Hugo Neighborhood Association & Historical Society
|
Hugo Neighborhood Association & Historical Society |
|
FOREST SOILS Brochure 4 in Soil Survey
Series Forest Productivity Ratings
Forest Soils1 Soil Survey.
There are 111 soils identified in the Soil Survey.
Sixty-seven (67) were rated for their forest productivity as suitable for
production of commercial trees (pages 181 - 185, Table 6).
Twenty-two of these forest soils were also identified as farmland soils (pages 178
- 180, Table 5). Oregon Statewide Goal 4 — Forest Lands2 The Goal 4 definition of “forest lands”
requires analysis of (1) whether the land is suitable for commercial forest
uses; (2) whether the land is necessary to permit forest
operations or practices on adjacent or nearby forest lands; and (3) whether the forested land is necessary to maintain
soil, air, water and fish and wildlife resources . . . An affirmative answer to any one of those criteria
renders the land “forest land” under Goal 4.
DLCD v. Curry County, 33 Or LUBA 728 (1997). Soil Surveys. The Natural Resources Conservation Service soil
surveys are the main or most readily available, and most universally accepted, source of
information regarding farm and forest capabilities. The
soil surveys not only provide what is often the only data available; the methodology used
in the soil surveys serves as the bench mark for gathering new or additional data. Value Of Survey - Non-Rated Soils Unrated Soils. Forty-four (44) (40%) of the county’s 111
soils were not assigned a forest productivity rating by the Soil Survey. What if the soils in question are not one of
the 67 soils rated for their forest productivity as suitable for production of commercial
trees? Are these soils not forest soils
and not forest land? They might not be, but
they might be as the definition of forest land is much broader than forest productivity
ratings. LUBA Opinions LUBA ruled that designation of land as
agricultural land does not, of itself, mean the land is not also suited to protection as
forest land. Westfair Associates Partnership v. Lane County, 25 Or LUBA 729, 737
(1993). LUBA has held that the county can not
assume that soils that had not been assigned internal rates of return are non-forest
soils. Doob vs. Josephine County, 31 Or LUBA 275 (1996). The county cannot exempt from the required soils
evaluation all soils in the county which have not been rated. LUBA ruled that a Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) non-rating provides no information, quantitative or otherwise,
pertinent to the statutory test of whether a soil is capable of producing defined levels
of wood fiber (ORS 215.750; OAR Carlson v.
Benton County, 34 Or LUBA 140, 149 (1998). More Information Although the first settlers in Josephine
County were engaged in mainly gold mining, lumbering and farming soon became important
industries. The timber industry became more
important when railroad service began in 1880s. Production
of lumber to be shipped to distant markets became the county’s leading industry. Demand for lumber during World War II resulted in
a tremendous expansion of the timber industry. Would you like to learn more about the Soil
Survey of Josephine County, Oregon and/or the soils of your property? Consider contacting:
This brochure is one of five in the
“soil survey” series.
|
|
© 2012 Hugo Neighborhood Association & Historical Society |