Coalition proposes environmentally responsible forest management

Diverse membership includes timber interests, environmental activists and government officials

A diverse coalition that began quietly meeting in a southwestern Oregon living room two years ago hopes to silence the war of words in local forests.

At least when it comes to the little trees.

Members of the Southern Oregon Small Diameter Stewardship Collaborative, including timber industry representatives, environmental activists and federal agency employees, have reached consensus on an approach to remove more small-diameter trees from unnaturally dense forests in the region.

They will make a presentation to the Jackson County Board of Commissioners today.

Basically, the group will present the board with its strategic plan, which includes how it intends to work together in the coming years. Organizers are working with representatives of the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to identify land for a project that will allow thinning on at least 10,000 acres.

"This agreement gives us the best opportunity in years to get past stalemate so we can begin taking steps to reduce the risk of more catastrophic wildfires on our public lands," said collaborator Dave Schott, executive vice president of the Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association.

"Furthermore, if we can get these projects going on a regular schedule, I believe the resulting supply of material will attract new business investment and create new jobs in the region," he added.

A fellow collaborator, Joseph Vaile, conservation director of Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center in Ashland, agreed.

"It's exciting when the timber industry and groups like KS Wild can come to an agreement for things like thinning forests and getting small-diameter timber to the mills," Vaile said. "Hopefully, this will help give direction to federal agencies about something we all agree on.

"Instead of focusing on stopping projects that damage the environment, we want to encourage what we see as environmentally responsible management," he added. "We see this as something the forest and communities really need."

They are among the nearly 50 collaborators in the effort, said project coordinator Jeff Allen, who has been facilitating the group's work over the past six months through the Southwest Oregon Resource Conservation & Development Council. A non-profit organization, the council operates on the premise that local people can work together to identify issues and enhance the quality of life in their area, he said.

"But we had to be really clear about what we were trying to accomplish," Allen said. "At the beginning, some people wanted to end old-growth logging; others wanted to end lawsuits against old-growth logging. Neither will be accomplished here. We are very focused on removing small-diameter timber in places where it doesn't belong.

"We are making progress by getting this group to agree," he continued. "And we are keeping them together by focusing on what we agree about."

Forests are overgrown with small trees largely because of fire suppression in the region for the past century, he noted. Thinning them will reduce the potential for catastrophic fires while producing wood fiber for the timber industry and improving forest health, he added.

Both the Forest Service and BLM have pledged their support, he said.

"Getting an agreement on the supply side is important, but the other half is the demand side," he said. "We need to create markets for this material. The more it's worth, the more of this work we can afford to do."

Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at pfattig@mailtribune.com.