Hazard Reduction without Borders
Recommendations by Strategic Planning AreasGLOSSARY:
SPA: Strategic Planning Area
CAR: Communities-at-Risk
LSR: Late Seral Reserve
T & E: Threatened & Endangered (species)
WUI: Wildland-Urban Interface* #1 PRIORITY FOR ALL SPAs WITH CARs: TO DO WORK AROUND HOMES *
1. Middle/Butte
a. Almost all is wilderness area; therefore fuel reduction is mostly from natural fire starts and control. Recommendation: Develop a fire management plan for the wilderness area.
b. Additional lands are in Late Successional Reserves with some of the best and oldest examples of old growth. Recommendation: Develop and follow fuel reduction strategies to protect old growth.2. Carberry (Steve/Sturgis/Obrien)
a. Roadless and recreation areas at the west end: Are there any fuel reduction projects available? The Forest Service should analyze this.
b. Recommendation: Complete planned fuel reduction work by the agencies in areas around the CARs, out to 300 feet. Consider planning fuel reduction work in the Brush and Trail Creek areas, to help buffer the CARs and the Thompson Creek area.
c. FS Road 10 / County road 777: This is an evacuation loop road for Carberry and Thompson Creek residents. Recommendation: Look at hazards along this road and plan fuel reduction work here soon.3. Squaw/Elliot/Lake
a. Recreation activities around the lake cause many fires that can spread to populated and private lands. Recommendation: Assess hazards around recreation areas and design fuel reduction work, especially on the northwest side of the lake, to provide protection for the Carberry area.
b. Elliot ridge: South slope is particularly high hazard. Recommendation: Because of poor access and the amount of acreage, plan prescribed burns to reduce fuel buildup.
c. Squaw south slopes are high hazard. Recommendation: Overlay USFS NEPA approved projects that include prescribed burns but haven’t been completed. Add more strategic fuel reduction work to this area to effect a buffer zone that would stop a large event that could go into the communities-at-risk areas of Upper Applegate Road.4. Beaver/Palmer
a. Palmer & Kinney Creeks. Recommendation: Fuel reduction is needed in these locations to protect CARs along Upper Applegate Road from fires spread by afternoon winds. Complete the two prescribed burn projects already planned.
b. Beaver Creek Road. Recommendation: Continue Forest Service work for good fuel breaks and tie in with existing Charley Buck ridge fuel breaks.
c. Complete the collaborative China Gulch project; review existing Forest Service fuels management plan adjacent to Upper Applegate Road.
d. Continue the fuel break along Humpy/9-mile/Thompson Creek SPA ridge to the south and west to protect Thompson Creek area. This work has been discussed, but this is a possible T&E area. Also, continue the ridge fuel break to the east.
e. CARs in this area are extremely high hazard. Recommendation: Do fuel reduction work on private lands and assess agency lands along Upper Applegate Road for complementary work.5. Star
a. Recommendation: Assess agency lands along Upper Applegate Road for possible fuel reduction work to complement that on private lands.
b. Humpy/9-mile/Thompson Creek (SPA): Recommendation: Continue fuel break south and west along ridges to protect Thompson Creek (planned, T&E area); also continue ridge break east (Star/Chapman/Keeler).
c. Recommendation: Complete and implement fuel reduction portions of BLM’s Bobar project.6. Upper Little Applegate
a. Recommendation: Increase the scope of and complete fuel reduction projects in the Yale Creek/Dog Fork neighborhood. Reduce fuels along Yale Creek Road for an escape route.
b. Little Applegate Road: Recommendation: Construct buffers along roads on federally managed land - 300 feet wherever possible.
c. Recommendation: Complete planning and implement of fuel reduction portions of BLM’s Prince Castor, Bald Lick, and Bobar projects.
d. North/East borders: Recommendation: Include fuel reduction work here in future BLM project planning.7. Lower Little Applegate
a. Recommendation: Complete planning of and implement fuel reduction portions of BLM’s Bobar project.
b. CARs are dense and high hazard. Recommendation: Promote fuel reduction work on private lands, private timber land, and adjacent federally managed lands as collaborative projects.
c. Recommendation: Complete planning of and implement fuel reduction portions of BLM’s Bald Lick and Prince Beaver projects.8. Spencer/Forest
a. West side of Sterling Creek Road in the Cady Road through to the Poorman Creek Road area, 38S. Recommendation: Because of high hazard, promote private fuel reduction work.
b. All CARs with smaller roads. Recommendation: Do fuel reduction around homes and create buffers on roads.
c. Forest Creek Road. Recommendation: Because private lands are high risk, promote fuel reduction work around homes.
d. Area between Forest Creek and Humbug drainages. Recommendation: Complement the good fuel break in this area by continuing into 38S3W and in the area between Star and Chapman/Keeler.
e. Cantrall Buckley Park side of river, Lomas and Dunlap area. Recommendation: Do fuel reduction work on private and park lands.9. Humbug
a. CARs are very high risk. Recommendation: Do fuel reduction work around homes and on private property, checking road access and driveways.
b. Cantrall Buckley Park side of river, Lomas and Dunlap area. Recommendation: Do fuel reduction work on private and park lands.
c. Recommendation: Complete fuel reduction portions of BLM’s Ferris Bugman and Keeler Crick projects; include private land owner collaboration with BLM for fuels treatments.
