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Fire crews will move forward with prescribed burning in Blue Mountain Ranger District's Starr Project Area today with goals of approximately 127 acres in Unit 30, off of Forest Road 24. Today's prescribed ignitions will include jackpot burning, a form of underburn or broadcast burn where the target fuels to be ignited are the concentrations (or jackpots) of vegetative fuel. Fire will creep between concentrations of slash, increasing as conditions begin to dry from the past few days of heavy rain.

OKANOGAN FLOODING 2018 Final Incident Update – May 21, 2018 10 A.M. Okanogan County – With levees built to withstand expected river flows and sandbags stockpiled throughout Okanogan County, the Northeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team (IMT) has completed its mission to solidify flood protection along the Okanogan River. Monitoring efforts will now be managed by the county’s Department of Emergency Management and cities along the river valley. Thanks to the help of dedicated community volunteers, the IMT made of firefighters from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, the Washington Fire Service, the Washington Conservation Corps and the Washington State Patrol was able to fill and lay more than 220,000 sandbags along the river’s banks, resulting in 6,623 feet of additional protection along levees from Oroville to Okanogan. “We’re glad we were able to come in here quickly and help our neighbors and colleagues in Okanogan County,” said Ed...

With widespread rain received over the weekend, Prairie City and Emigrant Creek Ranger Districts will be evaluating conditions to determine the next possible prescribed burn window. Blue Mountain Ranger District crews will be conducting black line operations in the Starr project area, off Forest Road 24, south of John Day.For further information on planned prescribed burning, visit R6 Malheur N.F. Potential Prescribed Fire Projects Interactive Map.The data in this interactive map represents the recently completed, active, upcoming, and out-year prescribed fire planning for the Malheur National Forest. All units have been analyzed under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Burning typically takes place once all other activities described in the project analysis have been completed. Prescribed burning is highly dependent on precise weather and fuel conditions, and managers coordinate with the Oregon Department of Forestry to minimize air quality impacts to local communities....

A Fresh Look at Sustainability in Forest Management

Harvest this much. Save this type of habitat. Achieve these markers of biodiversity. Traditional approaches to forest management tend to focus on specific ecological and revenue objectives, how much land to dedicate to these objectives, and how to achieve them.

But there is something largely missing from these approaches. Us. Humans. Under traditional approaches, humans exist somewhat outside of the forested ecosystems we are managing, even as we look to the forest to meet our needs.

Yet there is a growing recognition that humans are an integral part of these systems. Consider the interactions and interdependencies of a community and the forest and streams that surround it (Figure 1). The forest needs human intervention to stay safe and healthy due to past timber harvest, fire suppression, and major environmental shifts such as climate change. And communities need the forest’s ecosystem services, which can range from timber for harvest to carbon storage, filtered water, and streams with healthy fish populations for food and recreation. Such services keep communities healthy and more likely and able to care for the forest.

Figure 1. Holistic View of Sustainability

This recognition is the basis for a sustainable forest management concept that the ONRC and its partners refer to as “rural ecosystem sustainability.” Under this concept, the forest and its communities are defined as a “rural ecosystem” and managed with strategies that benefit both. “To care for the place, you have to care for the people. And to care for the people, you have to care for the place,” says Hilary Franz, the Commissioner of Public Lands and leader of DNR, steward of over two million forested acres that touch the lives of communities across the state.

Although this concept has been documented in recent scientific literature—for example, the 2017 Island Press book People, Forests, and Change: Lessons from the Pacific Northwest described a “human-forest ecosystem”—it has not been tested at a landscape scale. That is about to change. An ambitious new study called the “Large-Scale Integrated Management Experiment” or T3 Experiment for short is being developed to test this holistic sustainability concept across thousands of acres of forest on the western Olympic Peninsula.

