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Secure Rural Schools & Community Self-Determination Act of 2000

Investment flows to enhance Lane County’s natural resources

Much of the 2,500 square miles of forestlands managed by the U.S. Forest Service and BLM in Lane County is benefiting from resources made available through “Secure Rural Schools…,” passed in 2000 with the advocacy of Oregon’s congressional delegation.

Specifically in Lane County, Title II of the Act has provided more than $13 million since 2001 for forestlands projects in the

• Siuslaw (www.fs.fed.us/r6/siuslaw/committees/rac/index.shtml),
• Hood/Willamette (www.fs.fed.us/r6/willamette/partnersites/payco/),
• Rogue-Umpqua (www.fs.fed.us/r6/umpqua/rac/rac_home1.html ) national forests and
• O&C forests (www.edo.or.blm.gov/planning/rac/index.htm).

The funding has supported projects that:

•  Enhance wildlife habitat
•  Improve outdoor recreation infrastructure
•  Promote healthy forests
•  Support watershed sustainability and
•  Improve transportation infrastructure

Title II projects have put dozens of people to work, creating economic activity and stability. Title II projects are reviewed, debated and authorized by a cross-section of local education, environmental, government, labor and business leaders known as a Resource Advisory Committee (RAC).

In addition to funding projects on federal lands,  “Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act” provides funding through 2006 for county schools, roads and public safety. The act recognizes that communities where federal lands are located need federal support to sustain basic local government services. Historically, that support has come either from sharing a portion of revenue from harvesting and selling timber on federal lands, or through safety net payments appropriated by Congress.

(See http://www.forestco.tcde.tehama.k12.ca.us/Resolutions.pdf)

Click here to see Sponsors and Co-Sponsors of the Reauthorization Act

For more information on the three main components of the Act, click here  

For a video on the Act, click here  

Report 2004: Impacts on Lane County