Sponsor
Cliff Bentz
Representative · R-OR
Representative · R-OR
The bill trades clearer statutory direction, faster agency action, and more predictable timber opportunities for rural communities in exchange for heightened environmental risks, reduced public input and tribal protections, and legal and administrative costs.
Rural communities and timber-dependent businesses will get clearer, more predictable forest-management direction and timber supply (supporting local timber jobs and economic activity).
Federal land managers and local governments gain clearer statutory objectives and a more specific standard for classifying and managing O&C/Coos Bay lands, reducing legal ambiguity in planning and harvest decisions.
Removing or truncating older/conflicting statutory language and updating plans could enable faster administrative action and timelier updates to resource management plans.
Residents and ecosystems near O&C/Coos Bay lands face increased environmental risks (greater timber harvest pressure, habitat loss, watershed impacts, and higher short-term wildfire/ecological risks) if the statute shifts emphasis toward production.
Community stakeholders — including conservation groups and local governments — may have reduced opportunity for public input and rushed plan revisions because of aggressive deadlines for updated decisions.
Changing statutory purposes and deleting older language creates legal uncertainty that could trigger litigation and regulatory disputes, imposing costs on taxpayers, agencies, and affected businesses.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Replaces O&C Act purpose with “sustained yield,” defines “timberlands” by volume, and requires Interior to revise all O&C-area resource plans and designate timberlands within 2 years.
Official title: To amend the Act of August 28, 1937 (commonly referred to as the "O&C Act") with respect to timber production.
Introduced February 20, 2026 by Cliff Bentz · Last progress February 20, 2026
Amends the 1937 Oregon & California (O&C) Act to change the statute's governing language to refer to “sustained yield,” defines “timberlands” by a minimum timber volume per 40-acre unit, and directs the Interior Secretary to revise every resource management plan covering O&C lands and to designate timberlands consistent with the new definitions within two years of enactment. The changes remove existing statutory text and narrow or redirect the Act’s operative purpose, which will require the Bureau of Land Management and other agencies to update planning documents and timberland designations.