HFQLG
Project Evaluation Form
Project Name: Slapjack DFPZ
Project Type: Slapjack Project - to create a defensible fuel profile zone and implement group selection
Forest: Plumas NF, Feather River Ranger District
Date: 12 July 2011
Attendance: 26 people
Agency – Drew Coe and Gina Sideli, Central Valley Water Quality Control Board
Public - Frank Stewart, Counties Forester and Quincy Library Group; Nathan Bamford, Bamford Logging; Carol
Dower, Feather Falls and Butte County Fire Safe Council; Ron Hague, Soper-Wheeler; Ken Wilde, Sierra Pacific
Industries, Lincoln Office; Tim Holabird, Congressman Tom McClintock Representative; Robin Murphy,
Challenge Resident; Leonard Nelson, Dobbins Property Owner; Tony Murphy, Challenge Resident.
USFS – Laurance Crabtree, Deputy Forest Supervisor; Karen Hayden, Feather River District Ranger; Linnea
Hanson, Ecosystem Manager; Steve Murphy, Acting District Fire Management Officer, Dan Roskopf, Supervisor
Forester, Ecosystem Operations Team Leader; Deirdre Cherry, District Fuels Officer; Ray Torres, Fuels Officer;
Eric Murphy, Timber Sale Prep; Dan Smith, Forest Service Representative; Chris Pennington, Timber Sale
Administrator; Janna Osofsky, Timber Sale Administrator; Thoebe Oestreich, Forest Service Representative; E.J.
Soloman; Culturist: Jeff Watson, HFQLG Implementation Team Management Analyst; and Colin Dillingham,
HFQLG Monitoring Team Leader.
Slapjack mechanical thinning and Group Selection units were completed by Bamford Logging and Slapjack
underburn DFPZ units were completed by U.S. Forest Service personnel.
Type of Treatment:
Proposed Activities: The Slapjack Project proposes to construct 4,419 acres of DFPZ, thin 148 acres of area
thinning (individual tree selection), harvest 219 acres of group selection, restore 59 acres of meadows, enhance
180 acres of California spotted owl habitat, stabilize 1,200 feet of stream bank, and control 33 acres of noxious
weeds. Transportation improvements include 7 miles of road closure, 19 miles of road decommissioning, 18
miles of reconstruction, 6 miles of road maintenance, and 10 miles of new temporary road construction.
The Slapjack project will be a Defensible Fuel Profile Zone (DFPZ) implemented under 2004 Framework
objectives when completed. Two stewardship contracts and four service contracts and forest service prescribed
burning crews will complete project implementation.
Completed service contracts within the Slapjack Project area:
1. Challenge Mastication - 149 acres
2. Challenge Hand Cut and Pile - 343 acres
3. Golden Hand Cut and Pile - 358 acres
4. Ponderosa Hand Cut and Pile - 165 acres
5. Forest Service Fire Crew have completed approximately 500 acres of prescribed burning.
Mt Hope and Bullards Stewardhip Contracts in progress
Objective: Alter project area landscape toward a more fire-resilient condition, characterized by uneven-aged (all
aged), multistoried stands. Reduce fire hazard through DFPZ construction. Utilize group selection and individual
tree selection harvest methods. Perform road work/maintenance as part of watershed improvement. Restore and
enhance aquatic and terrestrial wildlife habitat. Perform preventive maintenance of DFPZ units two to three
years after construction. Control noxious weeds.
Slapjack monitoring review
Resource
Attribute
Area
Objective
Source of
Objective
Degree Met
Silviculture
Improve
Forest Health
Reduce interspecific
competition
EIS
Yes
Wildlife
Spotted Owl
Reduce threat of
wildfire to protected
activity center
EIS
Yes
Fuels
Surface Fuels
Less than 5 tons per
acre of surface fuels
HFQLG FEIS,
Appendix J
Future
treatment
planned
Fuels
Ladder Fuels
Remove ladder fuels
HFQLG FEIS,
Appendix J
Partial, more
treatment
planned
WUI
Community
Safety
Create DFPZ and
remove fuels
adjacent to homes
EIS
Yes, further
entry
required
Economics,
Bullards
Stewardship
Local
community
stability
Provide jobs to local
community
QLG Act
Yes
Remove ladder fuels
HFQLG FEIS,
Appendix J
Yes, but
regrowth is
fast
Fuels,
Mastication
Ladder Fuels
Comments
The thinning project will
allow for less competition
and increased vigor of
remaining trees
Completed underburn in
protected activity center to
reduce threat from wildfire
to long term retention of
owl habitat
Biomass removal removed
some fuels, follow-up
burning necessary to
complete DFPZ
construction
Treatment removed some
ladder fuels, follow-up
burning would finish
treatment
Challenge and Forbestown
communities with
additional protection from
implementation of project.
The large project has
allowed for numerous jobs
in the local community.
Viewed one stop with
blackberry already 4 feet
tall one year after
mastication completed
Discussion of Slapjack DFPZ
Slapjack DFPZ at Challenge Work Center–
Dan Roskopf, Silviculturist and Dan Smith,
Forest Service Representative, gave an
overview about the original intent of the
HFQLG legislation and discussed the fuel
reduction network and silviculture
strategies. The importance of flexibility and
landscape specific management planning
was stressed. The ability on the western
side of the Plumas National Forest to
regenerate trees and grow vegetation
quickly must be factored to assess the
viability of leaving so many large trees in
the treatment areas.
