Oregon Conservation Legislation

• Conservation Incentives for Private Landowners: HB 3564 (Passed in 2001)
• Oregon Sustainability Act: HB 3948 (Passed in 2001)
• Conservation Incentives Work Group: Report to the Seventy-Second Legislative Assembly (2003)
• Conservation Incentives for Private Landowners: HB 3616 (Passed in 2003)
• Removing barriers to voluntary land conservation: SB 593 (Did not pass in 2005)

Conservation Incentives for Private Landowners: HB 3564

Passed by the Oregon in Legislature in 2001 

House Bill 3564 recognizes the contribution that private landowners make to the citizens of Oregon by providing clean water, fish and wildlife habitat, and scenic landscapes. It recognizes the ecological values rural lands provide by removing penalties and barriers that may keep landowners from participating in existing incentive programs.  It sets the stage for a continuing dialogue about landowner incentives during the interim.

Read summary of HB 3564

Click here to read full text of this bill

Oregon Sustainability Act of 2001: HB 3948

Introduced at the request of Associated Oregon Industries and Defenders of Wildlife, the Sustainability Act passed with nearly unanimous support from the Governor and the legislature. The first of its kind in the nation, the act establishes a policy of sustainability and expands on former Governor Kitzhaber's Executive Order by including native habitats and species, and by addressing activities beyond those taken by state agencies. The legislation created the Sustainability Board, charged with examining sustainability practices and making recommendations to government agencies and the private sector. The Board focuses on positive incentives, and seeks to avoid contentious debates in order to make tangible progress.

The Act also created the Institute for Natural Resources at Oregon State University. The purpose of the Institute is to provide reliable, objective relevant and science-based interdisciplinary natural resource expertise, information, research and assistance to facilitate long-term stewardship of Oregon's resources.

In late 2003, Governor Kulongoski issued a new Executive Order, expanding the responsibilities of the Board, and directing state agencies to develop sustainability plans. He also issued specific directives to state agencies. Most relevant to biodiversity is reference to a statewide conservation plan to be completed by state resource agencies. For more information about the conservation plan, go to the Sustainable Oregon web site and select agency actions.

Click here to read full text of this bill

Click here to view the Sustainable Oregon website

Conservation Incentives Work Group:
Report to the Seventy-Second Legislative Assembly

As part of legislation enacted into law in 2001 related to conservation incentives for private landowners (HB 3564), the Oregon Legislature directed the Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Department of Forestry to review state statutes, rules, policies and programs that affect landowner decisions to implement conservation strategies. The agencies were directed to complete this review in consultation with other relevant state agencies and public and private organizations. The legislation also directed the Departments of Agriculture and Forestry to report to the Seventy-Second Legislative Assembly on recommended changes to state statutes, rules, policies, and programs.

In May 2002, the Departments of Agriculture and Forestry convened the Conservation Incentives Work Group. The Work Group was assisted by professional facilitators, paid for by a grant from Oregon's Public Policy Dispute Resolution Program, and consisted of a diverse set of representatives from numerous stakeholder groups. As directed by HB 3564, the Departments of Agriculture and Forestry, through effective use of the Work Group, developed recommendations for improvements to incentive programs and particular regulatory schemes that will encourage landowners and businesses to voluntarily invest in the improvement of natural resources to maintain the long-term ecological, economic, and social values that certain private lands provide to the state of Oregon. This is the report of those recommendations.

Click here to read the report

Conservation Incentives for Private Landowners: HB 3616

Passed by the Oregon Legislature in Summer 2003

House Bill 3616 enacts many of the recommendations of the Conservation Incentives Work Group, a diverse set of stakeholders convened by the Departments of Agriculture and Forestry that includes farmers, ranchers, timber producers, local governments, conservation organizations, and many state and federal agencies.

These legislative proposals are an outgrowth of conservation incentives legislation (House Bill 3564) enacted in 2001, which directed the Departments of Agriculture and Forestry to report back to the 2003 Legislature with recommendations for how landowners and businesses could be encouraged to voluntarily invest in the improvement of natural resources. The Work Group issued its report in February 2003; copies are available from the Departments of Agriculture and Forestry or click here to read online.

Read summary of HB 3616

Download a pdf copy of HB 3616 -- B Engrossed from Oregon State Legislature website

Removing barriers to voluntary land conservation: SB 593 (2005)

Passed the Senate Environment and Land Use Committee, the Senate Revenue Committee, and the full Senate with bipartisan support. Stalled in the House.

SB 593 would have removed a potential property tax penalty for landowners who want to voluntarily engage in conservation through a conservation easement. The bill would have corrected an inconsistency in current state law by establishing a special assessment category for property taxes on lands subject to a conservation easement. Landowners interested in conservation easements may be deterred by the risk of losing the property tax breaks associated with a forestland or farmland special assessment. Click here to see the full text of SB 593.

SB 593 came directly from a recommendation of the Conservation Incentives Work Group, which was formed at the direction of the 2001 legislature to develop recommendations for improving incentive programs in Oregon. The Work Group had broad involvement and support from state and federal agencies, agriculture and timber interests, and conservation interests.

Updated 8-30-05