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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JULY 10, 2017
Timber company sues state over nixed sale of Elliott
Claims breach
of agreement
By CLAIRE
WITHYCOMBE
Capital Bureau
SALEM — A Roseburg
timber company is suing the
Department of State Lands
and the State Land Board for
about $3.3 million for backing
out of the sale of the Elliott
State Forest.
Lone Rock Resources,
which until May was posi-
tioned to buy an 82,500-acre
swath of the state forest near
the southwest Oregon Coast
for $220.8 million, claims that
when the state canceled its
plan to sell the forest, it “mate-
rially (breached) the agree-
ment and understandings of
the parties.”
The Elliott is a state trust
land, which means that the
state is required to generate
revenue from it for the Com-
Oregon Department of Forestry
A Roseburg timber company has filed suit alleging the state breached an agreement
with the company when it canceled its plan to sell the Elliott State Forest.
mon School Fund, an endow-
ment for K-12 education.
For years, logging on the
forest had provided that reve-
nue. But recently, due to more
stringent enforcement of envi-
ronmental regulations and
protections for endangered
species, the state struggled to
make money off the land.
So the land board — the
governor, secretary of state
and treasurer — sought to sell
it to a private or public entity
and embarked on a detailed
process to try to find a buyer.
Last fall, Lone Rock was
the sole company to propose
buying the forest for the price
the state set: $220.8 million.
The company alleges it
spent about $1.3 million to
comply with the protocol the
state had set up for selling the
forest, and seeks that amount
in damages, plus interest, as
well as lost opportunity dam-
ages of $2 million.
The company also argues
that it was reasonable to
assume that the state would
comply with its obligations to
make money from the Com-
mon School Fund land, which
are laid out in the state’s
constitution.
Since Lone Rock submit-
ted a plan for buying the for-
est last fall, political opposi-
tion to the sale mounted until
the State Land Board with-
drew from the sale process
altogether in May.
The Department of State
Lands, through a spokes-
woman, said that it does not
comment on current or possi-
ble litigation.
On Friday, the state Leg-
islature approved about $100
million in bonds to buy a part
of the forest and decouple
it from its Common School
Fund obligations, reflecting
the suggestion of Gov. Kate
Brown, the chairwoman of the
land board.
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
Thousands flee raging wildfires
burning in the US and Canada
Associated Press
OROVILLE, Calif. —
Wildfires barreled across the
baking landscape of the west-
ern U.S. and Canada, destroy-
ing a smattering of homes,
forcing thousands to flee and
temporarily trapping children
and counselors at a California
campground.
Here’s a look at the wild-
fires blackening the West.
Two major wildfires in Cal-
ifornia have sent nearly 8,000
people fleeing to safety.
About 4,000 people evac-
uated and another 7,400 were
told to prepare to leave their
homes as fire swept through
grassy foothills in the Sierra
Nevada, about 60 miles north
of Sacramento, the Cali-
fornia Department of For-
estry and Fire Protection said
Sunday.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
Firefighters battle a wildfire as it threatens to jump a street
near Oroville, Calif., on Saturday. Evening winds drove the fire
through several neighborhoods leveling homes in its path.
The fire burned nearly 8
square miles, destroyed at
least 10 structures and dam-
aged critical infrastruc-
ture, leading Governor Jerry
Brown to declare a state of
emergency to provide assis-
tance to local authorities.
Fire spokeswoman Mary
Ann Aldrich said additional
homes were destroyed over-
night. An inspection team is
trying to determine the extent
of the damage.
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