Slapjack DFPZ at Challenge Work Center–
Local Dobbins resident Leonard Nelson, was
concerned about what happens during the sale
of timber. He questioned how citizens benefit
from the sale of timber and where the money
goes. Purchaser Nathan Bamford explained
that he wrote a check to the U.S. government
for $900,000 for the value of the timber.
Although he may be reimbursed for service
work, such as mastication, as part of the
Stewardship project, the citizens and
government would receive services as well as
money in exchange for his ability to harvest the
trees.
Slapjack DFPZ at Challenge Work Center–
Quincy Library Group member Frank Stewart
explains to the group about the importance of
Timber Sale projects that yield 25% of purchase
price to rural county school and roads. He
explained that the secure rural schools bill may
not be funded by congress and forest revenue
receipts, such as from timber sales, may be the
only money coming from federal sources to fund
rural schools.
Discussion of Slapjack DFPZ (continued):
Slapjack DFPZ at Challenge Work Center–
Nathan Bamford, the contractor awarded the
ongoing stewardship project, spoke to tour
participants about the importance of fuels reduction
and collaboration in and around rural communities.
As a local resident, Mr. Bamford spoke with
authority and sincerity on the topic of timber
harvesting and local economics. As direct positive
result of the Slapjack project being implemented,
there have been approximately 32 year round jobs
created for 3 years duration.
Slapjack DFPZ Bullard Unit 525 –
Tanoak and Madrone logs are harvested and trucked
to a firewood company in Oroville. The firewood
distribution company cuts and splits the firewood
and then trucks to Los Angeles where the wood is
packaged for sale in markets in small amounts.
Bamford operations net approximately $1000 per
load for this firewood, which is in excess to the chip
value. Each load yields about 10 cords of firewood.
Slapjack DFPZ Bullard Unit 525 - The loader
fed small trees, tops and limbs into the chipper at
a high rate of speed. The chips are being hauled
to a biomass cogeneration plant in Oroville to
create electricity. Nathan Bamford reported that
he receives approximately $750 per load of log
chips delivered to the cogeneration plant, or $38
per green ton.
Slapjack DFPZ Bullard Unit 525 - The log
landing was busy with employees of Bamford
Logging. One person fed small limbs and tree
tops into the chipper, a second operated the
delimber, a third cut limb stubs off of the tanoak,
and a fourth operated the log loader to create log
decks ready for log truck drivers. Chip truck
drivers carried the biomass to the Oroville
cogeneration plant and log truck drivers deliver
the tanoak to a firewood plant in Oroville. The
conifer logs are being taken to the Sierra Pacific
Industries sawmill in Lincoln.
Slapjack DFPZ Joy Circle/19N22 Road –
Mastication is a technique that shreds shrubs and
small trees and leaves the residual chips on the
ground to decompose. This site was masticated
in May of 2010. The blackberry brush has grown
to approximately 4 feet high in 2 growing
seasons.
Slapjack DFPZ Mt Hope Unit 429 This site was treated in 2010 and because there
were so many trees greater than 30 inches
diameter (the upper diameter limit for removal),
they were not able to meet their 40% canopy
objective. After the planned underburn is
completed, the site is expected to be an effective
DFPZ.
Slapjack DFPZ 19N22 road –
These two photographs illustrate before and after treatment. The photo on the left is untreated, the
photo on the right has been mechanically thinned. The large tree towards the middle of the
composite is for reference. Biomass and sawlog trees were removed during the DFPZ
mechanically thinning operation. The surface fuels will be underburned after the unit is released
from the logging operations.
Slapjack DFPZ, Old Forbestown Road
Spotted Owl underburn –
The district fire crews completed a
prescribed underburn in this spotted owl
habitat area on July 8. Because of the high
fuel loading, dense ladder fuels and surface
fuels, the crew burned very slowly and was
successful in burning 30 acres of steep
ground adjacent to private landowners at a
cost of approximately $300 per acre. There
had been no pretreatment, such as chainsaw
thinning and piling, of the treatment unit.
Both private homeowners and wildlife
biologists were pleased with the results of the
burn.
Slapjack DFPZ, Old Forbestown Road
Spotted Owl underburn –
This site had been chainsaw thinned, piled and
then underburned. The stand is more open, and
the underburn was easier to complete. The
crown base height of the live limbs was
successfully raised which is anticipated to
prevent ground fires from becoming crown fires.
Slapjack DFPZ, Old Forbestown Road
Dee Dee Cherry explains the connected
network across Chy and Soper-Wheeler
lands. She and Ray Torres also explained
that across the numerous small landowner
properties, the fuel reduction network has
not been connected as well because some
land owners want their privacy, and
therefore maintain dense forests.
Follow up actions:
Complete surface fuel treatments in Slapjack DFPZ with planned underburn treatments.
Fuels and Sale Administration shops need to collaborate to release units from the timber sale so the fuels shops
can begin to do the follow-up underburn treatments.
Notes prepared by:
HFQLG Monitoring Team Leader: /s/
Reviewed by District Ranger:
Colin Dillingham
/s/ Karen Hayden
Date: July 12, 2011
Date: July 25, 2011