biomass.forestguild.org - 1021 Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Sidwalter Project, OR

Sidwalter WUI Project

Warm Springs, OR
Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation
Submitted by Doug Manion, Forest Manager, Bureau of Indian Affairs

Project ID: 1021

1. Name - Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Sidwalter Project

The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation (CTWS) possess a well-established biomass-removal and utilization program that has been linked to a co-generation facility. The Sidwalter WUI project provides a good example of how the CTWS program looks on the ground.

The CTWS reservation is 65 miles southeast of Portland and is home to about 4,000 members from the Warm Springs, Wasco, and Paiute tribes. The landscape of the approximately 650,000 acres of the reservation extends from the Cascade Mountains to the open range of central Oregon. 398,000 acres are forested, and 215,000 acres are managed for timber production. In the surrounding counties (Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook), there are over 740,000 acres in condition class 2 and 3 with medium to high fire risk. CTWS has been doing fuel reduction for about four years. CTWS started work in WUI and hazardous fuels areas using Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) funding. The first project was a mechanical thinning utilizing a contractor from Northern California. The contractor used a three-wheeled wolverine machine in an unmarked crop-tree thinning with spacing requirements from CTWS forestry. Since then, CTWS has continued to treat hazardous fuels, and cost per acre has dropped from $550–$680 to about $400. HFRA funding still plays a role. For example, a green timber and biomass sale last year still used HFRA funding.

The Sidwalter WUI project covered 247 acres of ponderosa pine forest. The objectives for the project were to (1) reduce hazardous fuels loading next to community housing, and (2) utilize biomass for fuel wood for either community members or Warm Springs Forest Products Industries (WSFPI). The project occurred during the second half of 2005. The treatment reduced the basal area by about 40%, from 94 square feet per acre to about 60 square feet per acre and reduced the number of trees from 378 per acre to 144 per acre.

In general, fuel treatment projects on the Warm Springs Reservation result in 8 to 13 dry tons per acre, while commercial sawlog harvests have resulted in 2 to 4 dry tons per acre. Western juniper range improvement activities have resulted in 6 to 8 dry tons per acre. A portion of this material, 130 dry tons per year, is used in a WSFPI powerhouse that provides 3 MW per hour. Plans are underway to expand the biomass generating capacity and woody biomass use on the reservation.

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	2	Land Ownership Tribal
	3	Location Warm Springs, Oregon
	4	Forest Type Mixed conifer
	Context
	5	Is this project a part of a landscape plan? Yes
	6	In a Wildland Urban Interface (WUI)? Yes
	7	Acreage treated 247 ac
	8	Type of contract Timber sale
	9	Funding source HFRA
	10	Collaborators and partners Aquila Power Plant/ Kansas University
	11	Project start date Jul. 2005
	12	Project completion date Nov. 2005
	Treatment Goals
	13
	14	Reduce fuel load
	15
	16
	17
	Treatment Specifics
	18	Primary treatment objective Reduce hazard fuels loading next to community housing; Utilize biomass for fuel wood for either community members or WSFPI
	19	How does biomass removal fit with other objectives? Well
	20	Treatment description Thinning
	21	Description of contractors
	22	Travel distance for contractors
	23	Type of equipment used
	24	Treatment of residual slash if any Chipped and removed
	25	Treatment cost per acre ~$550
	26	Trucking costs
	Utilization
	27	Products from project Firewood, chips
	28	Price for products Ponderosa $17/MBF, Douglas-fir $109/MBF
	29	Date of Sale Nov. 2005
	30	Did biomass markets exist previous to project? Yes
	31	Type of utilization Firewood, Co-gen
	32	How well did the woody biomass match the utilization options?
	33	Distance to utilization Local
	Treatment guidelines, targets, limitations
	34	Diameter limit None
	35	Basal area reduction 37%
	36	Crown coverage
	37	Fuel loading Reduce
	38	Retention guidelines
	39	Treatment of snags and downed logs
	40	Soil impacts
	41	Other ecological impacts monitored
	Pre Treatment
	42	Fuel load High
	43	Stem density (stems/ac) 378
	44	Basal area (ft2/ac) 94
	45	Canopy closure (%)
	46	Height to live crown base
	47	Snags and downed woody material
	48	Size class distribution Skewed to small trees
	49	Tree species composition
	50	Presence/absence of invasive species
	51	Soil and other ecological data
	Post Treatment
	52	Fuel load Low
	53	Stem density (stems/ac) 144
	54	Basal area (ft2/ac) 60
	55	Canopy closure (%)
	56	Height to live crown base
	57	Snags and downed woody material
	58	Size class distribution 73% of BA in >11 DBH
	59	Tree species composition
	60	Presence/absence of invasive species
	61	Soil and other ecological data

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