Urban ills plague forest near Sisters

People living in the forest, human-caused fires and garbage are among the human impacts that concern local officials in the forested urban areas surrounding Sisters.

The Sisters/Why-chus Watershed Analysis, a "state of the forest" study conducted by the Sisters Ranger District, identifies the forest-urban interface as an urgent priority in managing local wildlands.

According to the report released in October 1998, "Illegal or harmful activities are increasing, including dumping, resource damage by on- and off-road vehicles, illegal woodcutting, careless use of firearms, and trespass."

"The results of the watershed analysis were kind of a surprise to us," said District Ecologist Maret Pajutee. "We spend a lot of time thinking about the forest itself, but the biggest problem is not the trees."

The study also cites human habitation on public lands, noxious weed proliferation, habitat fragmentation by utility line easements, and human-caused fires as chief concerns in the ponderosa pine forests surrounding the Sisters community.

"The most worrysome trend in the forest-urban interface is fire," Pajutee said.

The watershed analysis reported that 102 of 145 fires (70 percent) between 1982 and 1996 "were human-caused starts that occurred near and between present-day subdivisions and developed areas that are bordered by National Forest lands."

"Large fire starts are clustered around roads and urban areas," said Pajutee.

Causes of urban-interface fires range from the dumping of barbecue coals and firewood ashes to small debris fires that get out of control.

Urban-interface fires also tend to become big, dangerous "stand replacement" fires which threaten individual homes, subdivisions and even downtown Sisters, explained Pajutee.

Because of the imminent danger to humans, she said funding is directed to fuels reduction in urban areas which might otherwise go to wilderness and other forest programs.

"It's very expensive to manage fuels in the urban interface," she said. "But because of the risk, it's more of a priority than on the back of Green Ridge where you wouldn't be (endangering) people and burning up homes.

Another "disturbing trend" in urban forested areas includes the increased incidence of people living outdoors, Pajutee said.

"The lack of affordable housing and emergency shelters sometimes forces people to move outdoors for awhile," she said.

District Recreation Technician Bob Hennings said that reduced staff levels make it difficult for the Forest Service to monitor and enforce extended stay limits in the forest.

"This has been a constant thing for a number of years," said Hennings.

Due to lack of enforcement, "some of the durations might be longer and the messes might be bigger."

Hennings estimates that "dozens" of people inhabit the forest seasonally each year.

"We have addressed several areas as concerns, including Squaw Creek and the canal system near town and the Indian Ford Creek area," he explained. "Our transient population (at Indian Ford Creek) is pretty directly tied to Black Butte Ranch and the people working there.

"It seems to be college kids here in the summer," Hennings added. "Due to the (lack of) availability and (high) cost of housing in the area, it's cheaper and easier to live in the forest."

Pajutee explained that dispersed camping areas can cause "resource damage when campfires become wildfires."

These areas also become devegetated with heavy use, and damage to trees occurs when cars drive over tree roots.

She added that sanitation is a problem since no bathrooms exist at dispersed sites and Hennnings said the Forest Service often cannot afford the time it takes to clean up the messes left behind.

Other messes extracted from the forest each year include car bodies, furniture and general household garbage.

Wilderness and Trails Supervisor Paul Engstrom runs a forest clean-up each year in April.

He said the 1998 clean-up collected "10 compacted yards of litter and household garbage.

"We also collected three car seats, one cab-over-camper, three couches, six mattresses and one easy chair," said Engstrom.

"The first year we did this we pulled out three or four car bodies," he said. "In 1997, almost 50 tires were collected with close to 30 last year."

Pajutee said that, as Central Oregon continues to grow, today's problems will only increase.

"Everyone that lives in this community and values it for its natural beauty and quality of life must realize these trends will become more pronounced in the next five to 10 years," she said.

"We can be the ones to bring some of this forward but we have our hands full," she said. "We don't have all the answers, and we are more dependent than ever on working with the community."