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| General Information |
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Information and Management Staff
Paula Myers, Superintendent, (503) 280-6646 ext 206
Jeff Boyer, Camp Commander, (503) 815-6131
Cheryl Hallowell, Executive Support, (503) 815-6103
South Fork Control Center, (503) 842-2811
Susan Erickson, Public Information Officer (503) 280-6646 ext 217
South Fork Forest Camp (SFFC) is a 200 bed minimum security work camp located approximately 28 miles East of Tillamook, just off of Highway 6, along the Wilson River Highway. SFFC is a satellite facility to Columbia River Correctional Institution, another minimum security facility located in Portland, Oregon.
In 1933 huge forest fires known as the "Tillamook Burn" destroyed over 250,000 acres of timber. Subsequent fires brought the total to over 355,000 acres and over 13 billion board feet of timber. The total economic loss was estimated to be in excess of 600 million dollars.
The Tillamook Burn Rehabilitation Program inaugurated in 1949 by the Oregon State Board of Forestry has been successful in reseeding and tree planting efforts. In addition, ORS 421.450 (Work Camps) was drafted. It is a result of this statute that the South Fork Forest Camp was created. Working in direct cooperation with the the Oregon Department of Forestry, SFFC was built to provide aid in the restoration and administration of forests in Oregon.
The first buildings at the camp were built at the Oregon State Penitentiary, brought in and set up at what is now South Fork Forest Camp. These first cabins were quite primitive, with tar-paper walls, no plumbing or heat and offered little in terms of comfort for the inmates initially assigned to the camp. Fifteen inmates were assigned to each cabin.
The cabins in use at the camp today are of wood construction, all are fully plumbed, have showers and forced-air gas heat. (Up until October of 1996 they were heated with wood stoves, but in order to cut back on wood consumption, they were retrofitted with gas heat). Each cabin now houses twelve inmates.
In 1950 inmates were paid $1.00 per day for their efforts, compared to the going rate of about $9.28 per day for non-inmate workers. Today the inmates earn awards equivalent to approximately $3.00 to $4.00 per day, compared to the non-inmate wages of $15.00 to $20.00 per hour for similar labor.
The road which runs along the front of the camp was the old stage coach road which ran from Forest Grove to Tillamook.
Address
48300 Wilson River Hwy
Tillamook, OR 97141-9799
Phone
Information: (503) 842-2811
Fax: (503) 842-7943
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| Inmate Phone Use |
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Inmates at SFFC are allowed to use the phones during leisure time while camp is open. Camp is typically open between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday. It closes at midnight on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
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| Commonly Requested Information |
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| Forestry Labor Program |
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Some of the work done in conjunction with Forestry staff crew leaders is pre-commercial tree thinning, trapping of Mountain Beavers, tree planting, lopping (limbing of trees to create a better quality of wood when harvested; fewer knots), and chemical treatments for insect and disease control.
One of SFFC's major purposes is to supply a ready work force to combat forest or wild fires throughout the state. A recent example is the Blue Mountain Complex fire (Summer 1996). The U.S. Department of Forestry called in two "Hot Shot" firefighting teams to work a 450 acre fire in an area of concern. The Hot Shots refused to fight the fire due to it's dangerous location. Consequently, the U. S. Forestry Department, which generally does not utilize Oregon Dept. of Forestry crews, contacted South Fork Forest Camp, which promptly dispatched six inmate fire crews to the scene. These six crews tackled the fire and within one week brought it under control. This specific incident has caused the agencies to take a new look at SFFC as an initial attack group.
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| Wildlife Rehab Program |
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Inmates at the South Fork Forest Camp have teamed up with wildlife. In this natural habitat for wildlife the inmates have learned what is needed for the animal's survival, to respect the environment, to preserve the natural waterways and migration corridors. SFFC began working with the Fish and Feathers Club in 1990 and went on to receive the "Wildlife Rehabilitator" status that same year. The Fish and Feathers Club disbanded in 1996 and in 1997 reorganized into an educational program specializing in wildlife rehabilitation.
Inmates have cared for deer, elk, and birds in varying degrees of poor health. Under the guidance and direction of a wild life rehabilitation specialist, they have learned to evaluate medical issues, provide appropriate treatment and nurse the animals back to health.
This program gives inmates valuable work skills that help them succeed in the workplace upon release.
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| Tuffy Creek Fish Hatchery |
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The Tuffy Creek Fish Hatchery Program is a satellite facility of the Trask Hatchery. South Fork Forest Camp was selected due to it's natural surroundings, the availability of a natural water source and the availability of 24 hour-a-day maintenance by the inmate work crew. The funding for fish, feed, maintenance and repair of most of the equipment involved in the fish rearing program is provided by the Trask Hatchery.
The initial program at Tuffy Creek was to receive 103,000 Spring Chinook salmon in March of each year from the Trask Hatchery for rearing and subsequent release in August. In 1995 the program expanded to include a 50,000 wild winter steel head program as well. The steel head are transferred into Cedar Creek Hatchery in November for rearing, then later released in April.
The rearing pond is maintained by inmate labor. Daily chores include feeding the fish, cleaning the screens, removing any pond mortality and documenting them, recording water temperatures and flow, egg mortality, and fry mortality. Periodic duties include recording the number of fish received, number of fish shipped and numbers of liberated transactions, in addition to vacuuming the pond bottom, sampling the fish for growth, and clipping fins.
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