Gov. Brown traveled to Elliott State Forest to celebrate $100 million bonding plan
Gov. Kate Brown traveled Friday to Douglas County to mark a symbolic end to the contentious debate over the Elliott State Forest, even as a timber company that had hoped to buy the forest vows to fight the state in court.
Brown, joined by Treasurer Tobias Read, a fellow Democrat, made the trip to celebrate the state's decision to keep the forest in public lands. It did so by using $100 million in state debt to buy a portion of the forest that straddles parts of Douglas and Coos counties.
"Oregonians overwhelmingly made it clear that the Elliott's lands should remain in public hands," Brown said in a statement. "Now more than ever, it's imperative that we not scale back any of Oregon's public lands or national monuments."
The Elliott is constitutionally required to make money for the Common School Fund, an account that distributes millions to K-12 education across the state. The fund, currently valued at $1.5 billion, delivered about $136.6 million to schools in the 2015-17 biennium.
Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2017/08/gov_brown_traveled_to_elliott.html
