Corvallis Forest FAQ

The lands that make up the Corvallis Forest were purchased between 1906 and 1944 to provide a water source for the City of Corvallis and to help protect a portion of the Rock Creek Watershed, which supplies about 30% (750 million gallons) of the City’s yearly domestic water. Much of the land originated from early homesteads and timber holdings, which were sold or forfeited during the early 20th century. During the Great Depression, Benton County acquired more than 12,000 acres due to tax delinquency and subsequently donated all its holdings in the Rock Creek Watershed to the City.

The management approaches in the Corvallis Forest Stewardship Plan protect both land and water by keeping forests connected and intact—maintaining shaded streams, cold-water areas, and mature forest conditions that support clean water, steady flows, and strong aquatic habitat.

By focusing on connected terrestrial and aquatic habitats, the plan supports the movement of water, wood, and species across the landscape, which is essential for healthy streams, resilient ecosystems, and a reliable water supply.

A little over 300 acres—less than 15% of the Corvallis Forest property is above the City’s water intakes. However, this may change in the future if intakes are consolidated downstream as contemplated in the City’s master plan (see additional discussion below). 

The City’s Public Works Department manages the Corvallis Forest with assistance from the City’s contracted Forester, Trout Mountain Forestry. Trout Mountain Forestry has a staff of trained experts and maintains Forest Stewardship Council Certification (see below for more information on this certification). 

Yes. The City’s 2022 Water Distribution and Treatment Facilities Master Plan (Volume 1) did evaluate new, consolidated intake locations as part of its long-term water supply strategy.  The plan recommended further study of locating a consolidated intake further downstream on Rock Creek at the site of an old intake. If this location proves to be viable, the City would still operate two points of diversion for the Rock Creek Water Treatment Plant, one on Griffith Creek and one in the area where Middle Fork Rock Creek flows into Rock Creek. Such a change, even if viable, is not envisioned for the 10-year term of this plan update.

The Corvallis Forest Stewardship Plan also provides the broader FSC definition of old growth. Old growth is:

1. The oldest seral stage in which a plant community is capable of existing on a site, given the frequency of natural disturbance events, or
2. A very old example of a stand dominated by long-lived early- or mid-seral species. The onset of old growth varies by forest community and region. Depending on the frequency and intensity of disturbances, and site conditions, an old growth forest will have different structures, species compositions, age distributions, and functional capacities than younger forests.

Old growth varies by region depending on natural disturbances and growing conditions. Old growth forests are some of the most valuable parts of the Corvallis Forest. They support clean water, healthy wildlife habitats, consistent stream flows, and significant carbon storage. As a result, the Forest Stewardship Plan reserves old growth, protecting them from harvesting. See the “Reserve and Special Status Areas” section of the Corvallis Forest Stewardship Plan.

Harvests are scheduled when opportunities are identified that require harvesting to meet DFC’s; generally, harvests do not occur every year. During the last ten-year planning period (2013-2023), there were 5 harvests. A harvest summary from 2013-2023 is linked here. The most recent harvest on the Corvallis Forest occurred in 2022. There is no set harvest schedule or target in place in the Corvallis Forest Stewardship Plan.

Both involve reducing the number of trees per acre to reduce competition for resources the trees rely on, including water, sunshine, and growing space. In a commercial thinning, trees cut to thin the forest are removed using modern logging methods and sold to local mills as logs. In precommercial thinning, trees are cut before reaching merchantable size and quality, leaving them on the forest floor to decompose. Precommercial thinning typically occurs before trees reach 20 years old, while commercial thinning often occurs when the trees are 30 years or older.

The best way to learn about the work done in the Corvallis Forest over the past 10 years is through the City’s Forest Activities Reports, the City’s Corvallis Forest Website, and Corvallis Forest's current and past planning documents that summarize completed projects, monitoring results, and forest conditions.

To see recent examples of silvicultural practices used in the Corvallis Forest,  click here for the presentation Trout Mountain Forestry provided at the September 27, 2023, Corvallis Forest Stewardship Plan Task Force Update meeting. It provides information on forest types, a summary of harvesting activities, the harvest planning process, maps, and the outcomes of past harvests. 

The rationale and objectives for the Old Peak harvest are still valid under the updated Corvallis Forest Stewardship Plan. Therefore, this treatment will be reconsidered in the coming years. If the City chooses to move forward with the harvest, plans will be updated and developed.  The harvest planning process would be followed.

Details can be found in Forest Action Plans, Forest Operation Plans, and in meeting materials and discussions at the Corvallis Forest Operational Advisory Committee meetings.

No, the Corvallis Forest would not revert to entirely old growth if left alone. The structure and composition of the forest has been altered for centuries by human activities such as Indigenous burning and, more recently, clear-cutting in the early to mid-1900s. These activities reset the starting point for forest development and introduce conditions, such as closed-canopy single-species stands, that are not part of the normal successional pathway.  Also, much of the landscape was not historically old growth forest. Oak woodlands, meadows, and shrub-dominated areas were historically part of the Corvallis Forest due to varying site conditions and routine disturbances such as fire and windstorms. Forests are highly dynamic, and old growth is simply one stage in an ongoing continuum of structural and compositional development.

Forest Stewardship Council Certification (FSC) is an international, voluntary program that verifies forests and forest products are managed responsibly—environmentally, socially, and economically. It is one of the most stringent and widely recognized forest certification systems in the world.

The Corvallis Forest is FSC Certified under a Group Certificate held by Trout Mountain Forestry, LLC, and is subject to periodic site inspections by a third-party FSC auditor. This process helps demonstrate the City’s commitment to responsible forest management, consistent with current industry best practices. Creation of a forest stewardship plan is one requirement in the certification process.

There are several regulated portions of the Corvallis Forest where wildlife, plants, and/or wildlife habitat are afforded special protection. Operations near sensitive wildlife habitats are carefully planned. Identification of protected resources, determination of relevant rules, and application of protection measures occur as part of the planning process before implementing any forest management actions.

The Oregon Forest Practices Rules and Federal regulations apply to any threatened and endangered species present on the property. FSC standards also provide protection for these and other "special status" species.

For more details, please read sections on reserve and protected areas, listed and sensitive species, and other species of concern in the Corvallis Forest Stewardship Plan, and look at the inventories found on the City’s website.

Chemical use is limited and guided by the Forest Chemicals section of the proposed Corvallis Forest Stewardship Plan update. When used, chemical applications comply with State and federal regulations to protect people, wildlife, and water.

The City Council asked the seven-member Corvallis Forest Operational Advisory Committee to serve as a Task Force for evaluating and recommending updates to the Corvallis Forest Stewardship Plan. The Task Force has held 27 Task Force meetings and added a second public comment period to each meeting to enhance engagement opportunities. The proposed Vision and Guiding Principles are foundational to the updated plan and went through their own public review process, followed by review and preliminary approval by the City Council.

Additional input has been provided through discussions with agency partners, such as the watershed council, and through community engagement at annual forest tours.

Next steps include an open house April 6, 2026 and a 30-day public comment period (from April 6, 2026 to May 6, 2026). Each of these activities are being provided as a way for the Task Force to receive further community input before recommending the proposed Forest Stewardship Plan update to Council for their adoption.