2005-1314-Minutes for Meeting August 15,2005 Recorded 11/22/2005DESCH
TES COUNTY
FICIAL
NANCYUBLANKENSHIP,FDS COUNTY CLERKyj 1005.1314
COMMISSIONERS' JOURNAL 1112212005 03;04;36 PM
111111111111111II�1IIIIIII1I III
2005-1314
DESCHUTES COUNTY CLERK
CERTIFICATE PAGE
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if document is re-recorded.
Do Not remove from original document.
v H
w 2� Deschutes County Board of Commissioners
p {
1130 NW Harriman St., Bend, OR 97701-1947
(541) 388-6570 -Fax (541) 388-4752 - www.deschutes.or
MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING
DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2005
Commissioners' Conference Room - Administration Building - 1300 NW Wall St.., Bend
Present were Commissioners Tom De Wolf, Michael M. Daly and Dennis R. Luke.
Also present were County Administrator Mike Maier; Joe Studer, County Forester,
and Sue Kupillas, Executive Director for Communities for Healthy Forests. No
representatives of the media were present.
The purpose of the meeting was to update the Board on forest resource planning,
including addressing wildland fire concerns and potential treatment options.
The meeting began at 9:30 a.m.
The group discussed forest issues, especially the dead timber located in the Biscuit
Fire burn area. This timber cannot be utilized because of inflexible government
regulations.
A copy of the information discussed is attached.
The meeting adjourned at 10:20 a.m.
DATED this 15th Day of August 2005 for the Deschutes County Board of
Commissioners.
�� -U
Tom DeWolf, Chair
Mi
ATTEST:
4�
Recording Secretary
0
Ile
R. Luke, Commissioner
i
�ob�bvs�r�ai7�'?eS ¢oc�°
HEALTHY FORESTS
Communities for Healthy Forests
www.communitiesforhealthvforests.org
MISSION STATEMENT
"To realize the prompt restoration and recovery of the conifer
forest in the aftermath of fire and other catastrophic events
ensuring the presence and vitality of forest lands for future
generations."
As an organization, our goal is to educate communities and grass roots organizations
across the United States about current conditions of forests that have recently experienced
catastrophic events and why forests aren't being restored. In addition our goal is to
educate people about what changes need to be made for timely restoration.
Our second goal is to achieve changes in regulation so restoration can begin soon after
the catastrophic event.
We have developed educational materials, including DVD, Website, brochure and
handouts to compliment presentations.
As a result of our efforts we expect to see:
➢ Removing dead trees within a year of the catastrophic event
➢ Planting thousands of new seedlings to replace lost trees
➢ Hundreds of jobs created in our rural communities
Millions of dollars in our rural communities to support new workforce, dollars to
restore forests and streams, dollars for education, and revenue for county
government.
Contact: Sue Kupillas, Executive Director
1744 East McAndrews, Suite H
Medford, Oregon 97504
Phone: 541-245-0770
Fax: 541-245-0880
Cell: 541-821-7236
541.957.9001 - FAX: 541.957.9085 - PO Box 400 Roseburg, OR 97470
Bruce Klein Norm Gershon - Don Kruse Lee Paterson Dr. David Beyer Ron Doan Randy Garrison ' Debbie Fromdahl
Vida Nielsen Georgia Stiles 7 Tim Bare . Dave Sabala Dave Leonard - Chuck Cates Brian Pargeter
�o%d�e�r�e�1eS dor
HEALTHY FORESTS
EXECUTIVE BOARD OF CHF
Bruce Klein, owner of Papa Murphy's is the chairman of the board
Norm Gershon, CHF secretary, UTE
Lee Paterson, CHF Education Chair, Roseburg superintendent of schools
Ron Doan, Marketing and Video Chair, Cow Creek Tribes
Dave Leonard, Fundraising Chair, Pinnacle Engineering
Dr. David Beyer
Debbie Fromdahl, Roseburg Area Chamber
Randy Garrison, Atty and Circuit Judge
Vicki Nelson- NW Outdoors
Georgia Stiles, Stiles Realty
Tim Bare
Dave Sabala, Douglas Electric
Chuck Cates, engineer
Brian Pargeter- Umpqua Insurance (Citizen of the Year)
Dave Gilbert,
Doug Feldkamp, Umpqua Dairy
Monte Mendenhall, Pacific Corp
PAID STAFF
Sue Kupillas, Executive Director, ASK, llc
Javier Goirigolzarri , Resource Management Services