A Unique Study

A basic requirement for studying rural ecosystem sustainability is to define an ecosystem that contains people in the context of the surrounding land. The OESF on the western Olympic Peninsula fits this description. Defined largely along watershed lines, the OESF’s boundaries encompass over a million acres of both forestland and communities. Communities include small towns like Forks and four Native American reservations, plus farms and other businesses. Forests are managed for a range of objectives by DNR, tribes, private landowners, conservation organizations, the US Forest Service, and the National Park Service. DNR manages over 270,000 acres in the OESF on behalf of public trust beneficiaries such as counties and schools.

The T3 Experiment’s central purpose is to find a management strategy that lifts the wellbeing of the OESF’s communities and forests above what is being experienced right now.  In this study, which is co-led by the University of Washington’s ONRC and DNR, researchers will apply three management strategies and a no-action control on DNR-managed lands in 16 Type 3 watersheds in the OESF (Figure 2). DNR will define ecological and community wellbeing indicators through a collaborative process, quantify how well each strategy meets these indicators over time, and then conduct a comparative analysis to draw conclusions on which strategy improves ecological and community wellbeing the most. (Type 3 watersheds are catchments of the smallest fish-bearing streams.)

Figure 2. One of the 16 Type 3 watersheds in this study Figure 3. Timber Museum in Forks, WA. Timber harvest and management has been part of the city’s history for decades.

This is not your typical forestry study.

Forestry studies seldom include something so nebulous….subjective….and difficult to measure as community wellbeing. Elements of environment wellbeing have been studied for decades, and scientific literature abounds for how to do so. For example, many studies have measured biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, and other characteristics.

But community wellbeing can be many things to many people. Jobs. Knowing one’s neighbors. Road access into the forest for recreation. Gathering places like libraries. High school seniors who stay after graduation instead of lighting out at the first opportunity.

So how do you define it?

By asking stakeholders, especially those who live in these communities. Members of the community, local tribes, environmental groups, timber company representatives, and other stakeholders will be invited to define what wellbeing means to them. They may have other opportunities to participate as well, such as workshops. Collaboration with stakeholders is an important feature of this study because there is no way to succeed without involving them, particularly members of the very communities the study is intended to benefit (Figure 3).

Another unique aspect of this study is that each strategy will be implemented through DNR’s Olympic Region timber sale program, not as separate research experiments. This is nothing but practical. “It can be difficult to translate the results of a small research study to normal timber operations,” explains Bill Wells, Coast District Manager with Olympic Region. “We have to be able to incorporate what we learn from this experiment at an operational scale.” So why not start at that scale to begin with? Study units have been sized accordingly.

In other words, researchers are not pursuing knowledge for the sake of knowledge. They want defensible results that can be used to make informed management choices. Through an adaptive management process, results may be used to improve the management of the OESF and possibly other areas DNR manages.

Ideally, results also will benefit forests and communities far beyond the boundaries of the OESF. ONRC and DNR are inviting participation in this study from other land management, academic, and scientific organizations with a major goal of collaborative learning and sharing of knowledge.

16 Watersheds, 4 Blocks, 4 Strategies

One of the first steps in this study was to select the 16 Type 3 watersheds in which the strategies would be tested. To yield meaningful results, each watershed had to be at least 500 acres, be managed mostly by DNR, include at least some older or old-growth forest, include the steep slopes that are so common across the OESF, and contain timber that was ready to harvest. Researchers and DNR managers chose watersheds within the basins of the Hoh, Clearwater, and Queets rivers.

Figure 4. DNR Olympic Region manager Mona  Griswold rolls dice to randomly assign strategies to watersheds in each block.

Researchers grouped watersheds into blocks of four based on how similar the watersheds were to each other. For example, they grouped watersheds that were at a similar elevation, were roughly the same size, and had trees of roughly the same age. Grouping watersheds this way helps to screen out nuisance factors, which are traits like elevation that can skew results and make it difficult to compare results from different watersheds.

Within each block, each watershed was assigned one of the four strategies in a way that was completely random – in this case, by rolling the dice (Figure 4). This spatial design is called a “randomized block” (Figure 5).

