Restoration Projects The following are a few restoration projects we are currently involved in. For more information on these projects or other restoration plans, contact Conservation Director Josh Laughling at jlaughling@cascwild.org or 541.434.1463.
Crawdog timber sale (Cottage Grove District, Umpqua National Forest):
This project was originally planned in 2003 and is currently being operated on. The Cascadia Wildlands Proejct spent considerable time and energy working with the Forest Service and other stakeholder on the project. The nearly 1,000 acres being targeted are 55-60 year-old human created Douglas fir plantations that were created after clearcut logging took place in the mid-part of the 20th century. The targeted stands lack structural complexity and species diversity. Prescriptions for the area include variable density thinning, where some ares remain unthinned, some get moderately thinned and some get heavily thinned. Small (1/4-1/2 acre) gaps are to be created which will provide openings for rust-resistant sugar pine plantings (a species that was wiped out of the project area from past logging). Nearly 12 million board feet of timber will be generated from the thinning proposal. Other associated restoration work includes decomissioning and recontouring of 1.2 miles of new road, noxious weed removal and precommercial thinning on 190 acres.
Jim's Creek Savanna Restoration Project (Middle Fork District, Willamette National Forest):
This project proposes to thin out Douglas fir from a unique Oregon white oak/ponderosa pine stand across 450 acres above the upper Middle Fork Willamette River. The project is expected to generate nearly 12 million board feet of timber. Due to the past 80 years of effective fire suppression, a younger Douglas fir cohort has assumed itself in the shadows of the the legacy pine, fir and oak. The centuries-old, shorter oaks have been the loser due to increased competition for nutrients and sunlight. The proposal also calls for maintenance underburning, oak savanna creation in nearby pine plantations and road decommissioning. The Cascadia Wildlands Project has been involved in the project since 2003 and most recently participated in a collaborative working group to help identify other stewardship opportunities in the vicinity.
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