Here are answers to the questions we got on our first tour and more.
Is this a logging project?
No. Logging on this project is being used as a tool to remove fire fuels and is often used in many restoration projects. If the goal of the project was commercial extraction and profit, then it would be a logging project.
The goals of this project are fire fuels reduction and habitat restoration.
What about habitat? How does this treatment change things?
Rogue Siskiyou Contracting has habitat assessment training and experience from decades of forest restoration projects with multiple State agencies across California, Oregon and Washington. We perform initial site assessment for habitat types and features, and our implementation objectives includes protection of ecologically important areas.
Before and during all tree felling activites, RSC personnel painstakingly checks for signs of wildlife habitat(nests, roosts, forage) both existing and potential.
By opening up the forest canopy, we shift the habitat of this site to favor sun-dependent plants and animal species that prefer an open canopy.
Why not do two treatments? Why not take only the dead trees and those in obvious decline and then come back again later?
A lot of people asked this question. There are two parts to this answer: logistics and ecology.
Coming back costs a lot more than doing all the work at once. It also impacts the ground twice instead of once, and would delay the use of prescribed fire for a year or more.
Removing more trees now reduces this sites bug-load and fuel-load, and mitigates competition for sun and water.
By leaving trees that we know are facing decline and die-off, trees we are protecting and enhancing are put at greater risk of decline mainly by competition for water.
Hence, one entry and the forest is ready to simply be maintained and not left in a continuous state of transition.
What about public outreach? Why didn’t people have a chance to comment or learn more about this project before it started?
Unlike public lands, there is no public comment period nor public notice required for this project.
If you have questions or comments, please email them to us, and we’ll respond personally and add your questions to our website.
There was some initial confusion regarding this projects relationship the City of Ashland and the Ashland Forest Resiliency project, but we’ve done our best to clear that up. Check the City’s website for updates from them.
You can also subscribe to this website, where we’ll provide project updates, event calendars, current news, and in-depth topic discussions.
Why are the gaps so big? Why Space the Trees so far apart?
Think of meadows you have seen. Are the gaps bigger or smaller than those meadows?
A gap provides habitat for different types of animals and for sun-dependant plants.
Gaps also mitigate fire intensity by reducing heat and slowing spread. A crown fire typically drops down to the ground when it encounters a large gap.
Spacing the trees in the way we have gives each tree plenty of room to grow and removes the continuity of the fuels(trees), which in turn reduces fire severity.
What kind of clean-up is going to be performed?
After tree felling and log removal are completed, there are several steps to the cleanup process.
Areas impacted by machinery (cat tracks and draglines) will be smoothed out and exposed soils will be mulched with branch debris.
Much of the slash(branches and tree tops) will be gathered and masticated(chipped or ground up in place). This is like mulching your garden; it retains and slowly releases nutrients, and reduces soil temperature and evaporation.
To reduce soil impacts, pile burning will take the place of mastication on steep slopes.
Large woody debris (logs) will be distributed to enhance habitat and improve water retention.
Prescribed fire (pile burning and understory burning) is planned for future years.
Roads and Trails will be returned to working order with all erosion control and drainage features in place.
Will there be replanting? What kind and what density?
Native oak and pine will be planted as needed.
We want to maintain gaps between patches to provide habitat and reduce fire risk, so we want to avoid overplanting.
The size of a tree at maturity should be considered to avoid crowding. If the canopies of neighboring trees are touching, they are too close for comfort, increasing water stress and fire risk.
How can you tell that a tree is in decline? How do you know that it will die?
Many trees in southwest Oregon are dying off due to water stress followed by beetle/insect infestation. Look for yellowing progressing to red and brown. By the time you see brown crowns, the tree is most likely already dead.
Pitch tubes and boring-dust in firs and pines indicate the presence of insect infestation.
In the absence of water stress, trees would have a chance of survival, using sap to drown and repel the insects.
Bark beetles girdle the trees cambium and introduce fungi that clog any remaining vascular tissue, virtually ensuring tree mortality.
Reducing tree stand density is the best way to reduce water stress, thereby reducing the impact insect infestation will have on a trees health.
Do you want to do more if this kind of treatment? How many acres will look like this?
What a site looks like following treatment is determined by restoration goals combined with the sites initial condition.
For a healthy site, treatment might only include minimal thinning and understory burning to manage fuels.
For a site infested with bugs and overstocked with species poorly adapted to the climate, treatment would be similar to that prescribed for this site.
Most land managers and scientists agree that the pace and scope of fuels reduction work is insufficient to reduce wildfire risk to communities, so we expect these types of projects to be implemented more frequently across Southwest Oregon.
How will fire behave once it comes through these treatments?
When fire comes to and through these treatment areas, all experience and fire behavior data points to the fire intensity and spread being reduced and “dropping” to the ground due to the break up in the continuity of horizontal fire fuels(fire fuels on the ground and through the canopy) and vertical fire fuels(fire fuels from ground level to the canopy).
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