Within each block, each watershed will be managed under its respective strategy. Where the harvest will be and what harvest technique will be used will depend on the strategy.

Under the “plan” strategy, the watershed will be managed per the integrated management concept and harvest techniques described in the 2016 OESF Forest Land Plan. Under integrated management, most sensitive areas are managed for ecological values but are not part of fixed, permanent ecological reserves. In areas managed for revenue, DNR uses harvest techniques designed to create and maintain a structurally varied forest that can provide additional support for ecological values as well as revenue.

Integrated management is a marked contrast to the “zoned” strategy, which is widely used by the US Forest Service as well as DNR in other areas it manages. Under the zoned strategy, the watershed is divided into permanent areas or “zones” for either ecological values or timber harvest. Harvests will be located in the latter; the former will be left unmanaged. Techniques likely will be similar to the plan strategy.

The “no-action control” is not a viable management strategy for DNR under state law. However, these watersheds will provide a contrast to active management and enable researchers to understand how the forest interacts with natural disturbance in absence of management. The control strategy also reflects stakeholder interest in managing some areas as carbon sinks and using carbon payments in lieu of harvest to generate revenue. DNR is committed to leaving these four watersheds unmanaged for 10 years.

The “accelerated” strategy is similar to the plan but with one key difference: management will explore techniques and areas that are more innovative or uncertain but may offer greater benefits to both community and environment. For example, DNR may thin riparian areas to a wider spacing than is currently allowed under the plan in the hope of producing larger trees that contribute higher-quality down wood to streams. DNR also may experiment with “tethered logging,” in which logging equipment is tethered to the slope with cables. Tethered logging is more cost effective than cable logging and safer for forest workers, and may enable DNR to operate on steeper slopes than is currently feasible with ground-based equipment.

There is a general perception that the accelerated strategy may spur the most creative answers to how to boost community and environmental wellbeing (Figure 6). But will it? Time will tell.

Next Steps

The T3 Experiment is in its infancy. After discussing the study proposal with stakeholders and managers in 2016, in 2017 DNR and ONRC began collaborating with scientists from the US Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, Oregon State University, NOAA, and other organizations to develop a draft study plan. The full study plan is being developed and will be submitted for peer review later this year. The watersheds have been selected as described earlier. Next steps include specifying experimental treatments, identifying wellbeing indicators for monitoring, and exploring funding options.

Another step is determining how to quantify community wellbeing indicators for each strategy, and how to tease out the differences between the strategies and how well they support the community. That will take creative problem solving.

However challenging and complex, this study is necessary. Rural communities in Washington and elsewhere are struggling as our demands from the forest become more complex, more numerous, and potentially more conflicting. At the same time, the forest is experiencing environmental changes such as rising temperatures and more extreme weather. We need creative, sustainable, and balanced solutions, and we need them now. This study will not only help find those solutions, but provide a model for working collaboratively to achieve a higher level of wellbeing for forest and community alike.

Figure 6. Examples of wellbeing indicators and how they might perform over a decade or longer C is the no-action control strategy, Z is zoned, P is plan, and A is accelerated. C > Z = P = A means that for CO2  sequestration, researchers think the control strategy will outperform the other three strategies, which will perform roughly the same for this indicator.

The Learning Forest is an electronic newsletter published jointly by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and the University of Washington’s Olympic Natural Resources Center. All newsletter issues are available online. To receive this publication or to be added to the distribution list, go to our sign-up page or contact the editor at cathy.chauvin@dnr.wa.gov.

 

About the Authors

Bernard Bormann, Ph.D, is a professor at the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences College of Environment, University of Washington and Director of the ONRC. His research includes forest ecology, the role of soils in long-term productivity, and adaptive management.

Marc L. Miller, Ph.D, is a professor of Marine and Environmental Affairs and adjunct professor of Environmental and Forest Sciences at the University of Washington. His domestic and international research has concerned social and cultural change, globalization, sustainable livelihoods, natural resource and protected area governance, and outdoor recreation and tourism.

