SRS and USFS Timber Harvest Payments Election Form Due in July
Counties have until July 12th, 2023 to submit allocation elections between SRS and USFS 1908 payments – and elections between SRS Title I, II, and III – to AOC.
Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 (County FY 2024) Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Program payments are projected to be greater than United States Forest Services (USFS) 1908 Act 25 percent timber harvest (USFS 1908) payments for all Oregon counties with USFS land.
Please send the “Oregon Election Form FY24” for your county to Branden Pursinger at AOC to ensure all forms are submitted to DAS by the deadline.
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AOC Analysis of SRS and USFS Timber Harvest Payment Options
Recent Policy Changes
USFS has reopened the SRS election between Title I, II, and III payments for Federal FY 2023. All Oregon counties must complete this election or their allocation will revert to the default of Title I 80 percent and Title III 20 percent. All Oregon counties elected to place more funding in Title I than the default in September 2022.
DAS is requesting that Oregon counties complete and email their election form by July 17th, 2023 to give staff time to complete the federal application process.
Election Deadlines Between SRS and USFS
Counties can elect to receive USFS 1908 timber payments instead of SRS payments every two years (2023 and every odd year thereafter). SRS payments have been reauthorized by Congress through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and set at 2017 funding levels for the next fiscal year. USFS timber harvest receipt payments are calculated as 25 percent of the gross grazing fees and timber sales receipts over the past 7 years’ rolling average. SRS Payments are consistently projected to be higher than USFS timber harvest receipt payments.
Election Deadlines Between SRS Titles I, II, and III
SRS funding is divided into three titles which are earmarked for specific purposes.
- Title I: Roads and schools
- Title II: Special projects on federal lands
- Title III: County wildfire protection projects, broadband access and emergency services
Counties can elect SRS allocations every year by submitting paperwork to the State Treasurer. The next deadline for SRS Allocation Elections has been moved to August 1, 2023 and every year when authorized by congress.
SRS has a default allocation between Titles I (80 percent) and II (20 percent) if elections are not made. Please note the majority of Oregon counties elect to allocate 85 percent of their SRS distribution to Title I, a decrease in this percentage would reduce annual road funding. For FY 20 21 allocations see ASR-18-01 (page 50). For FY 2022 allocations see Table 2.
Table 2 Oregon SRS Allocations
| County | Title I | Title II | Title III |
| Baker | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Benton | 85% | 15% | 0% |
| Clackamas | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Columbia | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Coos | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Crook | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Curry | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Deschutes | 83% | 10% | 7% |
| Douglas | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Grant | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Harney | 85% | 15% | 0% |
| Hood River | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Jackson | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Jefferson | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Josephine | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Klamath | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Lake | 85% | 12% | 3% |
| Lane | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Lincoln | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Linn | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Marion | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Morrow | 85% | 12% | 3% |
| Multnomah | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Polk | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Tillamook | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Union | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Wallowa | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Wasco | 85% | 13% | 2% |
| Washington | 85% | 15% | 0% |
| Wheeler | 85% | 8% | 7% |
| Yamhill | 85% | 15% | 0% |
USFS Timber Receipts Estimates
For the first time since Federal Fiscal Year 2016 (County Fiscal Year 2017), USFS 1908 Act 25 percent payment estimates were provided by the USFS for all Oregon counties. Allocations are based on the actual receipts in each national forest and in each county, not a statewide average. The USFS has stressed that their estimates may not perfectly reflect actual payments. Timber harvest receipts have been consistent since 2016 as demonstrated in Figure 1. A slight decrease in timber harvest sales was observed in FY 2021. USFS 1908 estimates are displayed in Table 3.
Please note that Oregon and California Railroad Revested Lands – also known as O&C lands will have a different payment process for counties, with different funding sources, requirements, and estimates.
Figure 1: Oregon Timber Sales 1970 – 2018
Please note that counties only receive USFS receipts if a county selects not to receive SRS payments. In most cases, this would represent the minimum budget option.
