In Fall of 2004, the Walker Range Fire Plan Team hosted a series of six community meetings about the Walker Range Community Wildfire Protection Plan. The objectives of the meetings were to:

 

• Inform the community about the purpose of the wildfire protection plan
• Identify the community values that local residents most want protected from wildfire
• Identify local residents most pressing concerns about wildfire
• Identify potential emergency response improvements
• Invite local leaders to participate in the planning process

 

Each of the meetings included an overview of the wildfire plan and a discussion of key issues. The meetings also had a mapping exercise where participants identified on a map the values that they most wanted protected and the places around their community that they considered wildfire threats. Below is a summary of the common themes and key findings that emerged at the community meetings. Also included is a summary of the issues and mapping exercise that was completed at each community meeting.

 

Common Themes and Key Findings

·        Treating vacant lots. This issue emerged strongly at every community meeting. Ideas to address the issue included

• Developing buffers on public and private lands around particularly bad vacant lots
• Developing a vacant lot ordinance similar to Deschutes County
• Continuing peer pressure tactics and letters from Walker Range

·        Priority for federal land treatment-- a series of buffers around the perimeter of the communities

·        Protecting important community infrastructure such as:

• Fire stations, community centers, utility lines, radio towers, water tanks, roads, schools, cemeteries, historic homes, camp grounds, horse camps, trails and trailheads,

·        Protecting adjacent ecologically important areas such as:

• Preserving wildlife habitat in fuel reduction projects
• riparian areas, meadows
• Big game migration corridors
• Great gray owl habitat

·        Improving existing evacuation routes

• widening, thinning along roadsides, taking out locked gates
• developing new evacuation routes
• issue coupled with unduly providing access for OHVs

·        Treating common areas within subdivisions.

• emerged strongest in Wagon Trail Ranch

·        Need to build in a maintenance program into the strategy

• Many brush/shrub communities will grow rapidly when the overstory is thinned

·        Improving signage—most pressing in Schoonover and Tall Pines, Wagon Trail Ranch too

·        Improving emergency response capacity

• Developing water sources in the Outback area
• Fixing the bridge(s) in Schoonover
• Generally, improve capacity of local fire departments

·        Making firewood available off of public lands

·        Concerns with smoke associated with prescribed burning and burning piles

• Improve communication to homeowners
• Provide advance information about what to expect

·        Concerns with how federal agencies leave the land looking

• Concern that the area will lose its rural forest feel—too many trees cut
• Need to take care of brush piles—brush piles tend to make homeowners nervous

·        Better communication in general with federal agencies (concerning things like burning, planned projects, firewood availability etc….)

 

 

Crescent-Odell Lakes Fire Protection District

October 16, 2004, 11:00 am-1:00 pm

 

Captain Tim Cramblit welcomed the group and expressed his enthusiasm for working together. He said that Crescent-Odell is rebuilding and he looks forward to improving the capacity of the district. He noted that they have made use of Walker Range’s chipper to treat the fuels around the fire station.

Issues Identified

The fuel reduction video raised a concern that fuel reduction projects leave the landscape looking sterile, and result in reduced diversity of wildlife and habitat.

Community Mapping--Concerns/priorities identified

In addition to specific locations noted on the map, several community members identified the value of maintaining diverse wildlife habitat within fuel reduction efforts.

 

1.      Treat the Forest Service lands around the shore of Crescent and Odell Lakes to protect the houses and summer homes.

2.      Treat the Forest Service lands directly adjacent to the Railroad tracks and RD 6015-

3.      Improve access for apparatus to lands around the perimeter of Crescent Lake

a.      Treat fuels

b.      Widen road

4.      Protect Horse Camp at southwest tip of Crescent Lake-Forest Service land

5.      Protect Boy Scout Camp on Crescent Lake-Forest Service land

6.      Protect Simax Park/Beach (spelling?)-Forest Service land

7.      Treat right of way for railroad

 

Highway 58 East and Two Rivers North

October 16, 2004, 2:00 pm -3:30 pm

 

Location: Two Rivers North Fire Station.

Isolated rural subdivision at least 10 miles east of Hwy 58.

 

Bob from the Board of Directors of the Chemult Rural Fire Protection District welcomed folks and noted that the Chemult Fire has not been very active and involved in their community. He remarked that the ambulance and emergency personnel don’t know there way around the community and have to be escorted in.

 

Walker Range fuel reduction, assessment, and infrastructure activities

Ron and Echo from Walker Range have been doing a lot of work with the chipper in Two Rivers North. Many lots of have been treated.

Issues Identified

Vacant lots

·        Community members voiced concerns about vacant lots not being included in SB 360.

·        Deschutes County is passing a vacant lots ordinance to deal with this issue, and Klamath County might want to consider doing something similar.

·        Forest Service could focus prescriptions around vacant lots.