Teodora Minkova, Ph.D, is a natural resource scientist in DNR’s Forest Resources Division and an affiliate assistant professor at the University of Washington’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences. She manages the research and monitoring program for the OESF and is one of principal investigators on the T3 Experiment.

Cathy Chauvin is a writer, editor, planner, and graphic designer for DNR. She was part of the team completing the forest land plan and related environmental documents for the OESF.

OKANOGAN FLOODING 2018 Incident Update – May 18, 2018 11 A.M. Okanogan County – Flood mitigation efforts along the Okanogan River are moving into defense mode as crews finish shoring up protection efforts. Crews working with community volunteers have filled and laid approximately 200,000 sandbags along the river throughout Okanogan County to protect critical infrastructure and homes. Work will now focus on strengthening those barriers and responding to leaks as they arise. Although water levels are not as high as earlier forecasted, the ground is extremely saturated and may become unstable in areas. All citizens should be prepared and take appropriate actions to protect lives and property as necessary. A flash flood watch issued by the National Weather Service Thursday remains in effect. Citizens should be aware of the potential for flash floods especially over recent burn scars, as well as the possibility of rapidly rising tributary systems feeding into the Okanogan River. The...

OKANOGAN FLOODING 2018 Incident Update – May 17, 2018 12 P.M. Okanogan County – The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch due to severe thunderstorms that are predicted for later today. These storms will produce the potential for flash floods especially over recent burn scars, as well as the possibility of rapidly rising tributary systems feeding into the Okanogan River. All citizens should be prepared for rising water and take appropriate actions to protect lives and property as necessary. Flooding began last week when warm temperatures melted a record Canadian snowpack into the Okanogan, Similkameen and Methow rivers and their tributaries. Incident Commanders are working closely with the National Weather Service to monitor water levels, which are expected to continue to rise through the weekend. Residents living near these rivers should continue to monitor high water levels and be prepared to move to higher ground if necessary. Colville Tribes Emergency...

Road closure information for Okanogan County can be found at

OKANOGAN FLOODING 2018 Incident Update – May 16, 2018 10:00 AM Okanogan County – More than 200 responders from around the state are continuing efforts to solidify protection of critical infrastructure throughout Okanogan County against flooding that began last week and is expected to intensify through this weekend. We want all citizens to be prepared for rivers rising and take appropriate actions to protect lives and property as necessary. These efforts are being organized by the Okanogan County Department of Emergency Management and the Northeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team. Crews from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and the Washington Conservation Corps are working closely with the US Army Corps of Engineers, local officials and countless community volunteers and contractors to assess and strengthen flood protections. Flooding began last week when warm temperatures melted a record Canadian snowpack into the Okanogan, Similkameen and...

The Willow Springs Fire was contained May 15 at 3:56pm. The wildfire cause is undetermined, but a managed fire approach was used to control the fire. Terrain and weather allowed fire managers to utilize the wildfire to reduce dangerous fuels and improve forest heath, just like with a prescribed

All districts are on hold with prescribed ignitions for the remainder of this week due to weather and local area considerations (Oyster Feed in Seneca, Ore. this weekend) until early to mid-next week. Ignitions are complete in unit 10 of the Damon South project area, with approximately 500 acres accomplished Tuesday using helicopter and hand ignition, totaling 630 acres in two days. Crews on the Emigrant Creek Ranger District accomplished 940 acres in Silvies project area on Monday.

