United States Department of the Interior
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Klamath Falls Resource Area
2795 Anderson Avenue, Building 25
Klamath Falls, Oregon 97603-7891
Phone: (541) 883-6916 | Fax: (541) 884-2097
E-Mail Address: [email protected]
Website: http://www.or.blm.gov/Lakeview/kfra/index.htm
October 1, 2014
IN REPLY REFER TO:
1790 (ORL040)
To: All Interested Parties
The Klamath Falls Resource Area (KFRA) is beginning preparation of the Oregon Gulch Fire
Salvage and Rehabilitation Environmental Assessment (EA) to evaluate the effects of various
post-fire treatments on wildlife habitat, soils, hydrology, timber, and other resources. The
project area is located about 22 miles southwest of Klamath Falls, Oregon (see attached map).
Background
The Oregon Gulch Fire was ignited by lightning on July 31, 2014 and was contained on
August 14. It was part of the Beaver Complex which included the Salt Creek Fire (20 miles
northwest of Medford). The Oregon Gulch Fire began on Medford BLM lands and moved
southeast from the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument into the Soda Mountain Wilderness
Area, then from Jackson County into Klamath County, and then into California. The total land
area damaged by the Oregon Gulch Fire was estimated to be 35,101 acres.
Within Klamath County, approximately 16,903 acres were burned. Of those acres, 4,870 are
managed by the KFRA BLM, 82 acres are State-owned lands, and 11,951 acres are private
land. The KFRA BLM lands consist of 4,052 acres of O&C lands (Oregon and California
Railroad Act) and 818 acres of PD (Public Domain lands). The majority of those lands are in
the Matrix land use allocation. Matrix (General Forest Management Area) lands have objectives
to produce a sustainable supply of timber and other forest commodities to provide jobs and
contribute to community stability. In addition to the Matrix acres, there are 419 acres of riparian
reserves (RR), 220 acres of late successional reserves (LSRs), and 807 acres of Klamath River
Canyon Area of Critical Concern (ACEC).
On BLM lands, vegetation was a mix of grassy flats, mixed species shrub fields, oak
woodland, pine, and mixed conifer. The topography of the burned area is mostly a low to midelevation plateau ranging from 2,600 to 5,140 ft. elevation. The fire burned through two
KFRA timber sales: Wild Gal (sold and operating) and Hayden Fox (advanced planning stage,
decision document pending at time of fire), two range allotments (Dixie and Edge Creek), and
the Pokegama Wild Horse Herd Management Area (HMA).
Burn severity on the KFRA lands was as follows: 243 acres very low; 1,456 acres low; 2,232
acres moderate; and 922 acres of high. This significantly impacted wildlife habitat, created
soil stabilization issues, exposed cultural sites, created health and safety issues (snag
formation and complete road sign obliteration) and left a landscape that will favor the
colonization and spread of noxious weed populations. Fence structures were also burned and
land ownership survey markers were destroyed.
Purpose & Need for Action
The purpose of this project is to implement objectives in the 1995 KFRA Resource Management
Plan (RMP), which include the following:
•
Produce a sustainable supply of timber and other forest commodities to provide jobs and
contribute to community stability (page 22). Provide for salvage harvest of timber killed or
damaged by events such as wildfire, windstorms, insects, or disease, consistent with
management objectives for other resources (page 55)
•
Late Successional Reserve objective: Protect and enhance conditions of late-successional
and old growth forest ecosystems, which serve as habitat for old growth forest-related
species including the northern spotted owl (page 18).
•
Riparian Reserve objective: Manage riparian-wetland areas to protect, maintain, or improve
riparian-wetland habitat for wildlife and native plant diversity (page 8).
•
Where catastrophic events such as fire, flooding, volcanic, wind, or insect damage result in
degraded riparian-wetland conditions, allow salvage and fuelwood cutting if required to
attain Aquatic Conservation Strategy objectives (page 13)
•
Contain and/or reduce noxious weed infestations on BLM-administered land using an
integrated pest management approach (page 73)
Need
There is a need for timely salvage harvest in order to capture merchantable timber values before
further wood deterioration occurs. There is a need to provide a sustained yield of timber in
addition to conserving and rehabilitating habitat elements.
There is a need for rehabilitation treatments in the two LSRs to accelerate late successional habitat
development. The Dixie LSR (105 acres) and Long Prairie Creek LSR (115 acres) were
designated to provide nesting habitat for the northern spotted owl and provide late successional
habitat for other species. Both LSRs were burned at moderate to high severity. Few, if any, live
trees remain in these areas.
There is a need for a healthy forest ecosystem with habitat that will support populations of native
species and includes protection for riparian areas and waters.
Proposed Treatments
The following treatments have been identified as part of the proposed action for this EA. Note
that the acres are approximate and are likely to change based on factors such as scoping
comments, internal input, funding, and field review.
•
•
•
•
•
•
2,300 acres of salvage harvest
2,800 acres of tree planting on Matrix lands
315 acres of tree planting in LSRs and RRs
370 acres of weed treatment (herbicide followed by native seed application)
Up to one mile of temporary road construction/realignment to facilitate tree removal
Closure of duplicate or unnecessary roads
A separate Categorical Exclusion and Decision Record for emergency stabilization
treatments is expected to be issued in October of 2014 for immediate needs such as
actions to minimize soil erosion.
Public Scoping Input Requested
The BLM is asking for your help in identifying issues and concerns regarding the
proposed Oregon Gulch Salvage and Rehabilitation project. We are seeking your
comments to assist in developing alternatives that would meet the above stated purpose
and need.
Please submit your comments by October 17, 2014 to be most effective in BLM’s
planning schedule. To submit issues or questions about the proposed treatments, I
encourage you to submit them via email at the following address:
[email protected] and identify your comments as being for the “Oregon
Gulch EA.” If you desire to send a letter via regular mail, please use the address in our
letterhead, ATTN: Field Manager.
Once an Environmental Assessment has been prepared, the public will be notified again and
will have an opportunity to review and provide comments on the proposed action and analysis.
Note: Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name
or street address from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act,
you must state this prominently at the beginning of your written comment. Such requests will
be honored by the extent allowed by law. All submissions from organizations or businesses,
and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or
businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their entirety.
Sincerely,
/s/ Richard White
Richard White
Field Manager
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No warranty is made by the Bureau of Land Management as to the accuracy,
reliability, or completeness of these data for individual or aggregate use
with other data. Original data were compiled from various sources and may
be updated without notification.
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Prepared By: mlimb
Current Date: 09/25/2014 02:46:38 PM
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Lakeview District
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2795 Anderson Ave. #25
Klamath Falls, Oregon re97603
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