Schooner/Rock Creek Restoration Project Fieldtrip
Hebo Stewardship Group
Friday, May 29, 2015
US Forest Service staff for the trip included:
Lorena Wisehart, Hebo District NEPA Planner
Michelle Dragoo, District Wildlife Biologist
Nathan Pearson, Timber Sale Administrator
Wayne Patterson, Silviculturist
Rob Sanders, Forest Transportation Planner
Adriana Morales, District Fish Biologist
Debbie Hobbs, Recreation and Lands Staff Officer
Eric Hayes, Harvest Inspector
Frank Davis, Forest Planner
Participants:
Chris Nelson, GP Toledo
Kurt Olsen- City of Lincoln City
Paul Katen– Salmon-Drift Creek Watershed Council
Graham Klag - SDCWC
Paul Robertson – Devil’s Lake Water Improvement District
Chandra LeGue – Oregon Wild
Jerry Franklin – University of Washington
Mike Kennedy – Siletz Tribe
Jane Barth, HSG facilitator
Welcome and Introductions in Rose Lodge
The field trip was organized for HSG participants and interested parties to view the
planning area for the Hebo Ranger District’s current landscape-scale planning effort. A
wide range of FS specialists participated in the field trip to discuss different actions
proposed under the project. They provided participants with project area maps. The FS
is at the start of writing up the Environmental Assessment (EA). Data is being collected
and alternatives are being considered. They are open to input both during the tour and
after via email or phone call.
Sales within the EA area will be staggered from 2018-2021. Contractors have 3-8 years
to complete work depending on the acreage and elements plus up to 5 years after for
follow-up activities like planting and creating snags.
The first 2 stops were to visit young managed stands proposed to be thinned and
discuss current management concerns related to marbled murrelet and northern spotted
owl. The 3rd stop was to view a portion of the washed out 1772 road proposed for
reconstruction and discuss proposed activities related to road construction,
maintenance, closure, and decommissioning.
First stop – 90 acre stand to be treated
The group stood on a native surface road that will be reopened. At the end of the
project work, the road will either be closed or kept open to come back for more work in
15-20 years. This is not yet decided.
The stand was clearcut in 1955. There is no evidence of herbicide application, but it
was burnt. It is a unique mix stand because Douglas-fir struggled to get established,
perhaps because they delayed replanting for 2 years and large shrubs had gotten
established. Planted to 350 trees/acre, but ended up with only 120-130 trees/acre.
When sold, the contract will try to keep trees with special characteristics for critters and
will say to keep x trees/acre. The resultant thinning will likely retain about 70-80
trees/acre. There is now the ability to use designation by prescription contracting tool in
traditional timber sales, not only stewardship sales. Goals are regeneration of
understory components such as shade tolerant trees and forbs and brush, maintain
existing diversity, place gaps in appropriate locations. There are no fisheries concerns
in this stand; as there is only an intermittent stream that runs dry in the summer.
At this stop, the group also looked up the hill at a stand that was clearcut in 1981 and
planted to 350 trees/acre. The trees in this stand are too small for commercial harvest
and possibly too large for pre-commercial thinning. Discussed challenges of moving
that stand to a healthier, more desirable state in the future. Options offered were precommercial thinning to more quickly develop a commercially thinable stand or to
commercial thin now.
Second stop – stand where doing flying squirrel research
This stand is very different than the first stop as it is hemlock dominated. It also was
clearcut in 1955. This stand was chosen for treatment and for flying squirrel research
due to the diversity of species and structure. The research will be a paired study in
treated and natural stands. This research may help determine treatment options to
maintain flying squirrels on the landscape as a source population for nearby stands.
Flying squirrels main diet is truffles, but it was noted by Dr. Jerry Franklin that truffles
has very little nutritional value and need other food sources to supplement their diets,
such as the Ericaceous shrubs and berries. Therefore, there is a need for the
understory to develop in order for the flying squirrel population to be successful. Midstory canopy is also needed to help them avoid predators.
Treatment option ideas were shared by field trip participants, in particular Dr. Jerry
Franklin. He advised taking only the hemlock, working in patches and not disturbing the
existing woody debris. His goal would be to release the Douglas-fir to maintain and
increase their crown ratios, accelerating the development of large branches and
encouraging the development of epicormic branching. This prescription was very
similar to a prescription Michelle Dragoo and Wayne Patterson described only smaller
patches. The smaller patch size is intended to minimize the chance of blow down.
Stop 3, Hike to washed out 1772 Road
This road blew out in 1996 due to debris torrents that blocked the culvert. The FS
looked closely at options to access the 1300 acres of young managed stands beyond
the wash out, including building a new road through a mature natural stand, building a
new road through a young plantation that crossed some private land, and repairing the
washed out portions of the existing 1772 road. The proposal is to install a 6-8’ pipe, fill
the chasm with rock for increased drainage as opposed to just soil, leaving about a 2
foot grade dip. There are no anadramous fish at this point in the stream due to a
waterfall blockage, but the stream does flow down to coho stream. In the future 20
mmbf will be going over this road so it needs to be built well. The decision whether to
leave it open to administrative use only or open to all traffic after the sales are
completed is still under analysis. Benefits to leave it open include ability to access area
to monitor the road and check on erosion problems that may occur. Possible benefits to
limiting traffic on the road to administrative use only include potential for reduced
impacts to wildlife habitat from fragmentation.