Blue Mountain Ranger District crews will continue with Damon south prescribed ignitions again today. They may also be conduction some black line in Galena project area should conditions line up. Prairie City Ranger District will not be conducting any prescribed burning today. To the south, Emigrant Creek Ranger District crews will hold the Silvies 8 unit that went as planned yesterday, accomplishing 940 acres of low intensity fire within the unit. Crews will monitor the prescribed burns until they are called out.Smoke may settle into valleys, but should clear out as the day progresses. The weather forecast is calling for rain and wind in the area tonight and tomorrow which will disperse smoke and dampen any residual fire

Malheur National Forest fire crews, plan to conduct additional prescribed fire operations, starting as early as today, Monday, May 14. Blue Mountain Ranger District crews will be working on approximately 600 acres in the Damon project area, located in the vicinity of Seneca. Crews on Emigrant Creek Ranger District will continue in the Silvies project area, located north of Burns, where crews anticipate accomplishing about 900 acres of treatment. Burning operations may have some short-term impacts on air quality levels. Fire personnel will work closely with the Oregon Department of Forestry in accordance with State Smoke Management Plans to insure that smoke impacts on the local communities are minimized. As compared to wildfires, prescribed fires are shorter in duration and are conducted under weather conditions to minimize the impacts of smoke on the public. Smoke may worsen symptoms for people who have pre-existing health conditions and those who are particularly sensitive to...

On the northern half of the forest, fire officials are currently holding and monitoring prescribed ignitions from earlier this week. Crews will begin to prepare for the next window for ignitions. Active project areas include Damon, Starr, Galena, Knox and 16 Road. On the south half, crews are preparing the Silvies project area for plans to ignite next week, followed by the George project area. The specific dates of each burn is dependent on many variables including resource availability, current and predicted weather, and smoke management constraints.

The Malheur National Forest fire staff will evaluate conditions to initiate prescription fire operations in the Damon project area, located on the Blue Mountain Ranger District, as soon as today, Thursday, May 10. If conditions meet criteria for prescribed fire, crews will start ignitions on 1,000 acres in the Damon Unit 10, located near Swick Old Growth. Crews continue with operations in the Marshall Devine project area on the south half of the forest, and area near completion of 1,300 acres. The Baker River Interagency Hotshot Crew from Washington State will be on forest assisting with the operations. The community of John Day may notice increased activity of Forest Service vehicles in the area for the next 10 days, as crews travel to and from the Forest and are in town resupplying and purchasing fuel. The increased use of prescribed fire, implemented under conditions that pose minimal ecological and social risk, is an important tool in helping the Malheur National Forest...

Knox Project Area Today, May 8, 2018, the Prairie City Ranger District will begin aerial ignitions prescribed burn in the Knox project area with goals of completing up to 700 acres. Silvies and 16 Road Project Area Over the weekend, the Emigrant Creek Ranger District successfully conducted a prescribed burn in the Silvies project area. Crews were able to achieve approximately 500 acres on Friday; efforts on Saturday produced an additional 300 acres of successful treatment. Crews on the Prairie City Ranger District were able to accomplish 125 acres of treatment using prescribed fire. Marshal Devine Project Area On Monday May 7, fire crews were able to complete 800 acres of prescribed fire treatment in the Marshal Devine project area, near Forest Road 31 and Hwy 395 south, on the Emigrant Creek District. Crews hope to complete an additional 500 acres on Tuesday, May 8. Smoke may have a temporary impact, reducing visibility on local roadways, including Highway 395, near the burning...

The Prairie City Ranger District is planning to initiate prescribed fire operations today on 120 acres just south of Crane Prairie Guard Station. If weather conditions hold on Saturday, crews will work to complete operations on an additional 100 plus acres in the same area. The Emigrant Creek Ranger District plans to conduct a prescribed burn in the Silvies Unit starting as early as today. The planned prescribed fire operations are located northeast of Burns. After many years of fire exclusion, an ecosystem that needs periodic fire becomes unhealthy. Trees are stressed by overcrowding; fire-dependent species disappear; and flammable fuels build up and become hazardous. The right fire at the right place at the right time: • Reduces hazardous fuels, protecting human communities from extreme fires; • Minimizes the spread of pest insects and disease; • Removes unwanted species that threaten species native to an ecosystem; • Provides forage for game; • Improves habitat for...

Fire staff on the Prairie City Ranger District initiated Prescribed Fire operations on Wednesday, April 26, in the Dads WUI Project Area. Crews were able to effectively treat 35 acres, another 15 acres will be completed on Thursday, April 26. A wet cold front is expected to move into the area on Friday, April 27, operations will be halted until on the ground conditions improve after the cool and damp weather changes.

