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Project Spotlight: Forest Resources Enterprise

The majority of Forest Resources Enterprise (FRE) work directly related to natural resource logging engineering and transportation planning projects as well as resource training projects.

The highlight of the year was the Gate 1 logging and transportation planning effort of a forest health and fuel reduction project in the Umatilla National Forest. FRE developed a cutting-edge transportation planning technique that involved the use of Global Positioning Systems and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology. In addition, FRE also developed a method of displaying economically feasible treatment units in GIS that the Environmental Impact Statement Interdisciplinary Team used to analyze the economic results of potential alternatives.

FRE was also instrumental in providing logging engineering and logging cost analysis training to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management employees on the national, regional, and local levels. This training was funded by the Washington Office and attended by apprentice logging engineers, interdisciplinary team members, sale layout personnel, sale administrators, and timber sale appraisers. FRE’s logging engineer assisted in conducting several training sessions in Regions 5 and 6, and nationally in Region 8.

Finally, FRE contracts in Region 6 allowed preparation of two logging feasibility and transportation plans for approximately 4,500 acres of commercial thinning of 50-year old managed plantations. These managed plantations were designed to be offered as future timber sales in Region 6. This project entailed the field verification of all units for appropriate logging systems. In addition, field verification of landing locations, access roads, and existing spurs was required along with whether specific units needed road construction or culvert installation. FRE supplied GIS shapefiles that represented the proposed logging plan and provided a cost-distance analysis for units that could require helicopter yarding.

For more information on Forest Reources Enterprise visit their Web site: www.fs.fed.us/enterprise/about/eu/forest-resources-enterprises.shtml

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