Wasn open field burning in the Willamette Valley phased out?
State field burning laws and regulations were the subject of considerable debate and revision throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In 1980, state law limited the field burning to 250,000 acres. In 1991, legislation enacted a reduction (phasedown) in acreage to be open field burned in the Willamette Valley. The last step of the phasedown occurred in 1998 with 40,000 acres of regular limitation and 25,000 acres of identified species and steep terrain (65,000 acres total) allowed to be open field burned. As defined in Oregon Revised Statutes 468A. ODA is required to operate the program at this last step until a change is enacted by legislature.