 

Lack of notice for prescribed burns

·        Community members voiced concerns about inadequate notice when the Forest Service burns units near their homes.

·        Many community members suffer from asthma or health problems, and suffer from the smoke. 

·        The group discussed

o       creating an effective phone tree, and looking at alternatives to burning. 

·        Amanda suggested giving the Forest Service direct phone numbers of people with serious concerns so they can be contacted directly.

Community Mapping Process

1.      There is a need to address private lots that pose high risks

2.      There is an URGENT need to address vacant lots, including dangers from windstorms

3.      There was a desire to focus federal treatments around vacant lots

4.      There needs to be better notification of Forest Service prescribed burns

5.      The Forest Service should look at alternatives to burning

6.      There was an interest in residential wood-cutting programs in areas with lots of downed wood

7.      The group should follow up on getting a map of escape routes from Kate Sessions

8.      There is an issue with gates on roads.  How can you limit illegal access without limiting ingress?

9.      There was interest in the outcome of the Forest Service proposal to develop a day use area at Cow Camp off of 5830. 

 

Wagon Trail, Little River Ranch, Mahnacres

October 16, 2004, 11:00 am-1:00 pm

Issues Identified

A resident asked whether insurance premiums will be reduced because of SB 360 certification.  Tom explained that insurance companies have shown interest in SB 360, but there is no guarantee premiums will go down. The program will ensure that people remain insured, in contrast to other areas of the country where insurance companies have started to back off of insuring interface areas.

Community concerns/priorities identified

In addition to specific locations noted on the map, several community members identified the following values, issues, and concerns:

 

·        Better street signs are needed in Wagon Trail Ranch for emergency responsive (reflective, larger lettering)

·        The emergency evacuation route needs to be finished (marked on map)

·        Common areas are a treatment priority

·        Nobody was present from Mahnacres, but it was suggested that some areas of Mahnacres would benefit from fuel reduction as well.

·        Vacant lots are an issue

·        It was recommended to treat the west side of the river, as it poses the biggest threat

·        There is an interest in retaining wildlife values (ex. Willow habitat), big game migration corridors, and great grey owl habitat (they prefer old lodgepole stands with leaning trees, close to clearings) (it was noted on the map where known owl habitat is or used to be)

 

Crescent--Gilchrist

October 16, 2004, 11:00 am-1:00 pm

Issues Identified

·        Does SB 360 entail landowner liability? Tom explained the guidelines of SB 360 and confirmed that the certification done by Walker Range exceeds SB 360 standards.

·        A participant offered Deschutes County’s chipping program is inadequate.  Tom responded and offered the name of the program manager

·        A comment noted a concern that opening up too much forest canopy would lead to heavy bitterbrush recruitment, which increase dangerous fuels buildup.

·        There was interest in firewood utilization programs on federal lands.  One landowner had been unable to get an adequate response in the past from the BLM.

·        A resident was concerned un-burned hand piles left next to his house on adjacent BLM land. 

·        There were also concerns about smoke issues from burning piles.

Mapping Process—concerns/priorities identified

1.      Vacant lands need to be treated

1.      Interest in making firewood available off of public lands

2.      Concern about bitterbrush growth in opened canopies

3.      Concern about brush piles being taken care of on BLM land

4.      Smoke concerns from burning on federal lands

5.      Evacuation routes in Scoonover and Michael Rd.

6.      Bridges in Scoonover need improvement

7.      Signage needs improvement (especially in Scoonover and Tall Pines)

8.      Fuels projects need to incorporate strategies for maintenance in the future

9.      Concern about protecting water quality in the watershed as it relates to fire

 

 

 

Summary of Mapping Exercise

1.      Ownership might be USFS—map shows ownership as private, might be USFS—west of Crescent Rd

2.      Needs fuel break prior to private lands on surrounding Forest Service lands, south of Crescent Rd.

3.      Vacant lots need treated--Between Jug and East Friendly Lane

4.      Protect Meadow--Private land, next to Riverview and railroad

5.      Protect graveyard/headstones-- Private land, written about 1.5 miles from the northern end of Crescent. South of Crescent Cutoff Rd

6.      Treat vacant lots, with absentee landowners, near Friendly Lane?—Private land, eastern end of South Airport.

7.      Protect Water Tank-- Crown land, written about .25 miles east of the north-eastern tip of Crescent--about .25 miles east of the eastern end of Main.

8.      Protect Reservoir-- Crown land, about .25 miles northeast of the Water tank in #7.      

9.      Antelope Meadows, Michael Rd. needs brushed out/widened BLM lands

10.  Protect electronic towers (WR. radio, TV, Etc.) Crown land, about 1.75 miles from the northeastern end of             Crescent.

