10-05-2025
OSU buys over 3,000 acres of research forest northwest of Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Oregon State University, in partnership with the Trust For Public Land (TPL), has officially acquired 3,110 acres for a new research forest just north of Portland for conservation and recreation purposes.
According to TPL, the forest area is found within the proximity of Forest Park in the Tualatin Mountains, contains 40 miles of protected trails, as well as over 20 miles of creeks.
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The land – which TPL and OSU refer to as the Tualatin Mountain Forest – will be managed by the College of Forestry at OSU and serve as 'living outdoor classrooms' for students and 'living laboratories' for OSU, as well as other institutions to research forest resilience, habitat restoration, timber production and wildfire risk reduction.
Eventually, OSU intends to also open use of the Tualatin Mountain Forest to the public for outdoor recreation and explore partnerships with K-12 schools for nature-based education programs.
'The Tualatin Mountain Forest will offer incredible opportunities for educational programming, public access, and the co-identification of research and management priorities with Tribes, including the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, on whose ancestral lands the forest is located,' said Tom DeLuca, dean of the OSU's College of Forestry.
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He added, 'We're so thankful to our partners who helped establish the Tualatin Mountain Forest as an OSU Research Forest. This forest gives us the rare chance to research and demonstrate new and different approaches to active management, and to showcase how timber harvest, research and access to nature-based recreation and education can beautifully support our economies, urban communities and our understanding of forest ecosystems.'
Along with TPL and OSU, the partnership coalition also includes Metro, Oregon Department of Forestry and other local community organizations. But OSU is the primary owner of the acreage.
With the acquisition of the Tualatin Mountain Forest, the College of Forestry now manages 10 research forests across Oregon, totaling more than 18,000 acres.
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