Farm & Forestland

1000 Friends of Oregon is often known for our efforts to protect Oregon's farm, forest, and range lands from urban sprawl. We rely heavily on Statewide Planning Goal 3 (Agricultural Lands) and Goal 4 (Forest Lands), which provide support for maintaining these resource lands. Our work in protecting farmland includes legislative work, litigation, public education, and working with local farming advocates on local decisions.

We care about maintaining farm and forestland for many reasons: the resource economies contribute significantly to Oregon's statewide and local economies, the industries provide jobs, maintaining our resources lands contributes to our quality of life, and keeping rural lands rural serves as part of a larger land use strategy leading to livable communities and efficient use of public resources.

Yet Oregon's farm, forest, and range land continues to be threatened by low-density residential sprawl, conversion to urban uses, land divisions making resource use impracticable, use of land for golf courses, airports, aggregate mines and other non-resource uses, and efforts to weaken protection for most of Oregon's farmland.