The Oregon land board voted Tuesday to stop the sale of the Elliot State Forest, keeping the 82,500-acre parcel of public land in state control. The forest almost sold to Lone Rock Timber Management and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians for $221 million.
Oregon is legally bound to use revenue from state-held land to fund education through a public trust. If a piece of trust land cannot generate revenue, the state is often forced to liquidate the property—which was the case with the Elliot…