d. Recommendation: Continue the fuel break between Humbug and Forest Creeks.
e. Recommendation: Construct a fuel break along the ridge between Thompson Creek east to the Chapman/Keeler area.
f. Recommendation: Continue the fuel break between the Star SPA and the Chapman/Keeler area.10. Thompson
a. Recommendation: Create a fuel break along the ridge between Thompson Creek east to Chapman/Keeler.
b. FS Road 10 or County Road 777. Recommendation: look at fuel hazards along this evacuation loop road for Carberry Creek and Thompson Creek, and work here soon.
c. Recommendation: Work on the fuel break between the Star SPA and Thompson Creek area.
d. CARs are high risk: Do fuel reduction work on private lands.
e. Recommendation: The Forest Service should do fuel reduction work in the SE corner of drainage to complement BLM’s work.11. East Williams
a. Recommendation: Complete fuel reduction portions of BLM’s Scattered Apples project, incorporating collaborative work on adjacent private lands.
b. CARs are high hazard. Recommendation: Do fuel reduction work around homes and on private properties.
c. LSRs: Recommendation: Remove ladder fuels in strategic places near CARs, possibly as a demonstration project. (Make sure to address species habitat.)
d. Recommendation: Investigate continuing the fuel break at the SE border with Thompson Creek drainage on Forest Service land.
e. Port-Orford cedar root disease: address mitigation work in all projects in this area.12. West Williams
a. LSRs: Recommendation: Remove ladder fuels in strategic places near CARs, possibly as a demonstration project. (Make sure to address species habitat.)
b. Port-Orford cedar root disease: Address mitigation work in all projects in this area.
c. CARs are high hazard. Recommendation: Do fuel reduction work around homes and on private property to protect LSRs (possibly as an incentive program).
d. Recommendation: Complete any ladder fuel work on private industry lands in west corners of this SPA to reduce risk to the LSRs.13. Lower Williams
a. Ridge between Murphy and Lower Williams. Recommendation: Recognize as a strategic point for fuel break, but protect as an LSR.
b. CARs are high risk. Recommendation: Buffer up to 300 feet on federally managed lands next to the LSRs.
c. Port-Orford cedar root disease: Address mitigation work in all projects in this area.
d. Recommendation: Complete any ladder fuel work on private industry lands in the west corners of this SPA near the LSRs to reduce risk to LSRs.
e. Recommendation: Complete the fuel reduction portion of BLM’s Scattered Apples project, incorporating collaborative work on adjacent private lands.14. Slagle
a. Recommendation: Complete the fuel reduction portion of BLM’s Ferris Bugman project, collaborating with adjacent private landowners on fuel reduction work whenever possi- ble.
b. Recommendation: Close fuel break between Slagle Creek SPA and Savage Creek drainage wherever possible.
c. CARs: Recommendation: Do fuel reduction work along roads and around homes because of numerous dead-end roads.15. Murphy
a. All CARs: Do fuel reduction work around homes and on private property.
b. Board Shanty and Grays Creek Roads are high risk due to dead-end roadways. Recommendation: Do fuel reduction work along roads and around homes.
c. Ridge between Murphy and Murphy Creek is a strategic point but is private land. Recommendation: Treat fuels under power lines, at a minimum.
d. Recommendation: Complete the fuel break between the Murphy SPA and the Savage Creek drainage wherever possible.
e. Ridge between Murphy and Lower Williams is a strategic point for fuel break, but it is an LSR. Recommendation: Protect with fuel reduction work.
f. Recommendation: Complete BLM’s North Murphy project.16. Murphy Creek
a. All CARs: Do fuel reduction work around homes and on private property.
b. Up Murphy Creek Road, along the south border of the CAR, is high hazard and risk (high school located here). Recommendation: Buffer the LSRs with a special fuel reduction project in conjunction with Hidden Valley High School students.
c. LSRs: Recommendation: Remove ladder fuels in strategic places near CARs, possibly as a special demo project. (Make sure to address species habitat.)
d. Ridge between Murphy and Murphy Creek is a strategic point but is private land. Recommendation: Treat fuels under power lines, at a minimum.17. Cheney
a. Identified as probable owl corridor. Recommendation: Watch canopy closure, maintain at greater than 40%.
b. CARs, especially at the base of Cheney Creek and off Fish Hatchery Road. Recommendation: Do fuel reduction work around homes.
c. Recommendation: Create a buffer on NW edge of CAR near ridge between Cheney and Slate SPAs.
d. Recommendation: Create a fuel break on the south border of the CAR to protect LSRs.18. Lower Applegate
a. Recommendation for all CARs: Do fuel reduction work around homes and on private property, due to density and fire start history.19. Slate
a. CARs and Highway 199 are very high risk. Recommendation: do fuel reduction work around homes, along roads (possibly Title III projects).
b. Recommendation: Complete fuel reduction portions of planned USFS Waters Thin and other federal projects, incorporating CAR/WUI collaborative work on adjacent private lands at the same time.
c. Identified as probable owl corridor. Recommendation: Watch canopy closure, maintain at greater than 40%.
d. Recommendation: Complete Josephine County’s proposed fuel reduction project.
e. Port-Orford cedar root disease: Address mitigation work in all projects in this area.