Forest Service analyses new Popper Project

It was one of those "red-letter days" last Tuesday when Forest Service staff joined with a representative of the Sierra Club for an introduction to a proposed 17,000-acre forest management project in the area of Three Creek Road (FS 16) and surrounding wildland-urban interface.

The discussion began with Sisters District Acting Ranger, Mike Keown, rolling out the maps, with input from Sisters District Silviculturist Brian Tandy, Wildlife Biologists Monty Gregg and Julie York, plus Fire Manager Jinny Pitman.

According to Keown, the proposed "Popper Project" - named after the way in which the infamous dwarf mistletoe dispenses its seeds - is designed to:

•Provide for forest health;

•Reintroduce fire in fire-dependent ecosystems;

•Contribute wood products to regional and local economies;

•Provide for public health and safety.

To achieve the four major goals, the Forest Service will conduct the project with full input from geologists, soil scientists, hydrologists, entomologists, silviculture, fire, wildlife, scenic, recreational and economic sources.

In the past, even with the full inter-disciplinary approach, some projects the Forest Service began overlooked elements that various conservation groups thought relevant. Protests and lawsuits ensued. In an effort to eliminate such expensive stumbling blocks before they appear, the Forest Service invited the Sierra Club to a preliminary discussion of Popper.

"The conundrum over treatment is what we are going to look into today," Brian Tandy said at the onset of the discussions. "There are so many methods open to us, we're going to try to come up with the best management and treatment tools.

"And then there's what to do about all the mistletoe in the ponderosa stands, which are under the guidelines of the Northwest Forest Plan," Tandy said. "There is also a matrix of white fir, white pine, Doug fir, lodgepole and mountain hemlock, plus over 6,000 acres of inventoried roadless area and watershed within the project area that must be addressed."

When the planning group traveled out to the "show me" stops within the Popper area and trudged through about eight-inches of snow, Tandy showed them the dilemma of the mistletoe.

"We could use fire as the natural tool to get rid of a lot of this mistletoe, protect the large trees and restore the area to a fire climax forest," he said. "In times past," he noted, "clearcuts also helped to control mistletoe."

"And all the time having to protect the forest from excessive thinning that doesn't match natural conditions of older forest structure..." added the Sierra Club's Asante Riverwind.

"Another method that may be useful for eliminating dead trees, especially lodgepole," Fire Manager Pitman suggested, "is to open more areas to firewood cutting."

"That might work," Keown cut in, "if we could just teach the woodcutters to pile their slash so we wouldn't have to bear the cost when we come in to clean up the debris and burn."

"Yes, the whole mistletoe situation, commercial sales and firewood-cutting is complex, which is good in a way; it gives us the opportunity to do some exciting things," Riverwind said.

As the group inspected the trees and wildlife habitat within the Popper area, evidence of the suppression of fire became obvious. Thick brush choked the ground, and crowded stands of small pine predominated.

Pitman remarked, "According to what I can learn, the last time there was a fire in this area was sometime around 1940."

Riverwind asked Monty Gregg, wildlife biologist for the Sisters District about pine marten within Popper.

"Yes," Gregg responded, "we did some track studies when this area was treated some time ago, and we found that habitat for marten would be more suitable with older trees and closed canopy."

When the tracks of snowshoe hare were seen along the snowy road, a discussion of lynx and bobcat - chief predators of the snowshoe hare - brought concern from all members of the planning team.

"We did have DNA evidence of a lynx near Three Creeks Lake." Gregg said.

Even though the discussion went on for quite a while, no one suggestion (of the many) could supply an acceptable answer to the presence or lack of lynx, or habitat preferences, and that brought response from Keown, "No one discipline is going to get the whole Maryanne."

"It's about that way for the Northern spotted owl and Northern goshawks," Monty Gregg said, "There's very little suitable habitat left in the north end of Popper, and we do not plan to treat that area."

Later on in the day, "volume of cut" came into the conversation, which brought about a discussion of the changes that have taken place in the Forest Service timber supply for the wood products industry. Biomass is overtaking lumber for price.

"My hope is to come up with an economic analysis to help with the $16 million it's going to cost to do the Popper Project, then ask if a commercial cut will help to balance this out," Tandy said.

As Riverwind stepped into the rig to go to the next site, he said quietly, almost to himself, "You know... Forest Service budgets based on timber volume sabotage restoration; it requires the removal of too many trees. If projects were based on recovery of imperiled species, and restoration and protection of their habitat, there'd be more cooperation rather than contention from conservation groups..."

Before heading back to Sisters, the group stopped along Road 1628 to discuss an area of mixed conifer that would be treated.

"What would you think if we used fire as a tool to treat this unit, or in roadless areas?" Pitman asked Riverwind.

"I do not oppose the use of prescribed burns in inventoried roadless areas or where it will bring about natural results," Riverwind replied.

At which the Fire Manager said, "Oh, it's good that we agree on some things."

To which Riverwind quietly responded, "You know what? We actually agree on many things..."

Then suddenly, without warning, the air was filled with laughter and sizzling snowballs in what looked like a family snowball fight.