2021 Brings Two Major Changes to Oregon’s Forest Practice Act

According to the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) recent regulatory changes, the result of amendments made to the state’s Forest Practice Act, went into effect on 1-1-2021. These changes were supported by both the conservation and timber industry groups. The two major changes include: 1) The buffers for helicopter pesticide spraying must be increased to 300 feet around school campuses and inhabited dwellings. Sprayers must maintain a 75-foot buffer from streams containing fish or which have domestic uses, and 50 feet from other surface water sources. The law does not affect pesticide spraying done from planes, drones, or applied on the ground. A section of the law that would require a system to notify nearby residents about future spraying is in the works and will not go into effect until summer. 2) Focuses on increased buffers to protect streams that provide habitat for salmon, steelhead, and bull trout in the Siskiyou region of Southwestern Oregon.