11.  Protect Crescent School-- about .25 miles from the north eastern end of the pond

 

 

Outback Rural Fire Department

11-6-04

 

Issues Identified

·        Need to address vacant lots. Much interest in doing something similar to Deschutes County

• Interest in working together. “Will you cover our backs if we go to the County?”—We gotcha covered!
• Deschutes County Draft Vacant Lot Ordinance applies to:
1. Undeveloped lots, individually owned, outside city limits
2. County lots- returned to county due to tax defaults
3. Grant funding to treat lots in subdivisions
• 50% of the lots in Oregon Outback area are owned by absentee owners

·        Improve and maintain access to water sources for emergency response and:

o       Hold fleet

o       Develop water sources

o       Improve BLM response

·        Local economic impact: Are locals being utilized to do the work? Can we get more local businesses involved?

• FS using corrections crews
• Need to incorporate input from local loggers into plan
• Local contractors doing work on THAW--Slashbusters and such

·        Can the marketplace be utilized?

• increase value by claiming fire-resilient
• working with real estate + title companies
• include in realtor information in ads

·        Lots of interest in intra-agency cooperation and collaborative planning

·        Are Crown Pacific lands included in treatment areas?

• Perimeter lands to be converted to buffers were included in the Crown’s 2005 logging plan; land are slated to be taken out of production after that.
• 53 miles of perimeter around the Oregon Tree Farm
• Crown had land burned from wildfire in other areas

·        The work done to date looks great and is a huge benefit to property owners.

·        BLM is currently identifying roads to close and keep open.

·        Inform community when burning will happen, via CAT newsletter

·        Firewood permits on THAW?

• personal use permits on adjacent properties

Fuel Reduction and Emergency Response Improvements

·        Fire district goal of 50’-100’ buffer around subdivisions.

• develop defensible space around homes
• be able to do initial attack w/equipment

• reduce flame lengths to 2’

·        Need for an extension and widening of Split Rail to Beale Road to create accessible and safe escape route.

·        Need for a perimeter road around the subdivisions for an access road and fire break

·        Protect 20-acre on Beall Rd. (dirt road) Future home of fire house

·        Protect powerline corridors/utilities

·        Protect Railroad—prevent fire starts

Summary of Map Exercises

1.      Thick!--BLM land, written immediately north of northern end of Antelope Meadows.  Location. About .5 miles from the western end of Howard.

2.     Note: 100’ buffer around private property with vehicle access. Location: general

3.      Note, need access on B.N. (Burlington Northern right of way) Location: BLM land, next to northern section of Split Rail, next to the railroad.

4.      20 AC OORFPD community center + E.M.S. complete to include 5 AC air park helicopter. Pad location: BLM land, .12 miles from comment #1, next to northern section of Split Rail, next to railroad.

5.      Proposed 200k 6 gallon dipping pond. Location: BLM land, immediately next to the middle of comment #2.

6.      Protect water hole. Location: Private land, .25 miles from the railroad, in southern section of Split Rail.

7.      Potential water source. Location: Private land, .2 miles from the railroad, .2 miles from the southern end of Split Rail.

8.      Water source underdevelopment. Location: Private land, immediately next to “Gait” and “Post,” in northern section of Forest Meadows.

9.      Create 100 Ft. buffer around all-subdivisions w/vehicle access for fire patrol. Location: general

10.  Widen slash road for access of fire trucks only, keep dust down. Location: general

11.  Widen right of way South side only 50’ right of way. Location: BLM land, refers to the drawn evacuation route portion that connects Split Rail to Forest Meadows.

12.  121 lots, about 20 of these lots are developed-rest need fuel reductions. Location: BLM land, refers to the southern portion of Forest Meadows.

Drawings:

13.  Existing Hunter Trail drawn about .1 miles wide, and 2.75 miles long.  Extends from the northern half of the railroad to northern half of Sun Forest Estates.  All in BLM land.

14.  Potential evacuation route drawn about 3 miles long.  Extends along the railroad for about 1.5 miles, extends through Split Rail for .5 miles, and 1 mile connects the southern half of Split Rail with the railroad and connects with Forest Meadows.  Most of it in BLM land, .5 mile of it in Split Rail.

15.  Existing road or trail drawn about .5 miles long.  Offshoot of the eastern end of Existing Hunter Trail- All in BLM land.

16.  Power line is .6 miles in length.  Drawn from the eastern end of “Existing” drawing to .25 miles into Sun Forest Estates.  .4 miles is in BLM land,

17.  Access road-- is .6 miles in length.  Drawn from the southern end of Forest Meadows to the southern end of Sun Forest Meadows.

18.   X drawn in the boxes all along Beechwood in the Sun Forest Estates to signify that areas need cleaning, fire hazard, junk yard-fire hazard.  More X’s along Larchwood, and Crosswood.

 

 

Summary by Marcus Kauffman, (541) 346-0661, marcusk@uoregon.edu