The Oregon State University College of Forestry has finalized a new management plan for the OSU-owned McDonald-Dunn Research Forest in the Coast Range foothills northwest of Corvallis.
Last revised in 2005, the updated plan provides an adaptive framework for sustainable management in a changing climate and sets the stage for the next century of stewardship, said Holly Ober, the college’s associate dean for science outreach and the leader of the planning process.
The plan goes into effect in January, which also marks the 100th anniversary of OSU’s acquisition of the first parcel of the McDonald Forest. Through a series of additional donations and acquisitions since then, the combined McDonald-Dunn Research Forest now spans 11,500 acres. It is the largest of the university’s statewide network of research and demonstration forests.
“Since the first parcel was acquired as a mostly cutover expanse of land in 1926, the McDonald-Dunn Forest has been intentionally shaped by a century of active management, which in turn has informed how we think about sustainable forestry today,” Ober said. “If history has taught us anything, it’s that change is constant – and this plan’s adaptable design helps ensure that, even as conditions shift, the forest can continue advancing its mission.”
The 2025 McDonald-Dunn Forest Plan is the culmination of a three-year process that included collaboration among scientists and educators, community members, Tribal representatives and several organizational partners including the Oregon departments of Forestry and Fish and Wildlife, the Benton County parks department and the nonprofit Greenbelt Land Trust.
The College of Forestry also offered multiple community listening and public input sessions and, following the June release of a draft of the plan, received 130 comments during a 30-day public comment period, representing a diversity of perspectives.
The college incorporated the feedback into additional modeling, using adjusted parameters to confirm the optimal harvest age for stands managed under the even-aged, short-rotation strategy and to validate other underlying assumptions in the draft plan. It also revised the plan to clarify the need for continued active management, refine technical elements, and establish a new advisory group to assess future revenue opportunities.
“The McDonald-Dunn has provided so much to so many over its long history, and we’re grateful to those who shared their time, expertise and perspectives throughout this process,” Ober said. “Their input helped us shape a plan that balances the forest’s many values and maintains the flexibility needed to steward it for long-term resilience and ensure it fulfills its mission of creating opportunities for education, research and outreach; demonstrating how sustainable forestry fosters prosperity, biodiversity and resilience; and supporting the social and cultural values forests provide to communities in Oregon and beyond.”
By design, OSU’s research forests are financially self-supporting, demonstrating that multiple forest values can coexist through sustainable management. Under the new plan, the McDonald-Dunn Research Forest will continue to serve as an actively managed living laboratory funded by timber harvest revenue, with key management changes including:
- Reducing the average annual timber harvest from 6 million board feet under the 2005 plan to about 4.3 million board feet.
- More than tripling the acreage stewarded toward older forest conditions, from about 350 acres to more than 1,100.
- Devoting portions of the forest to experimental restoration in partnership with Tribal nations that will explore a variety of approaches for restoring specific ecosystems of concern.
- Increasing the acres managed under the even-aged, long-rotation strategy to support learning opportunities about forest management across longer time spans while providing important wildlife habitat.
- Managing additional acreage toward structurally and compositionally complex conditions, enabling research on multispecies, multi-aged stands and supporting climate resilience.
- Improving governance through clearer monitoring and reporting expectations.
- Adjusting land allocations among the five management strategies and expanding guidance for late-successional forests, riparian areas and ecosystems of concern.
- Strengthening the focus on climate resilience, including wildfire preparedness, drought-resilient reforestation, and restoration of oak woodlands and meadows.
The acreage of forest managed according to even-aged short rotations will decrease but not disappear, Ober said. This management approach allows for experimentation with new species or new genetic sources for existing species on a short time scale in response to changing climatic conditions, she said. It also allows for scientific comparisons between conventional short-rotation forestry and alternative practices.
Among the current research priorities for the forest are evaluating carbon tradeoffs and long-term carbon storage potential; comparing wood production and environmental outcomes across harvest and retention systems; minimizing climate-driven impacts through fuels reduction and woodland and meadow restoration; and exploring ecocultural stewardship partnerships with Tribes.
Recreational access to the forest will remain in place for the more than 200,000 hikers, birdwatchers, horseback riders, cyclists and hunters who visit the forest each year. As part of the new plan’s implementation, the College of Forestry will work with its Forest Recreation Advisory Committee beginning in the new year to evaluate if existing recreation policies require updates, a process that will include a series of surveys and focus groups to gather input from recreational users.
“Forestry is one of the only large-scale land management strategies compatible with recreation, and we welcome the community to the forest to experience what a sustainably managed forest landscape that supports both conservation and wood production can look like,” Ober said. “Our work with the advisory committee will help ensure that recreational access stays equitable and aligned with research forest goals.”
The College of Forestry will host a series of activities throughout 2026 to celebrate the centennial of the forest, starting with the 2026 Starker Lecture Series in January. People interested in learning about the history of the forest and its changing conditions over time are invited to join Bill Robbins, OSU distinguished professor emeritus of history, for the first Starker Lecture on Jan. 21. Learn more at the lecture series webpage.