CHF SUPPORT GROUP
Doug Robertson, Douglas County Commissioner
Debbie Mendenhall, Secretary Commissioners office
Ron Yockim, Attorney
Paul Zegers, Creative Images, printing
Amy Amoroso, Cow Creek Tribes
Bob Ragon, Douglas Timber Operators
Melanie Shinn
Donna Johnson, Douglas Timber Operators
Rick Sohn, Lone Rock Timber Company
Jeannie Weakley, Lumber & Sawmill Workers Union
Wes Melo Ingram Book Company
Connie Williamson, KPIC TV
541.957.9001 == FAX: 541.957.9085 = PO Box 400 = Roseburq, OR 97470
Bruce Klein n Norm Gershon - Don Kruse Lee Paterson ;, Dr. David Beyer = .Ron Doan Randy Garrison = Debbie Fromdahl
Vicki Nielsen - Georgia Stiles r Tim Bare ; Dave Sabala - Dave Leonard Chuck Cates Brian Pargeter
RESOLUTION
BY THE
(NAME OF SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION)
VAEREAS, catastrophic forest fires result in severe adverse environmental impacts including
damage to the soil; an increased susceptibility to erosion resulting in siltation of streams; a loss in
recreational opportunities; a loss of essential habitat for wildlife; and, a loss in economic value of
the forests which can last for decades; and
WHEREAS, delays in reforesting the burned sites increases reforestation costs; reduces the
survival rates of any replanting efforts; and adversely affects the ability of the public to utilize the
sites; and
WHEREAS, the failure to promptly recover the excess burned, dead trees creates public safety
hazards; results in heavy fuel loadings; increases the risk of future catastrophic fires; and reduces
the opportunity to fully restore the landscape; and
WHEREAS, the failure to promptly reforest the sites will deprive future generations of the
opportunity to utilize the Federal Forests; and
WHEREAS, the governmental decision making process is not equipped to react in a timely
manner to the restoration burdens resulting from catastrophic fires; and
WHEREAS, the group "Communities for Healthy Forests" has organized as a coalition of
community members whose mission is to realize the prompt restoration and recovery of the conifer
forest in the aftermath of fire and other catastrophic events;
IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED that all state, federal and local agencies shall promptly conduct
an environmental analysis once a fire is declared controlled and move expeditiously to reforest and
restore the catastrophically burned landscapes; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the supports
the mission and efforts of "Communities for Healthy Forests" as they work for solutions that
mandate immediate restorative action.
DATED this day of 11200 .
Signed,
(NAME, TITLE & ORGANIZATION)
COMMUNITIES FOR HEALTHY FORESTS
Mission: To realize the prompt restoration and recovery of the
conifer forest in the aftermath of fire and other catastrophic
events ensuring the presence and vitality of
forest lands for future generations.
www communitiesforhealthyforests.org
"Ibere is nearly the same amount of forestland in Oregon today as four centuries ago. The loss—about 8% --has been for human
use, i.e. agriculture, cities and towns, industrial dev., highways, and electric transmission lines. Oregon has about 28 million acres
of forest" From Forest Fact Book OFRI www.oregonforests.ore
This is the Bi -Annual update on where we are with our education program. There are
many other potential resolutions, but these are the ones on file as of this date.
Roseburg Rotary, Douglas, Coos, Curry, Jackson, Josephine and Klamath counties have
resolutions on file. Also The Quarter Century Club, power company retirees, Umatilla
Electric Cooperative, WCIW, MCIW, National Forest Industry and Labor Council among
others have joined with others in supporting CHF. A number of counties and individuals
have contributed to the non-profit. Most recent of these include The First American Title
Insurance Co, John and Ruth Talbot, Dave Bassett, James Construction, and the Cow
Creek Tribes. A number of counties have approved funding and Douglas County has
submitted their contribution. A resolution pending is PEO (Professional Engineers of
Oregon).
