Thousands of Acres of Forests for You to Explore

To enter Starker Forests land you need an annual Entry and Land Use Permit. The majority of our permits are free and are issued for hiking, mountain biking, hunting and horseback riding. We also offer permits for fishing, firewood cutting, bird watching, moss picking, digging plants for home landscaping, Boy or Girl Scout camping, berry picking, Christmas tree hunting, and wildlife and plant research. Permits are not issued for mushroom picking.

Permits can be obtained at our office, 7240 SW Philomath Blvd. during the hours of 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

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Permits to hunt or fish on Starker Forests property are required. Contact our office to obtain a permit. Fire danger levels can affect the level of access we will grant. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife regulates hunting and fishing in Oregon. You are responsible for following Oregon’s hunting and fishing regulations. The regulations can also be obtained at local sporting goods retailers.

You can hike or bike on many of our tree farms with a free permit from our office. There are no designated hiking or biking trails, with the exception of Alder Creek Tree Farm, which has some single track trails. No eBikes allowed. Our forestlands extend from the Lebanon area, west to Newport, north into Polk County, and south to the Junction City area. We can recommend places for you to go and give you maps when you get your permit. Not all of our ownership is available for access.

No ATVs or motorcycles are permitted, unless riding as a member of the Flat Mountain Riders in specific locations and at specific times. Contact the Flat Mountain Riders at 541-929-4881 and leave a message for motorcycle riding in the Flat Mountain vicinity. No eBikes allowed.

Yes, we grow more than we harvest. Our more than 90,000 acres of forestlands are managed with the vision that the land will grow forests forever. Our forests include a wide variety of tree species at different ages. However, we do not manage our timberlands to become old growth. It is our objective to harvest what we grow, with the exception of mandatory timbered buffers on waterways and some steep slopes.

• Wood is strong, lightweight and easy to use for construction.
• Harvested trees made into wood products continue to store the carbon they captured as growing trees.
• Wood is renewable and reusable. It can be reused, recycled, or allowed to decay back to its original elements.
• Wood requires less energy than other raw or synthetic materials to process for a variety of beneficial uses.
• Wood has insulating qualities that are superior to most other building materials.
• Research shows that incorporating wood into our buildings can reduce stress and contribute to good mental health.

Starker Forests is home to a wide variety of wildlife species; from common animals like deer and elk to less common species such as pileated woodpeckers and red tree voles. By managing a variety of forest types, from clearcuts to mature timber, we provide many habitats suitable for an array of species. Starker Forests works to protect sensitive habitat areas and, where possible, we take steps to enhance them for the species that are present.

Here’s a Guide of Wildlife of Oregon’s forests.

Since the mid-1990s, Starker Forests has voluntarily participated in the Oregon Plan, which was designed to enhance and restore Oregon’s native fish populations and improve wildlife habitat and water quality. As members of our trade association, Oregon Forest Industries Council, Starker Forests has voluntarily committed to comprehensive improvements for fish passage.

Starker Forests has replaced over 100 stream crossing culverts to allow for adult and juvenile fish passage and 50 year flood flows. Starker Forests has spent over $1,000,000 voluntarily for fish passage and habitat improvement projects. New culverts installed in fish bearing streams simulate natural streambed conditions by allowing gravels to collect in the bottom of the culvert. This allows even the smallest of fish to swim through the culvert.

The Oregon Department of Forestry has administered the comprehensive Oregon Forest Practices Act since 1971, and added significant rule changes in 2022. The OFPA devotes a large portion of its rules to protecting water quality along rivers and streams. Starker Forests continually meets or exceeds the standards of the OFPA.
While erosion is a natural and normal event, rules of the OFPA aim to minimize runoff from forest roads. Roads are engineered and built to avoid sediment entering streams. Advancements in logging systems and road construction and maintenance have greatly helped minimize erosion to keep water in our watersheds clean.

More resources on water quality from OregonForests.org:

• Water and Fish
• Fact Sheet: Drinking Water

Soil is our basic resource. Without soil, water and sunshine, the plants in our forest wouldn’t grow. Maintaining productive and healthy soil is very important in forest management, as soil is one of the factors that determine how well the trees grow.

The soil our trees grow in comes from two different types of rock, sandstone and basalt. In general, the sandstone soils occur closer to the coast and the basaltic soils are found on the Willamette Valley side of the Coast Range. Different soil types support different plant communities. Soils in Western Oregon are very absorptive and can easily handle our high amounts of yearly precipitation. Even in clearcuts, you are unlikely to see overland flow. By preventing soil compaction during logging, the soil has more porosity, which then enables rainfall infiltration into the soil to make it a good environment for both healthy bacteria and fungal communities.

Forest management provides an exceptionally long rotation relative to other land uses. Forest soils are in a rest state for the full length of rotation, which can be 50-70 years on our lands. Forest soils are surprisingly resilient. Research at Oregon State University found that conventional timber harvesting has no effect on carbon levels in the mineral soils of the western Pacific Northwest for at least 3.5 years after harvest. “Modern harvest methods are designed to cause minimal soil disturbance, and the stable soil carbon would seem to reflect that,” research said.

Harvest unit selection is ultimately made by the experienced management team at Starker Forests. Factors that are considered when choosing where to harvest include stand age and condition, time of year, markets and contractor availability. We strive to be able to be nimble if necessary to respond to changing market conditions.