Locals take on forest thinning project

Sisters Forest Products is one of the subcontractors hired for a major forest-thinning project around Camp Sherman. The job started out small in mid-March but received a huge boost from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) stimulus money.

"We are doing lots of extreme high density thinning by hand at a great price," said Dave Elpi, owner of Sisters Forest Products. "A very good if not perfect example of the intended use of stimulus funds. Needful work done by needy employees."

He said that most of those hired were unemployed local workers.

Elpi said the project is administered by Beckie Zimmerman, timber sale administrator for the Deschutes National Forest. According to Elpi, the project initially "called for a small amount of hand pile acreage. Then new funds...were applied to a greatly enlarged riparian zone thinning. Beckie has helped establish the new units and certifies the completed acreage, all of which is being done on a 'hurry up' daily basis. Our goal is to complete as much as possible before the bad part of fire season."

One riparian project area is immediately north of Camp Sherman, between the Metolius River campground road and the parallel through-road. The riparian classification requires hand piling, since no heavy equipment is allowed in the area. Elpi says the steep slope in that section presents some extra problems, plus the piles have to be smaller and the logs placed in such a manner that they won't roll downhill.

Melcher Logging Company of Sweet Home is the principal contractor and has teamed up with Sisters Forest Products in the past. The Forest Service is quick to note the trickle-down effect of the ARRA funding. Zimmerman cited in-house documents prepared by the Forest Service reporting immediate trickle-down benefits to stores and businesses in the area - as well as the obvious direct benefit to workers who might otherwise be unemployed.

According to Elpi, "The hand piles will sit for the summer and be burned during the first heavy rains this fall. In some ways, the work we are doing is similar to what was done south of Sisters. However, the habitat in much of the Metolius Basin is much like Western Oregon and is a much thicker and denser stand of trees."

As of last week, the riparian portion of the contract was nearly complete, but other work will continue as long as fire danger conditions permit. Elpi emphasized how welcome the employment is to workers on the project:

"Some of these guys out here are licensed foresters and timber cruisers, and they're out here hand piling because they've got no work. It's also important that people find out that a lot of local people are doing this work in Camp Sherman. Guys I've hired on my crew include licensed contractors, builders and firefighters. They generally do more high-powered work than piling brush."

For this contract, Elpi joined forces with Keith Ross, a contractor from Redmond, with whom he has teamed up before.

"Typically he and I will divide duties on these projects," Elpi said. "I am responsible for the tree-felling crew, and Keith works with the hand-pile crew."

When completed, the thinning work is expected to substantially reduce fire danger to Camp Sherman and the campground areas along the river. More hand thinning will follow the work at this site, but Elpi says, "by far the largest amount of money from this initial stimulus package has been allocated to mechanical brush removal in the (Metolius) basin. They have scheduled 1,000 acres of light mowing and 1,774 acres of heavy. A big job."

Light mowing involves cutting and mulching of bitterbrush and small trees. Heavy mowing includes removal of larger trees by a machine that pulverizes the trees from the top down.

Elpi noted that Dave Moyer, of Sisters, has represented the Sisters Ranger District in supervising this and other local contract projects. He said this contract is known as the Head Stewardship Project.

The Camp Sherman area was specifically targeted for the work, both to improve forest health and reduce wildfire danger through fuels reduction. Elpi is hoping to see even more work from the ARRA stimulus package, and said, "Those of us involved on the ground are just plain glad to be here."