In 2004 the Board completed over 60 presentations reaching over 2000 people. In 2005
we have completed over 30 presentations to college classes, Rotaries, Chambers,
Kiwanis, Society of American Foresters, Professional Engineers of Oregon, Boards of
Commissioners, Labor Unions, the National Forest Counties and Schools Coalition and
Forest Industry groups. We have met with Sustainable Northwest, Oregon Forest
Industries Council, State Office of the BLM, Forest Service officials and The National
Forest Foundation. With the representation of the labor and industry, we have indirectly
connected with over 50,000 people. We have met with Congressman Greg Walden and
plan meetings with others in congress and in the Council of Environmental Quality in
July.
We have distributed hundreds of packets of information including DVD's, and thousands
of brochures. The distribution includes interested parties in California, Oregon,
Washington and Idaho, as well as states east of the Mississippi.
The Board has worked tirelessly to educate the public about the need for restoration.
Our organization realizes that there is much to do to achieve our goal of timely
restoration of our national forests. We encourage you to join Communities for Healthy
Forests today by visiting our website www.communitiesforhealthyforests.org for the
future of our forests.
Sue Kupillas
Executive Director
Ro contacts Sus Mupillas, Executive Director ASK@opusnet.com
Reforestation update
June 2005
Report GAO -05-147, Wildland Fire Management
released by the House Sub- Committee on Forests
and Forest Health, in mid February has many
observations important to Communities for Healthy
Forests. I will quote just a few sentences, but you
can find the report on line if you want to read the
complete version. Note following excerpt: "In fiscal
years 2001 through 2003, Congress provided $4.9
billion to the U.S. Dept of Ag., Forest Service, to
implement the National Fire Plan on land that it
manages. Of this amount, Congress earmarked
$212 million to fund the rehabilitation of land burned
by wild land fires. In general, rehabilitation covers
long-term efforts to improve lands unlikely to recover
naturally from wildland fire damage. In some cases,
rehabilitation may include removing timber from
burnt land to, among other things, reduce hazardous
fuels.'
'in response to the 2000 wildland fire season, the
administration asked USDA and the Department of
the interior to recommend how best to respond to the
fires and how to reduce the effects of such fires in
the future. The resutdna EV –The Natlor11111l
Fire Increased funding
"MW my gem" kwkd ra relrablll Aft
burnt lend."
In the next CHF a -letter issue we will cover more of
this February report on Wildland Fire Management.
The significance of the report is that it concludes that
rehabilitation should be funded as part of the
National Fire Plan, including removing dead trees.
To obtain copies go to GAO's website that is
(www.gao.gov) In addition each day GAO issues a
list of newly released reports, testimony, and
correspondence. GAO posts this list; know as
"Today's Reports" on its Web site daily. To get this,
go to Website and then Subscribe to mail alerts.
Fiscal years 2003, 2004, and 2005 the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest completed reforestation of 12,000 acres of the 500,000 acres of burned over
plantations within the Biscuit Fire. Roughly 4,000 acres per year were planted.
This fiscal year's planting program of 4,000 acres is complete, according to Patty Burel, Forest Public Affairs Officer. The forest is now planning for the
planting of burned areas outside of plantations and fire salvage timber sale units. There are 11 salvage timber sales under contract which total
approximately 65mmbf in Matrix and LSR allocations. No Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRA) sales have been sold.
.50V)
A forest policy Wyond salvage
The huge costs and conf lit at the Biscuit fire should
prompt a search for middle ground -on salvage logging
Yes, . respected scientists disagree
about how best to help iinests recover
from major w — and what steps
wff best prevent them in the future.
Yes, the Sisldyou forest is a significant,
'x anically rich place. And no, there is
wt a scientific or- social consensus
about where fire salvage is acceptable,
orwhere its economic benefits are over-
whelinedloyenvironmentalliamL
Butsut *,we•can dobetterthan.this, .
spetdmg 214years.. and untold millions
of deliais just to log less than 75 million
board feet of timber from a fire that
burned=asp 5QQ aUO acresof forest:
The salvage issue, ins -been left boo
long to people on t3ie far margins of the
debate. It won't be resolved by the for-
ests wlio argued the forest Service
ought to salvage"as much as 2 billion
board feet of timber from the Biscuit, or
by the protesters who claim helicopter
logging of blackened and rotting trees
amounts to "clear -cutting paradise."
There hes to be a better wayto decide
What is going to be salvaged from -wild-
fires
ildfires oh public land.. There must be
some middle ground. where reasonable
people can agree on ways to allow a
modest.level of careful fire salvage to
occur before most of the -economic val-
ue of the burned trees rots away.