Two musicians based in the greater Seattle area are celebrating their love of the outdoors in a rather surprising way – by playing their instruments in the mountains.

As one of the state’s largest public land stewards, we’ve heard of visitors connecting with our state’s working forests and conservation areas in a lot of ways. With over 1,200 miles of trail and 70 campgrounds statewide, it’s no surprise that DNR-managed lands offer some of the most diverse ways to experience the outdoors. You can cross-country ski in the shadow of Mount Rainier, enjoy one of over 25 beachfront campsites in the San Juan Islands, test out your skills on one of our expert-only downhill-only mountain bike trails or rock climb at some of the state’s most brag-worthy destinations.

While some take a trail map or summit snack with them into the outdoors, Anastasia Allison and Rose Freeman, of the Musical Mountaineers, carry a violin and a carefully packed keyboard along with them for sunrise performances in the outdoors, intended to celebrate both their love of music and their love of the outdoors. The early morning performances are aimed at respecting leave no trace principles and finding time so their enjoyment of the outdoors doesn’t impact other visitors.

“Our intent is to share this beautiful combination of music and the wilderness with the world, but we would never do that at the expense of somebody who didn’t want to hear our music live,” Anastasia said.

The duo has performed in the North Cascades National Park, Mount Rainier National Park and this spring stopped by our Manastash Ridge near Ellensburg, which overlooks Kittitas Valley and provides a breathtaking view of the Stuart Mountain Range.

DNR manages Manastash Ridge in partnership with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, which is coordinating a trails planning process to guide recreation development and management for the system for the next 10 to 15 years.

Anastasia and Rose realized early on the impact their music was having – people from all over the world were deeply touched by the combination of music in the mountains.

“[The Manastash performance] meant a lot to the communities that saw those videos online,” Anastasia said.

As you’re out visiting one of DNR’s 160+ recreation sites this summer, you may find Anastasia and Rose celebrating one of your favorite trails. The Musical Mountaineers aren’t super easy to find though – they keep their performances brief, at sunrise and don’t promote them broadly so they don’t draw too much of a crowd.

To watch all of their wilderness concerts, you can visit their YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/themusicalmountaineers

For more information about getting outdoors in DNR working forestland and conservation areas statewide, visit dnr.wa.gov/go.

PENDLETON, Ore. - Fire management officials on the Heppner Ranger District are preparing to implement a 250-acre prescribed burn as early as Thursday, April 26 near Sunflower Flat, approximately 20 miles south of Heppner. The activities are anticipated to produce localized smoke impacts for approximately two to three days, after ignitions are complete. The objective of the prescribed burn operation is to reduce hazardous fuel loads by using controlled fire to reduce the amount of dead and down fuels and selectively thin understory trees in dense forested stands. Prescribed burning will also help stimulate fire tolerant plant species, enhance forage and browse, and reduce the risk of large stand-replacing wildfires. If conditions are right, the district will continue burning into next week. Frequent, low-intensity fire is essential for healthy forests and reducing the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire caused by excessive fuel buildup. Prescribed burning is an effective tool for...

John Day, Prairie City, and Hines, Ore. – The Malheur National Forest is preparing to implement early season prescribed burning activities and planning for late season burning. Spring prescribed burning may begin as early as this week in the Knox unit on the Prairie City Ranger District, if conditions are favorable. Early season burning starts as snow melts and runs through the beginning of fire season typically, as early as March through typically June. Late season burning can begin as fire season is winding down, typically September and run as late as November. Prescribed burning is done to achieve a variety of objectives including reducing hazardous fuels, reducing activity slash to facilitate planting, reducing the risk of large-scale wildfires, enhancing wildlife habitat, and restoring fire as a disturbance factor on landscapes. An estimated 10,000 acres are planned for burning in the early season and 14,000 acres in the late season, but that figure could increase if...