FOREST GROVE DISTRICT 2015 ANNUAL OPERATIONS PLAN FOR EST GROVE DISTRICT 2015 ANNUAL OPERATIONS PLAN OVERVIEW This plan describes the activities and outcomes tha t Oregonians can expect to see on the eastern side of the Tillamook State Forest for 2015. We welcome your comments, and will use them to improve this plan within the scope of the Department’s authority, in alignment with the longer term overarching plans, and bounded by budgets and staff resources. The Tillamook State Forest is an actively managed forest, valued by many Oregonians for its mixture of environmental, economic, and social benefits. This plan supports this mixture and provides a balance of these benefits as required by Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR 629-035-0020). We strive to manage the forest sustainably, so that the benefits from the forest can be delivered into perpetuity. The forest harvesting is planned at a sustainable level; a level that our computer models suggest can be harvested year after year without reduction. Forest habitat is expected to develop so the forest has a mixture of habitat types for all of Oregon’s native wildlife. Recreational opportunities are diverse and high quality, allowing for off-highway vehicles, bicycling, hiking, hunting, horseback riding, and more, striving to minimize user and environmental conflicts in the context of a working forest. Managing a large public forest has its challenges. In addition to the challenges of providing the opportunities described above, the forest is expected to be financially self-supporting. About two- thirds of the revenues from state forest timber sales go to local counties and other taxing districts, including schools. ODF uses the remaining third of the revenue to manage the forests and keep them healthy, through activities including fire protection, tree planting, thinning, research and monitoring, recreation services, road maintenance and stream improvement. Current financial constraints are currently limiting many activities and you will see this theme throughout the year’s plan. We are striving to continue to provide the current opportunities, and are considering a few opportunities for change. Every year in the Tillamook State Forest, we learn new things and find new challenges and opportunities. In preparing this plan, we have consulted with geotechnical specialists, wildlife biologists, fish biologists, aquatic specialists, engineers, adjacent landowners, and a variety of interest groups. Over the next two months, ODF will request review and comments on our plan from others, including Washington County Commissioners, the Forest Trust Land Advisory Committee (representing the counties that deeded land to ODF), the State Forests Advisory Committee (SFAC - composed of Oregonians representing many interests), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, motorized and non-motorized recreation users, hunters, fishermen, and wildlife advocates, as well as Oregonians in general. During this time, we want to hear your feedback, suggested revisions. In addition, any thank you messages to staff and volunteers are welcomed and appreciated. Thanks in advance for your review and engagement. FOREST GROVE 2015 ANNUAL OPERATIONS PLAN 2 APPROVED JUNE 2014 A short summary of activities planned for the coming year:  Planting 600,000 trees on 1,420 acres and conducting vegetation and animal management activities on an additional 4,217 acres to ensure the survival and growth of these plantations.  Conducting over 4,000 individual surveys for northern spotted owls and 20 miles of streams for the presence of fish.  Protecting streams and water resources through a series of buffers and seasonal restrictions.  Stream improvement projects. An initial screen suggests that 4 streams near planned harvest units could benefit from large wood additions to the stream system. These streams will be reviewed in the field by ODF’s Aquatic and Riparian Specialist and ODFW for potential projects during sale layout.  Providing large wood for a partnership with the Upper Nehalem Watershed Council. The project includes replacing a culvert on Apiary County Road that is limiting Coho fish passage and completing restoration projects on two segments of Oak Ranch Creek in the Nehalem Drainage.  Habitat development projects such as creating snags by removing the tops (over 700 planned this year), retaining green trees in clearcut areas, and leaving down wood, all for wildlife benefits in harvest areas and future forests.  Maintaining 700 miles of road and improving approximately 23 miles of road to ensure ditch water is dispersed and filtered as much as possible, keeping runoff from entering streams. These roads provide access to timber harvest as well as various recreational opportunities.  Reviewing District roads to develop plans to block or vacate roads to help manage trash dumping and irresponsible target shooting.  Beginning the planning cycle to harvest approximately 56.6 million board feet of timber volume, through modified clearcut and partial cut harvest, generating revenue of an estimated $21 Million. This harvest level is in alignment with longer term plans and modeling to ensure it is sustainable and promotes the development of a mixture of habitat types across the landscape.  Operating and maintaining the following developed facilities in a safe, clean, and responsible manner:  5 campgrounds  2 day use picnic areas  2 highway wayside interpretive sites  12 trailhead facilities  Providing a safe and clean environment for the myriad of dispersed activities that occur across the forest – hunting, camping, angling, sight-seeing, target shooting, swimming, mushroom picking, etc. FOREST GROVE 2015 ANNUAL OPERATIONS PLAN 3 APPROVED JUNE 2014  Maintaining, managing, and patrolling the 82 miles of motorized and 63 miles of non-motorized trails, striving to protect the trail investments, provide for user safety, address developing trail issues, and protect water quality.  