We urge the Northwest members of
Congress -who led the effort to pass the
healthy forest legislation — including
Reps. Greg Walden, R -Ore., and Peter
DeFazro, D -Ore., and Sens. Ron Wyden,
D -Ore., and Gordon Smith, R -Ore. — to
focus now on trying to develop asimclar
consensus on fire salvage.
Oregon and the Northwest must not
go on this way, with the Forest Service
buffeted between opposing forces and
spending more money planningsalva$e
projects than it makes selling the tine
ber. All the while, the region is throwing
tax money at expensive court fights,
watching jobs go to waste and fading to
pay for land restoration projects that
everyone agrees are worth doing.
One day last week a limb sprang up
and left a deep gash in the head of one
of the loggers working on Biscuit sal-
vage. When fellow loggers tried to rush
the injured man to a hospital, they were
blocked by a van protesters had parked
sideways across an access road A sher-
iWs deputy finally winched the van out
of the way, but the incident is as good a
metaphor as any for Biscuit fire salvage.
This whole thing has become a
senseless, bloody mess.
f you.look at the half-rri ion -acre
Bisalt fire toffy, one thing is ob-
vioux There's no good wood at the
this nation's on the
core of policy
salvage of launed_ public forests.
It's not just all the gamed trees
upbyinsects. It's all rotten: The
_mss of -dollars and -hundreds of
hours spent writing Plans for salvage
and restoration projects, many ofwhich
will never happen; the endless lawsuit
the dueling sciendsts;'the cynical polit
Aim; the breathless priests. Nearly all of
it looks hike a big waste.
If you are on one extreme side or the
other in the Northwest forest wars,
maybe you like whaes.going on now in
the Sid#ou Mountains of Southem Or-
egon, where layers and protesters are
sing over a few thousand acres of
dead, burned trees. But everybody else
aught to be disgusted by the waste of
time, money and opportunities to
create jobs and restore the landscape. -
Yes, . respected scientists disagree
about how best to help iinests recover
from major w — and what steps
wff best prevent them in the future.
Yes, the Sisldyou forest is a significant,
'x anically rich place. And no, there is
wt a scientific or- social consensus
about where fire salvage is acceptable,
orwhere its economic benefits are over-
whelinedloyenvironmentalliamL
Butsut *,we•can dobetterthan.this, .
spetdmg 214years.. and untold millions
of deliais just to log less than 75 million
board feet of timber from a fire that
burned=asp 5QQ aUO acresof forest:
The salvage issue, ins -been left boo
long to people on t3ie far margins of the
debate. It won't be resolved by the for-
ests wlio argued the forest Service
ought to salvage"as much as 2 billion
board feet of timber from the Biscuit, or
by the protesters who claim helicopter
logging of blackened and rotting trees
amounts to "clear -cutting paradise."
There hes to be a better wayto decide
What is going to be salvaged from -wild-
fires
ildfires oh public land.. There must be
some middle ground. where reasonable
people can agree on ways to allow a
modest.level of careful fire salvage to
occur before most of the -economic val-
ue of the burned trees rots away.
We urge the Northwest members of
Congress -who led the effort to pass the
healthy forest legislation — including
Reps. Greg Walden, R -Ore., and Peter
DeFazro, D -Ore., and Sens. Ron Wyden,
D -Ore., and Gordon Smith, R -Ore. — to
focus now on trying to develop asimclar
consensus on fire salvage.
Oregon and the Northwest must not
go on this way, with the Forest Service
buffeted between opposing forces and
spending more money planningsalva$e
projects than it makes selling the tine
ber. All the while, the region is throwing
tax money at expensive court fights,
watching jobs go to waste and fading to
pay for land restoration projects that
everyone agrees are worth doing.
One day last week a limb sprang up
and left a deep gash in the head of one
of the loggers working on Biscuit sal-
vage. When fellow loggers tried to rush
the injured man to a hospital, they were
blocked by a van protesters had parked
sideways across an access road A sher-
iWs deputy finally winched the van out
of the way, but the incident is as good a
metaphor as any for Biscuit fire salvage.
This whole thing has become a
senseless, bloody mess.