Secure Rural Schools Estimates
Congress has taken action to reauthorize the SRS program through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). SRS Payments are authorized for the next fiscal year and will not be subject to the typical 5 percent annual decrease. Instead, SRS payments will be increased to the amount from Federal FY 2017 for Federal FY 2023.
SRS Payments are divided between Title I, II, and III, with Title I providing funding for roads. Counties can elect allocations of SRS funding between Title I, II, and III.
Comparing SRS and USFS Timber Harvest Receipts
Table 3 displays the gross SRS payments including Title I, II, and III, the gross USFS 1908 payments, and the difference between USFS timber harvest receipts and SRS Payments. These figures differ from the County Road Revenue Forecasts estimates in two ways, (1) they represent the full payment to the county and ancillary bodies from SRS Title II, and (2) they represent the full payment to the county, not only the 75 percent allocated to the county road department.
This forecast represents a conservative baseline county funding model estimate and may contain a moderate margin of error. All figures are calculated before applying sequestration which should apply a 5 percent – 6 percent reduction.
Table 3: USFS Timber Harvest Receipts and SRS Payments Comparison
| County FY 24 | |||
| County | SRS Full Payment Amount | 25% 7 Year Rolling Average | Difference SRS – USFS |
| Baker | $931,900 | $136,300 | $795,600 |
| Benton | $131,600 | $21,200 | $110,400 |
| Clackamas | $1,182,100 | $477,200 | $704,900 |
| Clatsop | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Columbia | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Coos | $227,400 | $61,300 | $166,100 |
| Crook | $1,326,700 | $59,700 | $1,267,000 |
| Curry | $1,802,500 | $623,400 | $1,179,100 |
| Deschutes | $1,148,700 | $569,000 | $579,700 |
| Douglas | $6,914,300 | $1,050,800 | $5,863,500 |
| Gilliam | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Grant | $3,979,300 | $242,800 | $3,736,500 |
| Harney | $1,637,800 | $67,000 | $1,570,800 |
| Hood River | $584,800 | $205,200 | $379,600 |
| Jackson | $1,626,100 | $503,100 | $1,123,000 |
| Jefferson | $497,600 | $97,700 | $399,900 |
| Josephine | $943,300 | $274,900 | $668,400 |
| Klamath | $6,669,700 | $407,500 | $6,262,200 |
| Lake | $2,689,500 | $279,700 | $2,409,800 |
| Lane | $8,751,100 | $1,894,000 | $6,857,100 |
| Lincoln | $1,465,500 | $228,100 | $1,237,400 |
| Linn | $3,189,900 | $692,700 | $2,497,200 |
| Malheur | $9,300 | $800 | $8,500 |
| Marion | $1,170,500 | $271,000 | $899,500 |
| Morrow | $204,000 | $36,400 | $167,600 |
| Multnomah | $181,800 | $77,300 | $104,500 |
| Polk | $3,900 | $400 | $3,500 |
| Sherman | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Tillamook | $805,900 | $116,300 | $689,600 |
| Umatilla | $641,300 | $100,900 | $540,400 |
| Union | $772,000 | $136,400 | $635,600 |
| Wallowa | $1,145,900 | $83,500 | $1,062,400 |
| Wasco | $879,200 | $176,900 | $702,300 |
| Washington | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Wheeler | $640,600 | $27,700 | $612,900 |
| Yamhill | $192,100 | $32,700 | $159,400 |
| Total | $52,346,300 | $8,951,900 | $43,394,400 |
Please reach out to Jordan Cole for more information, or with any questions or concerns.
Information and References
USFS Secure Rural Schools Program website
Act of May 23 (1908) (16 U.S.C. 500).
Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act (SRS) (2000) (16 U.S.C. 500).
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (2021) (23 U.S.C 101).
R. 6435 (2022) – SRS Legislative Fix
Contributed by: Jordan Cole, AOC policy analyst