| Forestland Productivity Classes |
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Historically, people who bought large tracts of forestland in western Oregon considered the productivity of the land when they determined their buying price. They classified the land into acres by site class, then assigned the amount they wanted to pay for each site class. Buyers of land in eastern Oregon did not establish a relationship between purchase price and forest productivity. The forestland special assessment programs are set up to recognize this historical practice. Forestlands were reviewed by the Department of Revenue during the 1960s and 1970s to determine the site classes of each property. A relationship was established between these site classes and the prices being paid for the land. This relationship became the eight productivity classes for western Oregon.
Western Oregon
The Department of Revenue assigned value to forestland in western Oregon for property tax purposes by separating lands into productivity categories and determining the price paid within the forestland market for each category. During the 1960s and 1970s, Revenue staff visited private forestland to determine the productivity class of the land. Site class was determined for each 40-acre block by using site measurement, topographical features, vegetation types, and soil types. The productivity classes and their associated site classes are:
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Land
Productivity
Class
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Site Class |
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| FA |
I+, I, I- |
| FB |
II+, II |
| FC |
II-, III+ |
| FD |
III |
| FE |
III-, IV+ |
| FF |
IV, IV- |
| FG |
V |
| FX |
Below site V |
The FX category is also used for non-productive forestland on a forested property. Examples of non-productive land valued as forestland include rock outcrops, swamps, ponds, utility easements, rock pits, and roads. These non-productive lands cannot comprise more than 20 percent of the land to be valued as forestland.
Eastern Oregon
Forestlands in eastern Oregon were not identified by productivity class. The Department of Revenue separated forestland and non-productive land for valuation purposes. Only the actual forestland was valued as such.
Last revised February 17, 2005.
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