Supporting the important volunteer network that assists in forest management including the following programs:  Camp Hosts, Adopt a Trail and Trail Patrol  Forest Clean-up  Trail Maintenance and Construction Work Parties  OHV Trail Equipment Volunteer Operator  Supporting the pre-planned 8 to 10 organized motorized events and providing support for 2 non-motorized events. Evaluate new event proposals for fit with forest goals.  Supporting the planning effort on the Salmonberry Rail and Trail project, the opportunity to convert the damaged Tillamook to Banks railroad line into a rail line for portions and a recreational trail throughout its length.  Coordinating and managing conflicts resulting from a Bonneville Power Administration power line rebuild operation in the Rogers Basin (Browns Camp Area) in summer/fall 2014.  Providing a firewood cutting program and miscellaneous forest products permits (salal, mushrooms, etc.) as done in 2014.  Supporting ongoing research on the district, in partnership with research cooperatives and universities. FOREST GROVE 2015 ANNUAL OPERATIONS PLAN 4 APPROVED JUNE 2014 TABLES OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ........................................................................ 7 INTEGRATED FOREST MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS ...... 8 Timber Harvest Operations ...................................................................... 8 Overview of Timber Harvest Operations ..................................................... 8 Minor Landscape Design Modifications .................................................... 10 Harvest Operations within Terrestrial Anchor Sites and Aquatic Anchors11 Summary of Timber Harvest Operations by Basin ................................... 13 Forest Roads Management .................................................................... 17 Overview ..................................................................................................... 17 Road Construction ..................................................................................... 18 Road Improvement..................................................................................... 18 Road Access Management ....................................................................... 18 Road Maintenance ..................................................................................... 18 Land Surveying .......................................................................................... 19 Young Stand Management ..................................................................... 19 Site Preparation .......................................................................................... 19 Planting ....................................................................................................... 20 Vegetation Management............................................................................ 20 Tree Protection ........................................................................................... 21 Pre-commercial Thinning ........................................................................... 21 Fertilization .................................................................................................. 21 Pruning ........................................................................................................ 21 Recreation Management ......................................................................... 21 Overview of Recreation Management ...................................................... 21 Facilities ...................................................................................................... 22 FOREST GROVE 2015 ANNUAL OPERATIONS PLAN 5 APPROVED JUNE 2014 Dispersed Use ............................................................................................ 23 OHV Trails .................................................................................................. 23 Volunteer Program ..................................................................................... 26 Event Management .................................................................................... 26 Land Exchange ......................................................................................... 27 Other Integrated Forest Management Operations .............................. 27 Planning (and Information Systems) ................................... 28 Stand Level Inventory and Other Vegetation Inventories ........................ 28 Wildlife Surveys .......................................................................................... 28 Aquatic and Riparian Resources ............................................................... 29 Research and Monitoring ........................................................................... 31 Other Planning Operations ........................................................................ 32 Public Information and Education ....................................... 32 Administration ........................................................................ 32 APPENDIXES........................................................................... 35 A. FLMCS Modification………………………………………………….... B. Summary Tables...........……………………………….………...……. C. Maps....................................................................................