Big blowdown on Metolilus Trail

Nugget freelancer Jay Mather encountered several massive blow-down trees on a hike along the popular Metolius River Trail in Camp Sherman.

Mather contacted Chris Sabo, the trails supervisor for the Deschutes National Forest, to find out how the local ranger district handles such obstacles.

"His sense of things is that there won't be any removal of the numerous trees that have fallen along the trail on the west side of the Metolius River below the Canyon Creek Campground trailhead until spring," Mather said. "Also, he said that while the (Forest Service) uses volunteers in trail maintenance, they would not be working on trees of the massive sizes of several of the fallen ponderosas."

Each tree has to be evaluated before action is taken for safety and habitat concerns.

"The one large tree that fell over a year ago just upstream from the springs will be scrutinized by the (Forest Service) and folks who manage the Wild and Scenic Metoilus corridor," Mather reported. "One, they need to be sure that the tree is stable enough if it's cut through for the trail, and two, that if part of the tree goes into the water, it's determined where it might wind up. Fishery people like new habitat for the fish.

"As for the big tree further downstream, the situation is much the same. Is the tree going to further slide down the hill if it's cut? Is there any ongoing danger to trail users? What will the portion of the tree that's in the water now do when it's cut and freed?"

Mather further noted that Forest Service and trail users are concerned about new paths created around the trees in terms of creating erosion of the hillsides, and for the potential for hiker falls.