Forest Service seeks applicants for Northeast Oregon advisory committee

The Forest Service is looking for 15 people to sit on the Northeast Oregon Resource Advisory Committee, a panel that can steer recommendations on roads, recreation access, fuels reduction, habitat work and other projects tied to the Malheur, Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman national forests. Applications are due July 13, and the agency wants members who live in Oregon, ideally within the committee’s Northeast Oregon boundary.

That boundary follows the three national forests and covers lands in nine counties, making the committee one of the main places where local knowledge can shape federal land decisions before they are locked in. For Baker County residents, that matters on the ground: the panel helps improve collaborative relationships and makes recommendations on project proposals funded under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, a program that still funnels money into roads, schools, federal land projects and county projects.

Members are appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture and serve four-year terms. The Forest Service says applicants will be evaluated on education, training and experience working in the area they represent, along with their knowledge of the region, their commitment to collaborative decision-making and how they help balance the committee’s membership categories. Those categories include private industry, schools, local government and environmental organizations.

That mix is meant to keep the committee from being dominated by any one interest. In practical terms, it creates a formal seat for ranchers, school representatives, business owners, environmental advocates and county officials to weigh in before federal money is spent or project proposals move ahead. In a county like Baker, where public land decisions can affect grazing, access roads, trail use and habitat work, the committee can shape what gets priority and what gets deferred.

This is not the first time the panel has been rebuilt. In the January 2025 recruitment cycle, the Northeast Oregon RAC had 15 vacancies, with five openings in each of its three categories. The current charter was filed May 19, 2026, and runs through May 19, 2028.

The broader Secure Rural Schools program remains active nationwide, with funding for more than 700 counties across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Payments are divided into Title I for roads and schools, Title II for projects on federal lands and Title III for county projects. Local RACs generally meet up to four times a year, serve without compensation and may receive travel and per diem, making the committee a low-cost but high-impact way for Northeast Oregon residents to influence how the forests around them are managed.