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 frequently asked questions. These questions have been answered by working foresters.Don’t see your forest-related question answered here? ASK ONE OF OUR FORESTERS.Frequently asked questions:

Oregonians want healthy forests. We all want good salmon runs. We all want economic stability. We all want more common ground.

OFRI Board of Directors meetings2025 Schedule2026 ScheduleNext meetings:Board MeetingOct. 6, 2025Salem, ORAgenda coming soon 

A clearcut is an area of forestland where most of the standing trees are logged at the same time and a few trees remain post-harvest. Forested buffers are left around streams and lakes, and the area is replanted within two years of harvest. The practice of clearcutting has changed dramatically in recent years in response to public concerns, scientific findings and advanced harvest practices.

Forest Fact Break: Clearcutting

Forest Harvest Methods: Clearcutting

The Rediscovery Forest, co-sponsored by the Oregon Forest Resources Institute and The Oregon Garden, is an actively managed working forest that is used for educational purposes. It is located in the park-like environment of The Oregon Garden, an 80-acre botanical garden in Silverton. Visitors to the 15-acre forest can learn about different types of forests and discover why forest management is essential to sustaining our quality of life in Oregon.

Harvest at the Rediscovery ForestTo promote more growth and long-term health in the dominate 40-year old trees a commercial thinning operation was conducted. Local contractors used a computer-aided mechanical harvester that felled and delimbed selected trees and then bucked the logs. Following nearby on a trail of limbs left by the harvester to minimize soil disturbance, a forwarder then picked up the logs. In total, 10 loads of logs were hauled to local saw and chip mills.

No matter where you are this very moment, chances are there’s a product made with wood right within your reach. Oregon dominates U.S. production of softwood lumber and plywood. Today it is also a leader in engineered wood, and home to the first mill in the United States to manufacture structurally certified cross-laminated timber or CLT. This means your house or apartment, or even your office building, could have been built using wood products made right here in the state.

Forest Fact Break: Wood ProductsThis 9

Made in OregonOregon’s wood products industry is a traded sector, with close to 75 percent of all products made here sold outside the state. This generates revenue that supports mill jobs in Oregon timber towns. Here are some of the many different types of products that can be made from trees harvested in Oregon:

Forest Fact Break: Green Building

Learn more about forest products and green buildingHere are some of the many different types of products that can be made from trees harvested in Oregon:

The World Commission on Environment and Development defines sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

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.