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Working toward a solution Mail Tribune / Andrew Mariman Once the final environmental impact statement of the Ashland Watershed Protection Project is approved, work on reducing fire danger will begin first in the "urban interface" � where neighborhoods abut the forest as in this photo taken Thursday. Preferred alternative in final EIS tries to address rivalries By Paul Fattig ASHLAND � Linda Duffy doesn�t expect everyone to be happy with the preferred alternative in the final environmental impact statement of the Ashland Watershed Protection Project. But the long-awaited proposed solution to the controversial project allows the Forest Service to reduce the fire hazard in the watershed while accommodating most concerns in this activist community, said the ranger in charge of the Ashland Ranger District. Reduces fire hazard The preferred alternative in the final environmental impact statement would reduce fire hazard on 1,549 acres in the Ashland watershed. Specifics include: Treating 958 acres manually and 318 acres through mechanical means. The latter will result in harvesting about 1.9 million board feet of timber. Completing 273 acres of "underburning" to remove the buildup of woody debris on the forest floor. Reducing fire intensity by reducing surface fuels and forest stands. Thinning overstory trees to reduce canopy fuels and increase crown base heights. Reconstructing a quarter-mile of road and constructing one helicopter log landing site. Completing manual treatments prior to mechanical or underburning operations. The document will available to the public on Tuesday. "I think we have a very good solution here," Duffy said. "We�ve worked hard with the community to get to this point. "We�re not going to accomplish everything we wanted to with this project," she added. "But it allows us to work through traditional rivalries and toward community capacity for problem solving." The preferred alternative in the final EIS calls for managing 1,549 acres in a 4,200-acre area to reduce the potential for catastrophic fires in the watershed, beginning with the "urban interface," an area where neighborhoods abut the forest. It includes cutting 1.9 million board feet of timber on 318 acres. Of that, 257 acres would be logged by helicopter, 27 by tractor, 17 by cable yarding and 17 by horse logging. In comparison, about 3.4 million board feet would have been logged on 426 acres in the preferred alternative of a previous draft EIS released in 1999. There are no tree size restrictions in the preferred alternative now being released. "We are focusing on reducing density and ladder fuels � we are not creating open spaces," Duffy said, adding that the timber harvest is not a driving factor in the preferred alternative. "This isn�t a timber sale for timber sale reasons," she stressed. "We have work we have to do here to reduce the fire hazard." The preferred alternative is expected to cost about $1.8 million to implement after subtracting about $1 million from timber revenues, Duffy said. It will take five to eight years to complete. The document, which contains six alternatives, including the preferred, will be available at the ranger district office beginning Tuesday. Those who submitted comments in the response to the draft EIS will be sent copies of the final EIS. The public will have until Feb. 12 to comment on the document. A public study session is planned Jan. 20 at the district office in Ashland. A final decision on the project will be announced shortly after the end of the comment period. "The preferred alternative is where I�m leaning in terms of a decision unless some compelling information comes up to change that," Duffy said. Dubbed Ashland Interface Fire-Hazard Reduction, or "Hazred" when first proposed in 1996, the project immediately drew heat from the environmental community concerned about its impact on the watershed, which provides municipal water to the city of Ashland. When a draft environmental assessment was released early in 1998, it was successfully appealed by environmental groups. At that point, the agency began working with the Ashland Watershed Stewardship Alliance, a citizens group. The alliance came up with its own alternative which, coupled with public comments, was used by the agency to create the preferred alternative now being released, Duffy said. Most activists are reserving comment until they have a chance to study the document "This is the result of a lot of work by a diversity of people with a lot of wisdom and experience," said Alliance member Richard Hart, an ecologist living in Ashland. "As for the environmental community, I don�t know what to expect. I hope they give it a good read. "People need to take the document and go out on the ground and look at the landscape," he added. "They need to study both." Hart believes the bulk of the timber removed will be small-diameter trees. "But the implementation language will be a critical factor," he added. Ashland resident Dominick DellaSala, director of the World Wildlife Fund�s Klamath-Siskiyou Regional Program, agreed that the implementation is crucial. "As long as they stay clear of taking out the big trees, then it�s something we should go forward with," DellaSala said. Jay Lininger, public lands monitor for the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, is cautiously optimistic. "I�m hopeful it will be an authentic fire hazard reduction plan that focuses on areas close to homes and roads," said Lininger, who is also a member of the Alliance. "I�m hoping it will shun commercial logging and reintroduce fire to our fire-dependent ecosystem. "If it incorporates the concerns of the Alliance and the city of Ashland, then I think we�re on the right track," he added. Alliance member Carole Wheeldon, an Ashland City Council member until the end of the year, will now study the document as a member of a committee appointed by Ashland Mayor Cathy Shaw. The group will report back to the city. The agency�s effort to address the community�s concerns was impressive, Wheeldon said. "If we can continue this, it is the beginning of a longer, larger effort on the part of local citizens and the Forest Service to work together as partners in the watershed," she said. "Linda deserves a tremendous amount of credit as do all the people who came to the table." The long-term plan calls for a stewardship involving students from Southern Oregon University, Duffy said. The goal is to establish plots of 15 to 20 acres to be studied by SOU students working with the agency over the coming decades. "That�s a big change for us," Duffy said. "The university will be a real key in helping us learn from the watershed while we�re taking appropriate care of it." If there are no legal roadblocks, work in the urban interface area could start this spring, Duffy said. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.