Oregon Forestry will soon run out of money

SALEM, Ore.  — Officials at the Oregon Department of Forestry say just seven months into the state’s two-year budget cycle they’ve spent most of the money lawmakers approved for the entire biennium and now need an emergency cash infusion.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that officials say they need between $52 million to $132 million — otherwise they’ll have exhausted their budget by March.

The request comes as lawmakers and the governor are looking to expand the agency even further. They’re sponsoring bills that would bolster the agency’s firefighting capabilities and forest restoration work — above and beyond the immediate budget requests.

In the near term, agency leaders are looking for a minimum of $52 million and as much as $132 million, money they say is needed to keep regular programs running; to pay a consultant hired to help them get their financial house in order; and to cover firefighting costs in the upcoming 2020 fire season.

The wide range of the request reflects the variability of the agency’s firefighting costs. The bare minimum is a forecast of $20 million for 2020, with a high end $92 million. Fire costs have exceeded that in the past, however, and have averaged $70 million annually since 2013.

“This is new ground for us,” spokeswoman Joy Krawczyk said. “We haven’t put in a request like this in the past, especially in a short session, so we haven’t really heard how that’s going to move.”