On April 14, the United States Forest Service (USFS) announced the release of $228 million for the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) payments, with $45.6 million coming to Oregon counties. A few days after, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced $25.6 million in payments to Oregon counties under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act. This means over $70 million will be coming to Oregon to help local governments remain operational.
Counties rely on SRS payments to provide numerous critical services for their communities such as infrastructure, education, conservation projects, search and rescue missions, and wildfire prevention programs. For USFS SRS payment details by county, click here – Oregon is on page 55.
“I want to give a huge thank you to Senators Wyden and Merkley for their continued efforts and sponsorship of the Secure Rural Schools Program,” said Gina Nikkel, AOC executive director. “$70 million coming to Oregon counties to help administer programs and provide essential services to our citizens is greatly appreciated. We cannot say thank you enough for all their continued efforts and the strong partnership we have.”
In the years following the establishment of the USFS in 1905, the national forest system tripled in size across the nation. To compensate counties for potential losses of tax revenues, Congress approved the Act of May 23, 1908. This Act allowed the USFS to distribute a portion of revenues from timber sales, mineral leases, recreation, grazing, and more to the counties containing the national forests and grasslands. In 2000, Congress passed the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act to help stabilize fiscal support for rural county services. In 2021, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law reauthorized SRS payments through Fiscal Year 2023.
Public land counties rely on programs like SRS and Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) to help maintain their budgets while bearing the responsibility of non taxable federal lands. While these payments represent a fraction of what counties would collect from property taxes and timber receipts, they are critical for local governments to meet their governing missions. The last time authorization for SRS lapsed in Fiscal Year 2016, counties saw an 80 percent decrease in federal forest payments.
Contributed by: Branden Pursinger | Legislative Affairs Manager