that promotes tree growth and restores forest health. When thinning, forest operators remove slower-growing or defective trees to provide more space for the remaining trees to grow. Available water and soil nutrients benefit those that remain, resulting in bigger, healthier trees in a shorter period of time.

Why is thinning the most common timber harvest method east of the Cascades?Clearcutting is uncommon in central and eastern Oregon, with the exception of its use in lodgepole pine forests infested with mountain pine beetles. The reason thinning is much more common is because of the drier climate east of the Cascade Crest.