CoJ...�v.r.�s,rftes for
HEALTHY FORESTS
ME 8t RECOVERY FACTS
SPRING FIRE
• Burned 16,000+ awes in 1996;10,000 acnes in Boulder Cr. '
Wflderness, 6;000 o Wilderness. '
• Estimated 2.000 acres of very mtense (stand replacement) fire where all or
nearly all trees were timed wide of the Wilderness. Lost sn estimated 180
Mllion Honed Feet ofvery bigb Warty timber.
trees-
• AZ io n taioos: 140, Pm -r nro replanfiv& no harvest of dead treW-
Rmay, amy mare ttees-IMed by insects after the fire; vast areas with
RMk
Bate or nu canift riiiiiii;...�to4
b&dmi& tteeK =a&for wortcers; heavy
accumulation of woai ou the ground, fix ft hewn ground fire for ttar next
APPLE FIRE
18,000+ acres in 2Q02; rebarnied thus 1987 Apple Fire.
• FjdMWed 5,000 slats of very incase (stand neplacement) fine with near
Complete =am*. LQst an e:nimate 1200 Mtiion Board Feet of high quality
timber
. Aafma to M Repfimted mug* 300 acnes. Recovered smaller dead new
fin' 6innmg dead trees
ftm 120 acnes. UfetiMthe phMft 8t =*sis prase
cat of IOW aches tb woo m 40 Mfflm Board % Prebably in 2005 with
fq*o6 0 Mow. By 6e time hstvest occur% the dead trees will have lost
about 4WA oftheir valga
,�-,., : _
• RW* VWjM!, trees wiucA survived the fire be=g attacked by insects- During
- - ;
rainy periods, heM silt fkyvn into the otheryAe dear North Umpqua River.
B� w�eeh sod other a mpe ft v oo eon to take over the fallow
groumd. The North Umpqua Thd within the fire area is closed, abandoned due
to 00 hazard offsllmg aces.
BISCUIT ME
• Bun7sed 500;000 sa+ea is 2002, themrrw fire in the US tint year; rem the
'
1987 Silver urns and march more. The 196,000 acre Kalmiopsis Wilderness area
'
bura�edL with mdy 150,000 of it eau y In'lied (stand replac;emelrt).
-
A=*w225P08CMoWWftWHdP, awed total why. Esfinufts of
-
7 -IO Hoard Feet oMeber lost. That is enouO Proovide one Mff of all
U'S wood needs Liffe w ym. iNgw are vistas vabon you tan see no lrW
Sir of ae3sr'troesfor-es. hits cowitow to sttec k sKnving :trees.
_
- Auction tam Soma hsMoes aloog the many roads have been sold &
remon& Arca nrlla aritit3 prnoessed tic kW into bmber reported severe
value ions due aD wood betiog insects. The pismngg dt aoatysis Phase
v y conarovcrsie�i vvittt t1lreBeeaed bmsLdtsto stop any plans. The
today. wvud a phM 31,000 acres, walk away fi-om the rest
plass, aanouseed
and r etean 3710 MIfii on Board Feet of dead dmber to pay for the restoration
541.957.9001 • FAX: 541.957.9085 • PO Box 400 • Roseburg. OR 97470 _ T_
Bruce Klein • Nam Gashm • Don Kruse - Lee Paterson • Dc David Beyer • Ron Doan - Rand} Garrison • Debbie fromda` .
Vida Nielsen • Georgia son • Twn Bane • owe sabwa • orave Leonard • anick Cates • Brian Pargeter
COMMUNITIES FOR HEALTHY FORESTS, Our mission: To realize the prompt
restoration and recovery of the conifer forest in the aftermath of fire and other catastrophic
events ensuring the presence and vitality of forest lands for future generations.
FACTS AND FIGURES RELATED TO CATASTROPHIC FIRES
During the 2002 fire season over 750,000 acres of federal forest lands were
burned in Oregon. As of today, less than 7% of that landscape has been
restored. Due to delays and processes necessitated by current regulations, not
more than 10% of these lands will be restored. Indeed, due to the increasing
costs of reforestation and decreasing value of the deteriorating timber
removed, 75,000 acres of restoration may never be achieved.
The Umpqua National Forest in SW Oregon saw over 90,000 burned during
the 2002 fire season.
■ 25,000 acres of stand replacement fire (All or most trees killed
outright).
