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| Blown down trees can help water and fish for decades | ||
| 02/28/2007 | ||
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03-07
News media contact:OWEB: Monte Turner, 503-986-0195 ODFW: Dan Knoll, 503-947-6023 ODFW: Jason Kirchner, 541-867-0300 Ext. 264 ODFW: Troy Goby, 503-842-2741 ext. 236 Landowners can find assistance to place, move or stockpile trees The adage that “It’s an ill wind that blows no good” applies to winter storms that bring down thousands of trees across Oregon. Many of those trees can be put to uses that will be good for water and fish for decades through efforts of numerous agencies and organizations. “If you are considering cleanup of some of these downed trees, check to see if they might be candidates for some type of project,” said Jason Kirchner, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife fish habitat biologist based in Newport. Kirchner said the downed trees could be handled in several ways to improve stream and fish conditions, such as:
Funding for some of these types of tree placement projects often is provided by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, which uses Lottery Funds to restore fish populations and develop healthy streams. Kirchner is in the middle of an OWEB-funded project now taking place on mid-coast forest lands. Kirchner is collecting trees from Oregon Parks and Recreation Department and U.S. Forest Service lands for placement in streams this summer. Troy Goby, another ODFW habitat biologist in Tillamook, is collecting fallen trees donated by Cape Lookout State Park and the Oregon Department of Transportation for numerous restoration projects over the next two or three years. He has arrangements for storage of more trees at numerous locations and plans to apply for an OWEB grant to increase the scope of the project. According to Tom Shafer, OWEB north coast representative, the Mid-Coast and Siuslaw watershed councils as well as the Lincoln and Siuslaw soil and water conservation districts have completed many successful log placement projects in recent years. In addition, the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Longview Fibre and Weyerhaeuser have donated trees and logs for such projects and have placed many trees in streams on their own lands, he said. Landowners with downed trees who want information on the type of project planning and funding assistance that is available should contact any of the following:
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