BLM’s approach to dying Douglas fir stands in southern Oregon raises some questions...
Douglas fir dieoff in the Ashland Watershed. Credit: Danny DePinte
If you’ve recently spent time enjoying the gorgeous springtime weather around Ashland, you’ve likely heard the overhead whirring of helicopters as they have begun removing some of the dead and dying Douglas fir trees in the Ashland watershed above Lithia Park. This comes after years of climate change-induced drought and heat domes that have severely impacted forested watersheds throughout much of Southern Oregon.
The effects of climate change on our forests are dramatic and concerning. Here in the Klamath-Siskiyous, from the Ashland watershed to the forested hillsides in the Applegate Valley, we are seeing an unprecedented tree mortality of low-elevation Douglas fir stands due to the lethal combination of drought, heat domes and insect infestation.
Encouraging hardwoods
The Medford District Bureau of Land Management has initiated a planning effort to remove some of the dead and dying Douglas fir trees while encouraging the development of hardwood stands — such as oak and madrone — that may be more resilient to climate change impacts like heat and drought. This project is called the Strategic Operations for Safety.
As a public lands watchdog organization, KS Wild’s job is to monitor proposed projects and encourage holistic management across all public lands, so it must be noted that while the BLM is struggling to address widespread Douglas fir mortality with the urgency it needs to, it is also conducting “regeneration” logging — which is the removal of healthy older forest stands followed up by planting dense young Douglas fir stands that are not resilient to fire or drought — across much of the forestland they are responsible for. One such timber sale is the South Clark Forest Management Project outside of Butte Falls, Oregon.
Selling resilient stands
Dense low-elevation second-growth Douglas fir stands like this one are struggling with drought, fire and insects. Credit: George Sexton
Higher elevation forest stands are proving to be more resilient. Credit: George Sexton
Many of the BLM’s neighbors are thankful that the agency is beginning to acknowledge and address the dramatic impacts of climate change on public forests. However, there is concern that the BLM may be contributing to the problem by continuing to propose timber sales that log resilient older forests in order to establish the dense conifer timber plantations that will be susceptible to drought and fire, just like the Douglas fir stands being treated via helicopter in the Ashland watershed this spring.
The city of Ashland, the U.S. Forest Service, and many private landowners are doing the best they can to address widespread low-elevation conifer mortality.
It remains to be seen if BLM public land managers are going to alleviate or contribute to the problem.
This article was originally seen in the Ashland.news’ KS Wild Side column. Click here to read more articles from the KS Wild Side in the Ashland.news.