Introduction
Forests cover almost 30 million acres in Oregon, nearly half of the state. Our forests are a vital natural resource that supplies the raw material for Oregon mills to make a variety of consumer products ranging from lumber and plywood to mass timber. Forests support many local, family-owned businesses across the state, powering an entire sector of Oregon’s economy.
The 2026 Forest Report synthesizes and interprets the most recent data and research related to forest resources in Oregon, including the forest sector’s economic contributions to the state. The report reveals that the sector not only remains a source of jobs for tens of thousands of Oregonians, accounting for about 4% of state employment, but also makes up 4% of Oregon’s gross domestic product.
As an update to a similar study published in 2019, The 2026 Forest Report acknowledges that much has changed in Oregon and the world since then, examining how events such as the global COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 Labor Day Fires have impacted Oregon’s forest sector. The sector also continues to be affected by growing threats to forests and timber supply, including wildfires, insect outbreaks and tree diseases.
Despite these challenges, forestry has remained a critical part of Oregon’s economy for more than a century. Consumer demand remains high for the softwood lumber and other renewable wood products that are made right here in Oregon, including innovative mass timber products that make it possible to build bigger and taller structures with wood.
And growing recognition of the environmental and climate benefits of building with wood sourced from sustainably managed forests also gives Oregon a clear advantage.
Harvest levels by ownership
Timber harvest levels on federal lands in Oregon dropped sharply in the late 1980s and early 1990s, mainly due to changes in federal forest management emphasis following the listing of the northern spotted owl as a threatened species. Since then, timber harvest levels from public and private lands have remained relatively stable, with less than a third of Oregon’s timber harvest happening on federal land. Most of the total state harvest now comes from private timberlands.
Fire remains a threat
Oregon’s fire seasons and forest health conditions have undergone profound changes over the past several decades, shaped by changing climate conditions, accumulated fuels and evolving land management practices.
The total number of acres burned by wildfires in Oregon has increased dramatically in recent years. In 2020, for instance, more than 1 million acres burned in a single season. Oregon has seen a growing number of “megafires” (wildfires greater than 100,000 acres) which, combined with the effects of tree disease outbreaks and wood-boring and defoliating insect infestations, have had major impacts on Oregon’s timber supply and forest-reliant businesses.
Economic impacts of historic 2020 Labor Day Fires
A collection of destructive fires, known as the Labor Day Fires, burned over 1 million acres in a matter of days over Labor Day weekend in 2020. They resulted in nine fatalities, over 50,000 people evacuated, more than 6,000 homes, businesses and structures destroyed, and several communities burned. Total suppression costs were at least $354 million.
The 2020 Labor Day Fires economic impact report, commissioned by the Oregon Forest Resources Institute and produced by forest economists from Mason, Bruce & Girard and Forest Economic Advisors, notes that some 425,000 acres of private forestland were burned. Altogether, the report estimates a total economic impact of $5.9 billion from the extreme event: