Methow Valley Collaborative Action Team

Tripod Post Fire Salvage

 

Jim Doran, J.D., IBDR

Community Forestry Resources

(ph) 509-997-2295

(cell) 509-293-1535

(fax) 509-997-2192

jimdoran@mymethow.com

 

                                            

Tripod Post Fire Salvage in the Methow Valley District

Collaborative Action Team Report – October 27, 2006

 

Various discussions, a meeting, and a field trip to the Tripod Fire site have led to the following questions, conclusions and suggestions from the Collaborative Action Team (CAT) regarding the timely salvage of materials from the Methow District of the fire.  The CAT is also interested in salvage opportunities on the Tonasket District, including several small research projects, and will be providing input in the near future.

 

The Tripod Salvage Collaborative Action Team (CAT) is comprised of a group of individuals and organizations with diverse interests working informally with the U.S. Forest Service to implement economically and environmentally viable salvage logging activities in response to the 2006 Tripod Fire.  The CAT is open to all interested persons and currently includes representatives from American Forest Resource Council, The Wilderness Society, Vaagen Brothers Lumber Company, Conservation Northwest, Boise Cascade, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, The Lands Council, Okanogan Conservation District, and the local community.

 

The Provincial Advisory Committee (PAC) has agreed that salvage should be focused in the dry and mesic forest, and attempt to be both economically viable and to also restore the stand structure and fuel loading towards the historic range of variability where salvage is done.  The CAT concurs with this commitment.

 

1. Timeliness is the governing issue.  It is recognized that the burned stands are in urgent need of treatment as soon as possible in order to capture the value that will soon be lost. Foresters demonstrated the existing infiltration of bugs and fungus already hitting the trees that burned in August.  The merchantable Òshelf lifeÓ of the standing Ponderosa Pine (of all size classes) and the small diameter (12Ó and smaller) fir, spruce and lodgepole pine will reach its limit by the end of April, 2007.  Large diameter (12Ó and larger) Douglas fir and spruce may last until the first of August depending on the weather.   This may vary slightly depending on the aspect of any particular stand.  After March, 2007 the value of any sale offered will be in the state of reduction due to the deterioration of the material.  

 

The project analysis team is currently preparing field maps, unit descriptions and treatment proposals.  If the analysis is fully funded, the field work and implementation guidelines can be ready prior to the end of the NEPA permit process in any of the following scenarios. 

a.     According to the Forest Service timeline, if the NEPA preparation of this project is done on the EIS timeline the award dates fall beyond a true salvage deadline; i.e., end of June 2007 through an emergency determination EIS or September 2007 without an emergency determination.  Both cases will very likely result in a failed salvage project. 

b.     If NEPA is done through an EA without an emergency determination the award date is projected to be the end of June, 2007 and the project will likely fail. 

c.     If an emergency determination is given for an EA, the projected award date is mid-March 2007.  The emergency determination timeline could be reduced from 105 days to 68 days if sufficient manpower were applied.  This could conceivably have a project award date in late January 2007 if the NEPA process was begun in the first week of November, 2006.

d.     * The most aggressive timeline with an emergency situation determination under an EA could be as follows:

a)     Scoping letter send out and first publication on November 1, 2006

b)    Scoping period ends on December 1, 2006.

c)     EA issued on December 4, 2006 with 30 days comment period.

d)    Public comment period closes on January 4, 2007.

e)     Respond to comments and agency consultations to January 10, 2007.

f)     Decision Notice and FONSI signed and legal ad begins to run on January 10, 2007.

g)    Advertisement period ends on January 24 2006.

h)    Bids opened on January 25, 2006.

i)      Contract awarded on January 26, 2006.

            *Note: Several of these tasks can be done simultaneously.  The         Forest Service Enterprise Team may be utilized to assist in this expedited timeline.

 

This timeline, above, is based upon the Wenatchee-Okanogan Forest projection of the legal comment period beginning on December 1, 2006.  This requires a scoping letter to be disseminated on November 1, 2006.  This does not suggest an earlier Òstarting pointÓ, only that the process can be completed expeditiously within the framework of existing laws.

