629-678-0000
Purpose and Goals

(1) The purpose of the compliance monitoring program is to monitor forest practice rules implementation and analyze compliance rates.

(2) The compliance monitoring program shall assess the Forest Practices Act and rule compliance and report findings to the Board of Forestry, legislature, and federal services under the terms of an approved habitat conservation plan.

(3) The compliance monitoring program is intended to provide information that will allow for improvement in compliance of the forest practice rules through training, guidance, clarification, and targeted enforcement and to increase the public’s trust in the implementation of the Forest Practice Act and rules.

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 527.710 & Section 2(1), Chapter 33, Oregon Laws 2022
Statutes/Other Implemented: Section 2(2), Chapter 33, Oregon Laws 2022
History:
DOF 10-2024, minor correction filed 01/04/2024, effective 01/04/2024
DOF 7-2022, adopt filed 11/21/2022, effective 01/01/2024

629-678-0100
Administration

(1) The Department of Forestry shall administer the compliance monitoring program.

(2) Compliance monitoring may be conducted by the department, through department contractors, or both. 

(3) The department shall determine the status of the completion of forest activities that the State Forester received notification by the following measures:

(a) Landowners shall inform the State Forester of the completion of notified forest activities, as described in OAR 629-605-0150(10); and

(b) The State Forester is authorized under section 44, chapter 33, Oregon Laws 2022 to use the photogrammetric mapping for compliance monitoring.

(4) The compliance monitoring program shall be supported by a stakeholder group consisting of representatives with expertise in the rules being monitored, including but not limited to the department, landowners, operators, tribes, and public representatives.

(5) The board may direct the department to conduct compliance monitoring analysis for specific rules for multiple operations, multiple rules implemented at the operation unit level, or both, as appropriate to determine levels of compliance.

(6) The department shall develop study designs, including sample selection and evaluation criteria to ensure a high level of confidence in the statistical modeling findings, by doing the following:

(a) Hire or consult an external, qualified statistician to aid in developing sample selection and evaluation criteria to ensure a high level of confidence in reported results;

(b) Be informed by past board and third-party compliance monitoring program assessments and by similar reviews of other compliance monitoring programs in nearby states;

(c) Explicitly define all sampling elements; and

(d) Analyze rates of compliance at the appropriate temporal and spatial scale to reduce autocorrelation, variance, and statistical bias.

(7) Forest landowners shall accommodate the State Forester by allowing access to the operation site, for activities that they have informed the State Forester of completion, as described in OAR 629-605-0150(10).

(8) Notice shall be given to forest landowners before on-site compliance monitoring to provide the landowner an opportunity to be present with the State Forester.

(9) The State Forester may petition the circuit court with jurisdiction over the forestland for a warrant authorizing the State Forester property access to conduct compliance monitoring.

(10) When identified from the compliance monitoring, the department shall examine areas of noncompliance to determine the need for new training, guidance, rule clarification, or other action.

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 527.710 & Section 2(1), Chapter 33, Oregon Laws 2022
Statutes/Other Implemented: Section 2(2), Chapter 33, Oregon Laws 2022 & Section 44, Chapter 33, Oregon Laws 2022
History:
DOF 7-2022, adopt filed 11/21/2022, effective 01/01/2024

629-678-0110
Rule Group Priorities for Compliance

(1) The compliance monitoring program shall prioritize rules related to biological and aquatic resources, including the following: 

(a) Division 625 Forest Road Construction and Maintenance rules.

(b) Division 630 Harvesting rules for steep slopes.

(c) Division 643 Water Protection Rules: Vegetation Along Streams rules.

(2) The compliance monitoring program may monitor other rules as directed by the Board of Forestry.

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 527.710 & Section 2(1), Chapter 33, Oregon Laws 2022
Statutes/Other Implemented: Section 2(2), Chapter 33, Oregon Laws 2022
History:
DOF 7-2022, adopt filed 11/21/2022, effective 01/01/2024

629-678-0200
Reports

The compliance monitoring program shall develop the following information and monitoring reports:

(1) Information to support any required reporting to the federal services in support of a habitat conservation plan;

(2) Information to support an annual report to the public on the overall habitat conservation plan performance;

(3) A report to the Board of Forestry every two years that summarizes the results of completed compliance audits and provides a progress report of ongoing compliance monitoring efforts as described in OAR 629-678-0100(6)(a) through (d);

(4) An aggregate cumulative report every eight years that includes compliance trends since the beginning of the compliance monitoring program; and

(5) Other reports as directed by the board.

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 527.710 & Section 2(1), Chapter 33, Oregon Laws 2022
Statutes/Other Implemented: Section 2(2), Chapter 33, Oregon Laws 2022
History:
DOF 7-2022, adopt filed 11/21/2022, effective 01/01/2024