Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Great Grant Opportunity Below!!


News Release

Up to $100,000 available for Central Oregon woodland owners to reduce wildfire risk, create healthier forests

Submit applications to the Natural Resources Conservation Service by May 22

Release No. 2015.04.027

Contact:

Tom Bennett, Resource Conservationist
541-923-4358, x123, Tom.Bennett@or.usda.gov

Tracy Robillard, Public Affairs Specialist


Portland, Ore. (April 27, 2015) -- The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announces up to $100,000 in funding available for woodland owners in Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook counties to improve the health of their woods and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire.

Interested landowners should submit applications to the USDA Redmond Service Center by May 22 to be considered for financial assistance.

The funding is available only to private, non-industrial woodland owners and will be primarily used to perform pre-commercial thinning on private forestlands. This is a popular conservation practice that involves removing smaller, unhealthy trees within dense and overcrowded woods. The funding will also support other related conservation practices, such as woody residue treatment and forest pruning.

“By thinning timber stands in dense forests, we remove the excess vegetation that provides fuel for wildfires to spread higher into the canopy -- where wildfire causes the most damage,” said Tom Bennett, NRCS resource conservationist. “Fires in overstocked stands are hotter, harder to fight, and are more likely to kill all the trees.”

“Thinning also promotes more organic matter in the soil and leads to stronger, healthier trees,” Bennett said. “The remaining trees are less prone to disease and bugs, and are more drought tolerant.”

Eligible landowners may receive payments as high as $400 per acre to treat a heavy timber stand, depending on the types of practices applied and the forest density.

The funding is provided through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), a voluntary conservation program authorized by Congress in the 2014 Farm Bill. Read more about EQIP eligibility and application requirements on the NRCS Oregon EQIP webpage.

NRCS will rank applications and prioritize them based on significant impacts to forest resources and wildfire threats to local communities. Priority areas include high-density forests around the cities of Bend, Sisters and La Pine in Deschutes County, and residential developments in Crook and Jefferson counties.

“We are focusing on areas where there is a higher need to reduce catastrophic wildfire risk to protect life, property, and public infrastructure,” Bennett said.

NRCS is partnering with the Oregon Department of Forestry to treat at-risk forestlands in the tri-county area. The two agencies estimate there are approximately 2,500 acres of overstocked, privately owned forests in these high-priority areas that could benefit from this project. NRCS aims to treat 60 percent of those acres between 2013 and 2017.

For more information about this and other NRCS programs and funding in Deschutes, Crook or Jefferson counties, contact the USDA Redmond Service Center at 541-923-4358 or email Tom.Bennett@or.usda.gov. The Redmond Service Center is located at 625 SE Salmon Avenue, Suite 4, in Redmond, Oregon.


###

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees and applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs and/or employment activities.)

Local contact information is located in the telephone book under the federal government listing or can be found online at:  www.or.nrcs.usda.gov.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Prescribed Burns Today & Tomorrow on the Deschutes National Forest

Beginning tomorrow and continuing through Friday, fuels specialists on the Deschutes National Forest intend to ignite several prescribed burns across the forest starting in the southern portion of the forest near Two Rivers North Subdivision, then moving north to Sunriver area and Camp Sherman/Metolius Meadows on Friday.

If conditions remain favorable on Thursday, ignitions totaling 258 acres will be divided between two distinct areas near the intersection of Highways 97 and 58 proximate to the Two Rivers North subdivision. Thirty-three acres are planned to be burned just east of the Two Rivers North subdivision and 225 acres are planned to be burned approximately 1 mile south of the Two Rivers North subdivision. Because these prescribed fires fall within the boundary of the Walker Range Community Wildfire Protection Plan, a specific project objective is to reduce hazardous fuels within the wildland urban interface.

On Friday, fuels specialists will be burning 3 units near Sunriver. The first is a 61 acre section adjacent to and east of Sunriver along County Road 40. The next one totals 40 acres and will take place 1 mile northwest of Sugar Pine Butte along Forest Road 9720. If weather conditions remain favorable, fuels specialists will attempt the final, 12 acre burn ½ mile southeast of the High Desert Museum. If this burn is not completed on Friday, fuels specialists will come back and complete it on Monday if conditions allow.  These burns are located within the congressionally designated Deschutes Skyline Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration which receives funding towards accelerated forest restoration and is part of an Oregon State University study evaluating short and long term effects of four silviculture treatments on stand structural development. The objective for these burns is to reduce fuels and restore forest health in areas that were historically maintained by frequent low intensity fire. 

Also on Friday, fuels specialists in Sisters will be burning a 186 acre unit approximately 1 ½ miles northwest of Camp Sherman/Metolius between Forest Road 12 and 1420. The objective of this burn is to minimize the risk of high intensity wildfire and reduce hazardous fuels within the wildland urban interface.

No road closures are anticipated with any of the projects although drivers can expect road flaggers on Road 40 into Sunriver during periods of time where dense smoke may limit visibility. Smoke from the operations near the Two Rivers North subdivision could be visible from Highways 58 and 97 as well as County Road 61.  Smoke from the operations near Camp Sherman could be visible to the communities of Camp Sherman and visitors to House on the Metolius. If smoke drifts on to local roads, motorists should slow down, turn on headlights, and proceed with care. 

Fuels specialists will follow policies outlined in the Oregon Department of Forestry smoke management plan, which governs prescribed fires, and attempts to minimize impacts to visibility and public health.  Once ignited, units are monitored and patrolled until they are declared out. 

Friday, April 17, 2015

It's FireFree Time!

FireFree is right around the corner in Deschutes and Jefferson Counties. The time to prepare for fire season is now!

Follow these 10 easy steps to protect your home from wildfire.