■ 500,000 MBF of available and accessible timber killed, enough to
support 8,500 jobs and to build 50,000 homes. Another 120,000
MBF are expected to be killed from ensuing insect attack and
disease.
■ Had this timber been harvested promptly it would have been
worth $125,000,000 to the US Treasury. Additionally, the payroll
and income taxes from the 8,500 jobs would have contributed an
additional $136,000,000.
• Less than 4,000 acres will be replanted.
■ Less than 25,000 MBF of dead trees will be recovered.
■ Due to the advanced deterioration, the Forest Service projects it
will receive less than $2,000,000 from the sale of the dead timber.
The Forest Service is seeking funding from the State of Oregon
and private sources to pay for the reforestation.
■ The Forest Service spent over $50,000,000 to put out these fires.
■ The Umpqua is not unique. GAO reported similar burn to
recovery ratios in regions 1, 3 and 4 for lands burned in 2000
through 2002 (GAO -03-808R).
➢ Since 1999, the acres of catastrophically burned forest have increased and our
efforts to reforest those lands have decreased, resulting in nearly 900,000
acres needing reforestation as of 2003, a figure which has grown each year.
(USDA FS-FY2003 Reforestation & TSI Report) At the same time, the
agency has lowered their standards for acceptable stocking levels in many
regions.
➢ Reforestation costs vary from region to region but consistently increase as the
time between disturbance and planting increases. Cost estimates vary from
$550 to $1250 per acre in Region 6.
➢ During the fire season of 2000, the Forest Service estimated 275,036 acres to
be "severely burned." Most of this acreage was in the Western US. The
agency developed a process to assess which fires were catastrophic based
upon three criteria: 1) value of the losses incurred as a result of the fire, 2)
capability to repair or restore the loss, and 3) potential cost of the repair or
restoration (GAO -03-430). Thus the largest, most damaging fires affecting
the most critical habitat and watersheds are the least likely to be deemed
catastrophic due to the cost of their restoration!!
Experts predict that we are in an extended period of uncharacteristically
intense and severe wildfires in the region. With the combination of built up
vegetation, drought patterns, increased insect and disease activity, scientists
are predicting that we will experience several years of large stand replacement
fires where virtually all the trees are killed by fire or ensuing insect attack.
This pattern will continue naturally until we enter the next extended period of
heavy winter rains and snow accumulation followed by cool wet summers.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. The
private lands which were actively managed and replanted are dense forests of
trees 70 feet tall and are providing habitat for a variety of species. This forest
is being thinned, supplying wood products to build homes, jobs for families
and tax revenues to sustain public services. In stark contrast, adjacent federal
lands which were not actively managed remain sparsely vegetated with little
or no signs of the return of the original forest. Experts predict ug to a 200 year
lag in recovery of this area with no active restoration. (May 18 , Portland
Oregonian)
CoRniv.rtnttde5 for
HEALTHY FORESTS
FIRE 8t RECOVERY FACTS
SPRING FIRE • Burned 16,000+ acres in 1996; 10,000 acres in Boulder Cr.
Wilderness, 6,000 outside Wilderness.
• Estimated 2,000 acres ofvery intense (stand replacement) fire where all or
nearly all trees were lolled outside of the Wil. Lost an estimated 180
Million Board Feet of very high quality timber.
- Action taken. No rem oratim no repbntuv& no harvest of dead trees.
- Result today, many more trees -killed by insects after the fire; vast areas with
little or no conifer regeneration; hulking tracts abandoned; extreme hazard due to
bieatcing dt falling
trees; unsafe working conditions for workers; heavy
accumulation of wood on the ground, fueling intense ground fire for the next
BISCUff FIRE
• Burned 18,000+ acres in 2002; reburied the 1987 Apple Fire.
• Famed 5,000 acres of very intense (stand replacement) fire with near
cxanplete mortality. Lgst an wed 200 Million Board Feet of high quality
timber.
• Action taken: Replanted rougbly 300 acres. Recovered smaller dead trees'
fioan 120 ages. Cie the plenmag & analysis phase for thinning dead trees
out of 1,000 acnes to recover 40 Mllion Board Feet, probably in 2005 with
rept to follow. By the time harvest occurs, the dead trees will have lost
about 601• of their value.
• Result today, trees which survived The fire being attacked by insects. During
rainy periods, heavy silt. flows into the otherwise clear North Umpqua River.
