FS brings citizens into forest planning

As the result of a 1999 congressional mandate, the Forest Service was granted a new tool in forest management -- common sense -- and it's being used in the Metolius region.

Under a stewardship program called "multi-party monitoring," diverse interests are sitting down at the same table and walking the woods together in an effort to achieve the best possible results for forest management.

In implementing this program for the Sisters area, the Forest Service has brought together a team with membership that ranges from Sierra Club activists to commercial loggers.

Last week, the team held what it termed a "contracting primer" session and field trip to explore some of the options that are available in implementing the new forest plan for the Metolius Region, which is set forth in a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) released last month.

One of the key features of the EIS is a plan to thin concentrations of young trees that are a detriment to long-term forest health.

The single biggest hurdle to achieving the plan's goals is, of course, the cost; and that's part of what the monitoring team hopes to tackle.

Marcus Kauffman, of the Watershed Research and Training Center in Eugene, explained that sales contracts are awarded to the highest bidder and service contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder.

Traditionally, contracts for "services" such as thinning and contracts for "sales" of trees have been as different as apples and oranges. Cindy Glick, Assistant Forest Service Silviculturist and a driving force behind the local stewardship program, senses a change.

"It's not apples and oranges, anymore," she said. "It's all just fruit."

It's now possible to blend the two contracts together into what Kauffman termed "hybrid" contracts.

According to Kauffman, "This allows for the job to go to the best contractor, not necessarily the one who puts up the most money."

This process, which may involve "less than free and open competition," permits the Forest Service to enter into agreements that make good sense for the goals of a particular project.

Kauffman explained that "best value contracting" is now the rule for a multi-party monitoring pilot project such as that envisioned for the Metolius.

Criteria for awarding a contract under this policy may include price, past performance and technical capability of the contractor, local economic effects, and optimal product utilization. The bottom line is that the Forest Service has more control over contractor selection and can use its experience and insight to make the most sensible choice.

"We're just really delighted that we have the opportunity to use these new contracting methods," said Glick. "We have a lot of small trees with minimal commercial value, and it gives us a chance to get these removed from the forest and into different markets such as firewood, hog fuel, posts, rails and small timber."

The Forest Service likes the plan because it improves forest health in a cost efficient manner that produces other benefits as well.

"When we remove this material from the site, it reduces the wildfire potential and reduces smoke in the area because we don't have to burn it," Glick said.

Another benefit to the new contracting method is that it's not necessary to cover everything in a single all-encompassing contract.

Vickie Dunaway, Timber Sale Administrator for the Forest Service, recommends multiple contracts for a big project like the Metolius so that it can be completed more efficiently in what she termed "little bites."

Sisters District Ranger Bill Anthony, who also attended the meeting was among those welcoming the stewardship pilot project and its more flexible guidelines.

"We've added these tools in our stewardship role," he said. "When we implement this project we will consider all these tools plus traditional tools.

"It will be my goal to implement this project as quickly as we can," Anthony said.

The project is slated to get underway later this year, and a public meeting to discuss the Metolius project is scheduled for Saturday, January 18, from 9 to11 a.m. at the Camp Sherman Community Hall.

Information is available at the local Forest Service office.