QuickTake:

Lane County Administrator Steve Mokrohisky says the county won’t get more money next year following a change in the federal timber receipts system. His analysis comes after Commissioner David Loveall said otherwise when a congressional appropriations bill passed.

A Lane County analysis found the county won’t get an increase in timber receipts in the upcoming fiscal year despite a federal change intended to give counties a bigger share. 

In a memo to county commissioners, Lane County Administrator Steve Mokrohisky said there’s “confusion” about the change, with residents believing that more funding will be available for public safety and other services.

Mokrohisky told commissioners the county can get more money through the federal Secure Rural Schools program rather through timber receipts, even with the new change. He said the notion that more money will be available in the upcoming year is not accurate.

“It has taken us a few days to get to the facts of this issue, since the initial information that was provided to the public from a commissioner’s social media posts and press release caused confusion, leading the public to believe that more funding would be available for public safety and other services,” Mokrohisky wrote in a memo to county commissioners Monday, Feb. 2. “Our analysis shows that is not true.”

In late January, Commissioner David Loveall sent out a press release about the passage in Congress of an appropriations bill for the U.S. Department of Interior. At the time, Loveall said the change was a “big win for all Lane County, including our budget concerns.”

In an interview about the administrator’s analysis, Loveall said the change in the federal appropriations may not have benefits for the county’s current budget cycle.

“This particular appropriation is not going to affect us tomorrow,” he said. “And it’s maybe not going to affect us in the decisions we make for the current budget because it’s still playing itself out. But it could.” 

The county is now planning its budget for fiscal year 2027, which starts July 1. Regardless, Loveall said the change will still have long-term financial benefits for the county in future budgets.

Even if there aren’t any benefits immediately, Loveall said, “it’s certainly going to do something for our ’28 budget.”

How timber revenues are allocated

At issue are the so-called Oregon and California Railroad Revested Lands, commonly referred to as O&C lands. They amount to about 2.6 million acres in 18 western Oregon counties. Of that, 375,000 acres are in Lane County.

Most O&C land is administered by the federal Bureau of Land Management, and the federal government gives the counties a portion of the revenue from timber sales on those lands. The federal appropriation approved by Congress in January increased the share of timber revenue going to the counties to 75%. That increased share is only available for one year and future appropriations bills would need to include the higher amount in order for it to continue.

But to get the money, the county would have to decline the Secure Rural Schools funding, which it currently isn’t eligible to do.

The county historically has chosen funding from the Secure Rural Schools program, which helps counties that have large amounts of federal land. That’s because the Secure Rural Schools option represents more funding.

In the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, the Secure Rural Schools funding is estimated to be about $9.7 million. That would include $5.4 million for roads, nearly $3.5 million for general fund purposes and about $870,000 for patrol services and other public safety needs like search and rescue.

Even with the change to the appropriations bills, the Secure Rural Schools Funding is still better financially for Lane County, Mokrohisky wrote to commissioners. 

“The new formula would result in over $2.3 million in fewer funds to both Lane County public safety and roads, as well as the community as a whole when factoring in the School Fund payments,” Mokrohisky wrote.

Here’s how the numbers pencil out:

  • The new timber formula would generate about $8.7 million for public safety and schools. That’s about $1 million less than the Secure Rural Schools program, Mokrohisky said. 
  • The new timber formula also would be about $1.3 million less for Lane County schools. That decrease would come if the county opted out of U.S. Forest Service timber harvests for one year. 

What’s more, the county currently cannot opt out of one year of Secure Rural Schools funding to accept the new timber formula even if it wanted to, Mokrohisky said. The county’s in a three-year phase of Secure Rural Schools funding.

“There are currently efforts to have an administrative rule created that would allow counties to opt out of just one year of the current 3-year SRS renewal,” Mokrohisky wrote. “There is no known timeline for resolution of those efforts and currently we do not have the ability to opt out of just one year of the 3-year renewal.”

Beyond the next budget cycle, Loveall said there’s no guarantee that the Secure Rural Schools funding will be available for counties.

Loveall noted that the amount of Secure Rural Schools federal funding has repeatedly gone down over the years.

County data show that source has indeed dropped. Adjusted for inflation, Secure Rural Schools funding has dropped from slightly above $60 million in 2001 to less than $10 million — a drop of about 86%.

“So this may be a moot conversation in a year, because the SRS funds may not even be an option,” Loveall said.

Mokrohisky said he appreciates the efforts in Congress to advocate for better timber policies for counties and Secure Rural School Schools funding. 

“It is unfortunate that social media posts and press releases promised the public additional funds as a result of the new timber formula,” Mokrohisky said. “Lane County staff will continue to provide you with recommendations based on transparent analysis of the facts.”

Loveall said timber will continue to be a major industry in Lane County and sustainable management is crucial.

“For us to shift an economy to a totally different direction is ludicrous,” he said. “We are a timber county, whether we like it or not, and we’re going to be a timber county in the future unless someone decides to cut all the timber land down and put condos on it, which is highly unlikely.”

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Ben Botkin covers politics and policy in Lane County. He has worked as a journalist since 2003, most recently at the Oregon Capital Chronicle, where he covered justice, health and human services and documented regional efforts to combat fentanyl addiction. Botkin has worked in statehouses in Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma and, of course, Oregon. When he's not working, you'll find him road tripping across the West, hiking or surfing along the Oregon Coast.