Contact: Greg Wagenblast, greg.wagenblast@oregon.gov, 541-525-6462

Due to inclement weather, the public hearings and open houses on proposed rule changes to stream buffers at the Dallas City Hall at noon today and at the Oregon Department of Forestry in Salem at 4 p.m. today are canceled.

The public participated in hearings and open houses on the proposed rules throughout the state since Nov. 1.  The proposed rules would increase stream buffers and standards for trees left after harvest by 10 feet and approximately double standards for trees left after harvest to protect salmon, steelhead and bull trout in western Oregon.  The proposed rulemaking would affect streams that are west of the crest of the Cascades but not in the Siskiyou region, are classified as small or medium fish-bearing streams, and are determined to have salmon, steelhead or bull trout present.  For all other streams, the current rules will continue to apply.

Submit written or online comments through March 1, 2017 at RiparianRule@oregon.gov or by mail to Oregon Department of Forestry, 2600 State St., Salem, Oregon 97310, Attn: Stream Rules. After the Board of Forestry receives all public comments, it will consider final proposed rules in April 2017.

Find more information about riparian rulemaking on the Oregon Department of Forestry’s public website www.oregon.gov/ODF  at Streamside (Riparian) Buffer Rules.