Federal support for schools, roads and county services in Oregon’s forest communities faces another funding gap after Secure Rural Schools payment authorization expired September 30, prompting a bipartisan Senate proposal to extend the program through fiscal year 2029.
Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined Idaho Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch on October 1 in introducing legislation covering three additional fiscal years. A separate proposal would revise provisions governing payments associated with Bureau of Land Management lands in western Oregon, where federal forest revenue supports county operations.
Both measures await congressional approval. New payment schedules and county allocations remain undetermined pending enactment and federal administration.
The proposals carry particular financial significance for Southern Oregon, where national forests and BLM lands occupy substantial territory. Josephine, Jackson, Douglas, Curry and Coos counties have longstanding ties to federal forest payments, which help finance services in communities where federally owned acreage generally contributes no local property taxes.
Congress established Secure Rural Schools in 2000 after declining federal timber receipts reduced revenue available to forest counties. The program provided a more predictable alternative to payments tied directly to timber activity, helping local governments maintain services despite fluctuations in federal forest income.
Beyond education, the program finances roads, eligible forest restoration projects and specified county activities connected to federal lands, including search and rescue and wildfire protection. Federal spending requirements govern those uses according to the payment category and the lands associated with the funding.
Oregon receives support through two principal federal funding streams. Most payments associated with Forest Service lands are directed toward roads and schools. Payments connected to qualifying BLM lands can support general county purposes, giving them a broader role in financing local government.
In Southern Oregon, those revenues enter budgets supporting school districts, road departments and county operations, each subject to separate funding requirements. Continued payments would provide revenue for expenditures governed by local allocations, federal restrictions and county budget decisions.
The most recent Oregon allocations totaled nearly $48.7 million in Forest Service funding for fiscal year 2025, identified by the state’s senators in April 2026. That amount followed nearly $49 million in retroactive support for fiscal year 2024.
Combined, the allocations represented approximately $97.7 million across two fiscal years. Separately administered BLM payments were excluded from those Forest Service totals.
The previous reauthorization became law December 18, 2025, restoring authority for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 and extending payments through fiscal year 2026. The October proposal would carry that authority through fiscal years 2027, 2028 and 2029.
The bill also would extend deadlines for certain projects and county expenditures. Some project authority would continue through 2031, with related termination deadlines reaching 2032, allowing additional time to complete work supported by program funds.
The accompanying Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Clarification Act addresses payments affecting western Oregon. The measure seeks to restore the full 75-percent payment to counties from the Oregon and California land-grant fund by revising references to BLM revenue-based payments and related statutory provisions.
The proposed percentage applies to the revenue-sharing framework rather than a county’s total Secure Rural Schools allocation. Any resulting county payment would be calculated under the applicable statutory provisions.
Forest Service calculations incorporate historical revenue-sharing receipts, eligible federal acreage and county income. Future awards for Josephine, Jackson and other Oregon counties have not been established under the proposed extension.
State officials representing southwestern Oregon supported the previous reauthorization while identifying financial pressures that remained unresolved. Following congressional passage in December 2025, state Sen. David Brock Smith and Reps. Court Boice and Virgle Osborne cited the measure’s benefits for rural counties.
Brock Smith described the funding as budget relief but said it did not fully cover rising service costs or provide a permanent solution. The previous measure also extended the period for counties and resource advisory committees to initiate eligible projects.
The September 30 expiration ended payment authorization without itself ordering school closures, road maintenance reductions or county service cuts. Decisions affecting those services remain subject to available balances, other revenues, spending restrictions and local budget proceedings.
The pending extension would preserve an established source of support for Oregon’s forest counties through 2029, while the separate clarification measure would address western Oregon revenue sharing. Future payments remain contingent on congressional action and federal determinations, with their local use governed by county and school district budgets.