Sales of timber in stands charred in last summer’s Chetco Bar Fire could be sold as early as next month as the Forest Service this week formalized its salvage plans for the 191,197-acre fire area in southwest Oregon. The forest’s final Chetco Bar Salvage Project decision lays the foundation for selling about 71 million board-feet of trees in dead or dying stands in just 4,090 acres, representing only 2.5 percent of the fire’s overall footprint.
The decision, which mirrors the forest’s preferred option released last spring, focuses the sprinkled timber sales in Forest Service holdings in the Chetco and Pistol river drainages in Curry County. The decision also calls for building 13.5 miles of roads characterized as short and temporary as well as the opening of about 6.3 miles of closed roads for log hauling.
The decision comes with an expedited timetable authorized by Forest Service officials because trees in the project area have begun to deteriorate and delays could leave post-fire logging economically infeasible, according to the forest.
The forest also needs money from the sales to help pay for other post-fire projects such as fuels reduction, watershed protection and replanting burned areas, according to the decision. Forest officials also want to get as much work done as possible before snows end the work season.
The forest’s last salvage attempt after 2002’s Biscuit Fire that burned in much of the same area as the Chetco Bar Fire had a much larger footprint and came with delays that rendered most of the damaged timber unsuitable for milling. Lessons from that effort left an impression on Forest Service officials when they considered their post-fire strategy for Chetco Bar, Deputy Forest Supervisor Craig Trulock said.
From the Mail Tribune: https://mailtribune.com/news/top-stories/chetco-bar-fire-sales-could-go-up-in-july