89 



Another example of upplicntion of the ROD for The Presidents Forest Plan is the 

 Snowdown/Blowdown timber in Jackson and Douglas Counties (called wiodthrown bv the 

 Mcdford BLM). First I credit the Rogue River National Forest with rapid and thorough 

 timely attention to this natural disturbance in the forest Members of the Jackson Count}* 

 Natural Resources Committee and Headwaters, an cn%'iroDmentaI group have been 

 meeting with the team created to analyze and recommend action. ( I have requested the 

 forest supervisor also contact the industry group, SOTIA, who would have an interest in 

 being a part of the discussion, but as of this date they have not been contacted.) There were 

 several tvLater storm events that contributed to downing significant amounts of timber in 

 the Butte Falls, Prospect and Umpqua ranger districts. Logging contractors have cleared 

 campgrounds, roads and are working on the matrix lands. They have found double the 

 amount of wood estimated, so the amount of downed wood is probably 2 to 3 times the 

 estimated 20 >JL>IBF. The team is concentrating on what can be done with the downed 

 wood in the Late Succcssional Reserves area, with the goal of making a recommendation to 

 the Regional Ecosystem Office, where the final decision resides. 



The maps I will show you clearfy show what the problem is. With the overlays of Late 

 Successional Reserves 'nith limits in treatment, the limits in the riparian areas, the limits in 

 the scenic ^i^ er special interest areas etc, there arc too many restrictions before we talk 

 about solving the immediate snowdown/blowdown problem. In addition wc arc to consider 

 the treatment to remedy the problem. The question that is confusing is which value takes 

 precedence when wc make the final decision. The entomologist have confirmed that the 

 bark beetles are already at work on the downed timber, and that we can predict that for 

 every downed tree, three Ii\'e green trees will be attached and killed by bark beetles. 

 Moreover a 1955 cntimolog>- report confirms the damage could be much more severe. The 

 fire specialist confirms that the forest already had a burden of fuel that would cause a 

 stand replacement fire, and with the added fuel, this would significantly increase the risk. 

 The REO participant agreed that a stand replacement fire and beetle kill would not 

 enhance the Late Successional Reserve, but would have catastrophic consequences that 

 could destroy the LSR. There should be no question about treatment A significant 

 nuxaber of the do^vned trees need to be removed to ensure the survival of the LSR area. 

 This needs to be done in a timely manner and we are still debating about the results. We 



