Why They’re Suing

Linn Co., on behalf of Lane and 13 other counties, has informed Gov. Kate Brown of its intention to file a class action lawsuit against the State for more than $1.4 Billion of revenue lost due to the State’s mismanagement of Forest Trust Lands. Here’s why:

• During the 1930s and ‘40s Oregon counties acquired more than 654,000 acres of tax foreclosed forest lands;
• These lands were subsequently conveyed to the State as “Forest Trust Lands”;
• The State agreed to manage the Lands so as to maximize revenue, which, after deducting a management fee, would be passed to the counties which had previously held them;
• In 1998 the Oregon Board of Forestry unilaterally decided that the Lands did not have to be managed to maximize revenue but would instead be managed for their “greatest permanent value,” as defined solely by the State;
• In 2005 the Tillamook Co. Circuit Court declared that the State had a contractual obligation to ensure that “…the lands would be used to produce revenue”;
• The State’s appeal of this case was dismissed.

Linn County is now suing to recover forgone revenues resulting from the State’s decision not to manage the Lands to maximize revenue. If successful, Lane Co. could receive as much as $59 Million in damages and the assurance of a continued revenue stream which could be used for public safety, schools and other basic services.

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