Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW California man dies in I-5 rollover ... Fire destroys motor home parked near Ashland gas pumps ... Ashland pollinators conference will feature Bee City USA leader ... California man dies in I-5 rollover ... Fire destroys motor home parked near Ashland gas pumps ... Ashland pollinators conference will feature Bee City USA leader ... ENVIRONMENT Grants of $5.6M to help restore forest Federal and state funds boost 58,000-acre project to keep forest healthy and firesafe Comment By Julie Akins For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted Mar. 22, 2016 at 7:17 PM By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted Mar. 22, 2016 at 7:17 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Logging to thrive • Helicopter logging to begin • Ashland watershed project draws national praise » Social News Starting in mid-April through June, expect to see smoke and fire in the Ashland Watershed. That’s when control burns to the tune of some 500 acres will be set. In what has been hailed as a national model for forest conservation, the Ashland Forest Resiliency partnership has received an award of $5,643,800 from the U.S. Forest Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Council and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board to help restore the watershed back to its natural patterns through thinning and control burns. “The state now recognizes that fire has major impacts in the entire ecosystem” says Chris Chambers, forest division chief for Ashland Fire and Rescue. The watershed project is considered a landmark partnership in forest restoration because it uses federal, state and local funding to mimic natural fire patterns, preventing the watershed from getting so overgrown that wildfires break out and threaten the forest and community. “With an eye toward forest habitat, a severe fire would have a severe impact on a watershed,” says Chambers. He says control burns prevent severe wildfires by picking the best times based on wind and moisture, building fire breaks and back burns to prevent them from getting out of control. Naturally occuring fires historically cleared out underbrush and young trees in the Ashland watershed, making way for a natural ecosystem to thrive under its canopy. It’s happened roughly every eight years since the 1400s, according to Chambers. That all stopped in the 1940s when people began trying to stop fires which, according to environmental experts like Oshana Catranides, former executive director of Lomakatsi, resulted in an overgrown forest which contributed to wildfires like the one experienced in 2013. That year the Oregon Shakespeare Festival had to close for four days. Chambers says the community lost “multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars.” He acknowledges some may be uncomfortable with the control burns but, “We don’t have any kind of silver bullet. As much work as there is to do, we have to use fire as a tool. When compared to wildfires out of control, these burns start to look pretty good.” “Fire has no boundaries, we needed to erase those boundaries when we’re doing forest restoration work,” says Chambers. He says getting funding for work both on federal and private lands was critical to expand the reach of forest health and fire prevention. Part of the way the city of Ashland made it happen was by the city having what Mayor John Stromberg referred to as “skin in the game”: a roughly $1.39 surcharge per month on residential water users. This surcharge brings in about $175,000 per year to fund the restoration. Chambers says the city putting in its own funding cleared the way for more money from state and federal agencies. That surcharge will continue to be part of the funding. “We didn’t know where money would come from in 2013 after initial funding ran out, so this is a godsend. It’s really gratifying to know we can have a significant impact on fire danger,” says Chambers. The discussion of using fire to literally fight fire began in the late ’90s. It’s taken a decade to reach consensus and actually begin the process. The project “started as a protest of business as usual,” says Catranides, who was one of the original crafters of the collaboration between federal forest officials, fire departments, land use leaders and residents living in and near the watershed. “This partnership is a reflection of being able to do the impossible.” That “impossible” task began with brush piles, moved to a control burn of 50 acres last year, 500 acres this year and eventually 700 acres until the forest is returned to its more natural state. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the U.S. Forest Service, announced the 2016 Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership Awards, which granted a total of $3 million to the project. This is the second year that the resiliency partnership has been granted this award, which adds to the funding from the U.S. Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Oregon watershed Board. Work taking place now as a result of 2015 Joint Chiefs’ funds includes helicopter thinning, controlled burns and local forestry crews working on more than 1,100 acres of private land. It’s a plan that at first that was thought to be impractical. Control burns were not common practice in forestry management nor was helicopter logging, as real estate concerns and environmentalists clashed. But through the collaboration and years, according to Catranides, the partnership recognized the need for fewer roads, which helicopter use could help with, and a greater number of control burns to replenish the natural forest systems. “Key environmentalists and community activists became collaborators and now this is a program recognized across the nation,” said Catranides. Her view is shared by Mayor Stromberg, who says “This shows that Ashland can be a leader and show other communities how to come together to innovate.” A statement from the Rogue River Siskiyou National Forest and the city of Ashland Fire and Rescue says, in part, “The award will support forest resilience and the potential for returning 'good fire' to the landscape in the form of low-intensity burns, a goal common to the entire project area.” The sentiment is echoed by Catranides, who says, “In our minds, fire needs to be part of the ecosystem.” It took years of negotiation and understanding, since “it was met with great resistance,” as many felt a risk of control burns to air quality and the potential for fires getting out of control in residential areas. But over the years of working together systems were put in place and burns were seen as a necessity to forest health and eventually shown to offer less chance of wildfire, according to Catranides and Chambers. Chambers says confidently of the project and partnership, “We know we’re doing the right thing.” The larger Ashland Forest All-Lands Restoration (AFAR) project now incorporates 58,000 acres centered on the city’s municipal watershed. Before control burns begin, residents will be notified. Email Ashland freelance writer Julie Akins at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ @julieakins. By Julie Akins For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted Mar. 22, 2016 at 7:17 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2016 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501