Brum, weeds and other competing vegetation continues to take over the fallow
ground. The North Umpqua Trani within the fire area is closed, abandoned due
to the hazard off1ding trees.
• Burned 500,000 aeras in 2002, the largest fire in the US that year; reburned the
1987 Silvw Fire and much more: The 196,000 acre Kalmiopsis Wilderness area
burned, with nearly 150,000 of it completely pletely killed (stand replacement).
Ana -1 , ' 225,100 acus outside W1i derness suffered total mortality. Fstimates of
710 Billion Board Feet oftimber lost. That is enough provide one half of all
US wood needs forone ym There are vistas where you can see no live: pine,
fir or cedar trees for odes. Insects cure to attack surviving trees.
• Action taken: Some h 1 trees along the many roads have been sold &
roved. Area nulls winch processed the logs into luxuber reported severe
value IM dun to wood bating insects. The planning do analysis phase
coutimum vteny controversial with threatened lawsuits to stop any plans. The
per, annotm ad today, v iouid replant 31,000 acres, walk away from the rest
and remove 370 Million Board Feet of dead timber to pay for the restoration
efforts.
541.957.9001 • FAX: 541.957.9085 • Po Box 400 • Roseburg. OR 97470
Bruce Klein • Norm Gershon • Don Kruse • Lee Paterson • Dr. David Beyer • Ron Doan - Randy Garrison: • Debbie f romdah!
Vicki Nielsen • Georgia Stites • Tri Bare • Dave Sabaia • Dave Leonard • Chuck Cates • Brian Pargeter
Biscuit Fire Restoration, July 2005. The 2002 Biscuit Fire in Southwest Oregon burned
almost 500,000 acres. While there are many issues surrounding the Biscuit, because it
was the largest fire in the nation and further, included a wilderness area, much attention
has been focused on restoration efforts, from eco -activists, industry and federal agencies.
Restoration includes eleven timber sales to remove dead burned trees on less than I% of
the burned area, and re -planting seedlings on about 6,000 acres. Less than 4% of the land
base is scheduled for any kind of restoration.
July 7h I talked to Tom Lavagnino, Rogue Siskiyou Forest manager who is handling the
restoration efforts since Tom Link retired. To date, 67mmbf on 3657 acres will have
been successfully logged and will contribute $5,719,000 for reforestation efforts. This
falls quite short of the 350mmbf estimated in the EIS. Only dead trees have been
harvested and no new roads have been built, contrary to information distributed by eco -
activists. 55% of fire land base is off limits to any kind of management. With less than
4% restored with active management, that means that almost 96% of the land base of the
fire (475,000 acres) will not be restored and will be left to grow back naturally. Dr. John
Sessions and other experts predict that in the warning climate with no restraint of
noxious weeds and brush, conifer trees will find it difficult to regenerate on fire sites.
Fire stats according to National Fire News, National Interagency Coordination
Center 2002, 88,458 burning almost 7 million acres, 2381 buildings, costing $1.6 billion
Oregon 800,000 acres of 27 million burned in 2831 fires cost almost $200million
For suppression on State and Federal lands. 90% fires on federal lands. $150
million for Biscuit alone
2003 85,943 burning almost 5 million acres, 5781 buildings, costing $1.3 billion
2004 77,534 burning almost 7 million acres, 1095 buildings, costing $890 million
Today, July 5, 2005
20 large fires 1.2 million acres; so far in 2005 31,059 fires burning 2,739,030 acres
fires in Alaska(4), Arizona (7) Nevada, New Mexico, Ok, Texas, Utah and Washington
Time is not neutral
OFRI, Forest Fire Risk and Restoration 2004. Restoration includes salvage, herbicides to
control competing vegetation, grasses, weeds and brush, and replanting.... All ASAP.
Dr. John Sessions, OSU Distinguished Prof of Forestry and Steward Prof of Forest
Engr,"..when it comes to restoration of dry, mixed conifer forests like those in the Biscuit
Fire, Time is not neutral. ....the first thing to grow back is shrubs." The USFS estimates
it will take 160 years or longer to create late-successioonal habitat for species like the
Northern Spotted Owl. There are some scientists who wonder if a conifer forest can ever
get established again under natural conditions, especially since the climate has warmed
and favors the competing vegetation. OFRI 2004
Information by Sue Kupillas, July 2005