OPTIONS, FINDINGS OUTLINED ON MANAGEMENT OF BISCUIT FIRE AREA

07-17-03

By David Stauth, 541-737-0787
SOURCE: John Sessions, 541-737-2818

ROSEBURG - A new study by researchers from the College of Forestry at Oregon State University has analyzed the issues of forest regeneration, fire and insect risk reduction, and timber salvage on the lands affected by last year's massive Biscuit Fire in Southwest Oregon.

The findings of the research team, announced today in Roseburg, included:

• Site conditions conducive to reforesting the area, to meet the old forest goals for which the lands are to be managed under the Northwest Forest Plan, are diminishing rapidly, due to aggressive regeneration of native shrubs, hardwoods and weed species.

• Active reforestation could accelerate the return to a large-conifer dominated ecosystem by at least 50 years, and hasten the return of old-growth wildlife habitats.

• Climate changes since the 1800s, coupled with low levels of active reforestation, may consign much of the burned area to shrubs, weed and hardwood cover for decades or centuries, and also negatively impact species such as the northern spotted owl that depend on old-growth conifer habitats.

• The presence of more than 100,000 acres of moderate to intensely burned land in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness area and an equally large area of similarly burned lands outside the wilderness creates a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity to conduct large, landscape-scale experiments in reforestation to learn more about the consequences of action versus inaction in the face of the kinds of climates and fire seasons we can expect for the next several decades.

• The best way to reduce risk of recurring, large-scale fires is reforestation, vegetation control and removal of many dead and dying trees.

• About 4.2 billion board feet of timber is contained in trees killed by the fire, and an additional 0.8 billion board feet is found in fire-stressed trees at risk of insect attack. Of this, at least 2 billion feet of conifer wood is economically accessible, within two miles of an existing road and outside of wilderness, and wild and scenic rivers.

• The economic value of currently accessible fire-killed timber, which is now worth $100 million or more, will decline rapidly and soon become worthless due to decay and insect attack.

• Costs of reforestation will skyrocket in the next few years and the economic value of any salvage wood will disappear in about the same time frame. Just in the past year since the fire, the loss of economic value is estimated in the tens of millions of dollars.

• Non-native tree diseases that are now present in the region add impetus for introduction and planting of disease resistant tree varieties which are available.

• The enormous competition in this area by shrubs and other plants requires careful consideration of techniques available for successful tree regeneration, including use of herbicides.

• Salvage and restoration efforts in areas outside of Oregon have demonstrated the potential to rapidly reforest lands, protect human health and safety, protect endangered species and salvage economic value.

• Studies have demonstrated that protection of riparian areas, erosion control, use of helicopter logging and other advanced forestry techniques can largely prevent adverse effects to soils and water from salvage logging.
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