State forest nursery; securing seedlings; sale of seedlings and stock; disposition of sales receipts

(1) A state forest nursery may be operated by the forester and the State Board of Forestry to provide forest tree seedlings for the reforestation of forestland. The nursery program may provide for the growth, care and maintenance of nursery stock and for the sale of such stock to private, state and other public owners of forestland. (2) The forester and the board may use means in addition to, or instead of, operating a state forest nursery under subsection (1) of this section to secure forest tree seedlings and may sell those forest tree seedlings to private, state and other public owners of forestland. The means of securing forest tree seedlings may include, but need not be limited to: (a) Contracting with private nurseries to grow forest tree seedlings; (b) Allocating all or part of forest tree seedling production on behalf of the forester and the board to a cooperative of private growers under ORS 526.237; and (c) Leasing or otherwise making state nursery property available for operation by private growers of forest tree seedlings. (3) Each year the forester shall determine the costs of nursery operation and of securing forest tree seedlings under subsection (2) of this section and shall offer nursery stock or otherwise secured forest tree seedlings for sale to forest owners at prices that will recover actual costs. (4) All revenues derived from the selling of nursery stock and otherwise secured forest tree seedlings shall be credited to the State Forestry Department Account and deposited in the State Forest Nursery Subaccount established in ORS 526.060.