Gilchrist State Forest

Originally owned by the Gilchrist family and their logging company, the land in what became the state forest was sold to Crown Pacific Partners in 1991.{{cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2010/02/oregon_buys_43000_acres_near_b.html|title=Oregon buys 43,000 acres near Bend for new state forest|last=Learn|first=Scott|date=February 10, 2010|work=The Oregonian|access-date=5 June 2010}} Crown Pacific Partners struggled financially under a large debt load and filed for bankruptcy in June 2003. Creditors took over their remaining assets in December 2004 and created Cascade Timberlands, LLC.{{cite news|url=http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=27661|title=Creditors bid adieu to Crown Pacific|first=Kristina |last=Brenneman|date=December 24, 2004|work=The Portland Tribune|access-date=5 June 2010}} Fidelity National Timber Resources purchased the forests that became the state forest from Cascade Timberlands in 2006, with Fidelity being a subsidiary of Fidelity National Financial.{{cite news|url=http://www.newwest.net/index.php/city/article/bend_oregon_rallies_around_community_forest/C509/L99/ |title=Bend Leaders Rally Around Community Forest |last=Friedrichs |first=Joseph |date=January 7, 2007 |work=New West Missoula |publisher=New West Publishing LLC |access-date=5 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606203724/http://www.newwest.net/index.php/city/article/bend_oregon_rallies_around_community_forest/C509/L99/ |archive-date=6 June 2011 }}{{cite journal|last=Struckman|first=Robert|date=May 14, 2008|title=Montana’s Cash Cowboy|journal=The New West Magazine|publisher=New West Publishing LLC|location=Missoula, Montana|url=http://www.newwest.net/magazine/article/montanas_cash_cowboy/C555/L555/}}{{cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-127/1275431841219940.xml&storylist=orlocal|title=Ore. creating first new state forest since 1948|last=Barnard|first=Jeff|agency=The Associated Press|date=June 1, 2010|work=The Oregonian|publisher=OregonLive.com|access-date=5 June 2010}}

The Oregon Board of Forestry approved the purchase of {{convert|43000|acre}} of the Fidelity lands in Central Oregon in February 2010. The $15 million deal was for land with young pine trees, and was designed in part to prevent future development of the area.{{cite web|url=http://egov.oregon.gov/ODF/STATE_FORESTS/gilchristacquisition.shtml |title=State Forest Acquisition - Gilchrist Tract |publisher=Oregon Department of Forestry |access-date=5 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527105028/http://egov.oregon.gov/ODF/STATE_FORESTS/gilchristacquisition.shtml |archive-date=27 May 2010 }} Fidelity's CEO at the time was developer Bill Foley, whose holdings included Whitefish Mountain Resort in Montana. Oregon Lottery funds were to be used to secure bonds for the purchase of the land. The deal was finalized in March 2010, and the state of Oregon took title to the lands that month.

Additionally, the non-profit group The Conservation Fund was to buy {{convert|25000|acre}} of adjacent land to prevent its development and eventually sell to the state once state funds became available. Both the state owned lands and the non-profit owned lands were to be managed by the state as the {{convert|70000|acre|adj=on}} Gilchrist State Forest. The timber on the lands will not be large enough to harvest for several decades, as the land was logged in the early 1990s. Once logging resumes, the majority of the revenues will go to Klamath County. A dedication ceremony to officially open the new state forest took place on June 11, 2010.

Gilchrist State Forest is about {{convert|45|mi|km}} south of the city of Bend along U.S. Route 97. It consists mainly of young lodgepole and ponderosa pine trees.{{cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/06/oregon_to_dedicate_its_first_f.html|title=Oregon to dedicate its first forest in more than 60 years|last=Mortenson|first=Eric|date=June 10, 2010|work=The Oregonian|access-date=11 June 2010}} Once mature, an estimated 13 million board feet of timber should be logged each year. Gilchrist is the first Oregon state forest dedicated since 1948 when Sun Pass State Forest opened.{{cite news|title=Oregon creating its first new state forest since 1948|url=http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/cityregion/24858244-46/forest-state-timber-gilchrist-oregon.csp|publisher=The Register-Guard|date=June 2, 2010}}

• List of Oregon state forests

{{reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070808011853/http://www.oregon.gov/ODF/STATE_FORESTS/state_forests.shtml Oregon Department of Forestry: State Forests]
• [http://egov.oregon.gov/ODF/stateforests/docs/gilchristacquisition/GilchristMapNovember2009.pdf Map]

{{Protected Areas of Oregon}}

{{coord|43.45080|-121.7035|type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-OR|display=title}}

Category:Oregon state forests

Category:Protected areas established in 2010

Category:Protected areas of Klamath County, Oregon

Category:2010 establishments in Oregon