…... D. Consultation with Other Agencies…………………………………... E. Public Involvement………………….............................................. F. Pre-Operations Reports………………………………………………… FOREST GROVE 2015 ANNUAL OPERATIONS PLAN 6 APPROVED JUNE 2014 INTRODUCTION This annual operations plan (AOP) outlines state-owned forestland managed by the Forest Grove District for Fiscal Year 2015 (FY15), which begins July 1, 2014 and ends June 30, 2015. This document describes how the activities and projects undertaken by the district will achieve the goals, strategies, and objectives of the NW Oregon Forest Management Plan (FMP), Tillamook State Forest Recreation Action Plan, and the Forest Grove District 2011 Implementation Plan (IP). Please refer to the district IP for more specific information on physical characteristics and other district resource information. The AOP document is divided into five major categories: Integrated Forest Management; Planning and Information Systems; Public Information and Education; Administration and Appendices. A short summary of proposed activities are listed within this introduction. The proposed operations and activities are planned to be designed, engineered, and submitted for processing during the FY15 time period. Actual on-the-ground operations will likely not occur during FY15 due to the time-lag associated with contract duration, which could be one to three years after auction. In contrast, reforestation, young stand management, recreation management, and planning activities will be carried out during FY2015. A 45-day public comment period was held from March 17, 2014 through May 2, 2014. The District Forester considered the comments received during this period. Minor changes made prior to approving the AOP can be found in Appendix E. In addition to describing forest management activities for FY 2015, Appendix A of this AOP also describes major changes* to the State Forests’ Forest Land Management Classification maps, including the implementation of High Value Conservation Areas that were reviewed and approved by the State Forester after the public comment period. Accomplishments of forest management activities that occurred under previous AOPs can be found in several reports, including the State Forester’s Annual Report for the Association of Oregon Counties, the Common School Forest Lands Annual Report, and individual district annual reports (these reports also cover the accomplishments of the Fire Protection and Private Forests Programs). These reports are available through the local district office or online.** *”Major changes and the procedures for making these changes are described in OAR 629-035-0060 **The State Forests’ individual district annual reports are available on the Oregon Dept. of Forestry website under “Publications.” You can access here: http://www.oregon.gov/odf/Pages/pubs/publications.aspx FOREST GROVE 2015 ANNUAL OPERATIONS PLAN 7 APPROVED JUNE 2014 INTEGRATED FOREST MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS Timber Harvest Operations Overview of Timber Harvest Operations The FY15 AOP is estimated to produce 56.6 million board feet in volume, generate gross revenues of approximately $23,064,360 and net revenues of $21,652,760. The planned commercial forest management activities are in alignment with the guidelines and objectives outlined in the Forest Grove District’s 2011 Implementation Plan (IP). The 56.6 million board foot (MMBF) volume is below the target of 61 MMBF in the IP. The FY 2014 AOP contract volume accomplishment exceeded the planned volume by 4.4 MMBF, therefore FY 15 AOP planned volume has been reduced in accordance with the FY 2015 AOP Guidance. The goal is to maintain an average harvest level of 61 MMBF for the duration of the current IP. Refer to the attached Financial Summary Table (Appendix B, Table B-1) and vicinity map (Appendix C) for more detail. All of the Primary and Alternate harvest operations and many of the other forest management activities have been reviewed by ODF’s wildlife biologists, aquatic specialist, geotechnical engineer, road engineer, and operations coordinator, as well as fish and wildlife biologists from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Occasionally, operations may contain a resource or activity where review with another state agency, such as the Department of Agriculture or the Department of State Lands, is warranted. Written comments from the external resource specialists and the resolution of those comments can be found in Appendix D. Table 1. Annual Operations Plan objectives compared to annual objectives identified in the Forest Grove District 2011 Implementation Plan. All values are acres. Silvicultural Activity IP Annual Objective 2015 AOP Low High Objective Partial Cut Harvest 850 3,450 1,004 Regeneration Harvest 300 1,300 1,121 Table 1 shows the proposed acres by harvest type1. The 1,121 acres of regeneration harvest planned for FY15 represents one percent of the district. Of the 1,121 acres planned for regeneration harvest 100 percent will be designed as modified clearcuts. Of the 1,004 acres of partial cut, 64 percent are planned for light partial cut and 36 percent are planned for moderate partial cut. The anticipated harvest acres, volume, and revenue for each proposed operation in this AOP are listed in the “Harvest Operations – Financial Summary” Table B-1 in Appendix B, while a vicinity map of these harvest operations can be found in Appendix C. 1 The definitions of the harvest types used to describe timber harvesting on State Forests can be found on the State Forests website under Forest Management and Planning. Briefly, a Modified Clearcut is the most common of three type of Regeneration Harvest (or clearcut) that may occur on State Forests. The defining characteristics of Modified Clearcuts are that they meet the structural component standards of the FMP (green tree, snag, and down wood). FOREST GROVE 2015 ANNUAL OPERATIONS PLAN 8 APPROVED JUNE 2014