 

The Wilderness Society has voiced concerns about the use of emergency determination for economic purposes alone but is committed to this collaborative process.

 

US Fish & Wildlife and NMFS are key participants in the determination of non-significance for an EA, as well as consultation under the ESA.  The Wenatchee-Okanogan Forest has a close working relationship with these agencies and it is expected that informal consultation could be completed before January 2007.

 

Funding and personnel for the project analysis and project preparation and for the NEPA process are potential limiting factors.  The CAT could act to assist in the acquisition of funding in coordination with the Wenatchee-Okanogan Forest.

 

2. What acreage can be salvaged:  The Methow side of the fire has been initially determined to hold approximately 36,000 acres of potential salvage stands.  This has been reduced considerably because of various reasons to a potential acreage of 22,000.  The preliminary analysis shows the following treatment categories per acreage:

    1. a.     Tractor acres – 9,000
      1. b.     Skyline acres – 5,000
        1. c.     Helicopter acres – 8,000

         

        There is substantial likelihood that more acres will Òfall outÓ of the project as units are described.  For instance, the helicopter units may likely be financially impractical.  At todayÕs date the Okanogan-Wenatchee Forest has determined that out of these analysis acres, there will likely emerge salvage opportunities on 7,000 acres with 75% as ground based systems and 25% as skyline systems.  7,000 acres amounts to 4% of the acreage within the burned area. The most optimal stands are being laid out for salvage while the interspersed live and dead stands are being dropped due to time and expense that will render them economically non-viable.  A ball-park volume estimate is 25mmbf to 60mmbf assuming yield of 12mbf-20mbf per acre on the acres actually salvaged.  A Òweight scaleÓ sale could also adjust the acreage up or down due to on-site conditions as the project is implemented.          

         

        3. What trees can be salvaged:  The Forest Service intends to use the Scott Guidelines for mortality will be used to determine which trees have suffered mortal damage.  There remains a question regarding the salvage of trees over 21Ó dbh, relative to each species, as well as the proportion of snags in each size class to be left in the stand.  Trees over 24Ó to 25Ó, except for Ponderosa Pine, are too large for local processing and could be left as snags.  Further discussion is needed regarding salvage and retention of large Ponderosa Pine.

         

        4. Inventoried Roadless Areas and proposed roadless areas:  The Forest Service has removed all of the roadless or proposed roadless areas from the initial proposals.  Logging of any of these roadless areas would be controversial and should be avoided.

         

        5. Weight Scale:  The use of weight scale will improve the project preparation timeline, will give more flexibility to the Òon the groundÓ implementation of the salvage work and will increase the viability of the economics of the project (i.e., will anyone buy the sale?).  Weight scale should be combined with optional removal due to deterioration so that spoiled trees do not have to be removed.

         

        6. The Ògreen treeÓ program:  The Tripod Salvage project will distract all personnel and funding from the three currently planned fuels reduction projects in the Methow District, based on currently available funding.  This is an untenable situation to the CAT since it shifts the focus of the agencyÕs work to salvage and away from prevention or preparation for non-catastrophic fires.  This is an issue needing immediate agency attention.  It has been suggested that the revenues from this Tripod salvage Project be retained by the local Forest to be applied to its Ògreen treeÓ program.

                                Note:  If the Tripod Salvage project is not funded and staffed adequately                              or if the NEPA timeline is prolonged and the project fails, then both the                                 salvage and the Ògreen treeÓ programs will be squandered for at least                                 2007.  This is an unacceptable situation to place the local Forest in.

         

        The CAT can assist the Forest Service in the acquisition of funding to promptly move this salvage project forward and to continue the preparation of the regular ÒgreenÓ projects that have been interrupted by this large-scale fire.  The CAT members can also assist with an outreach effort with other organizations for purposes of promoting the goals and objectives stated herein.