biomass.forestguild.org - 1029 Transportation Corridor Fuels Reduction, ID

Transportation Corridors Fuels Reduction Stewardship Project

Elk City, ID
Framing Our Community and Bureau of Land Management
Submitted by Joyce Dearstyne, Executive Director, Framing Our Community

Project ID: 1029

1. Name - Transportation Corridor Fuels Reduction

This project was a partnership between Framing Our Community (FOC), a nonprofit group, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). By working together they were able to build community support for, and implement a fuels-reduction project in a high-risk road area. FOC's purpose is to foster the sustainable use of natural resources and eliminate the rural poverty in communities dependent on federally managed natural resources. Since the mid-1990s they have been investigating the opportunity of value-added wood products developed from small-diameter, dead, and diseased timber. FOC has also helped to develop and implement on-the-ground techniques and training for forest restoration, fuels-reduction and defensible space programs. In addition to the fuels-reduction project profiled here, FOC is also working with the BLM on several other projects, including additional fencing of the stream corridor along Elk Creek to prevent livestock grazing, and decommissioning of road segments on private and BLM land.

The goal of the Elk City Transportation Corridors Hazardous Fuels Reduction Stewardship Project was to reduce hazardous fuel loads, woody biomass, and hazard trees from the roadsides of American River Road in Elk City, Idaho. American River Road is the only access to a subdivision and needed to be protected in the event of a wildfire. A total of 18 acres were treated by local workers. Many of the green sawlogs were sent to the Bennett Forest Industries mill in Grangeville, Idaho (50 miles), while the small diameter and non-sawlogs were sent to the Elk City Small Business Incubator. Value-added wood products businesses in the incubator produced bundled firewood, fencing, shade trellis, and custom-cut, dimensional timber from these. Pulp-grade logs were sent to Grainger in Lewiston, Idaho (125 miles). The project produced 808 tons of sawlogs and 800 tons of non-sawlogs.

The predominant species in the project area was lodgepole pine that was at the end of its life cycle and either dead, dying, or infested with bark beetle. The pine was interspersed with weakened white fir. The prescription called for the removal of all overstory lodgepole pine and for thinning the remaining overstory trees to 10- to 15-foot spacing. The understory was also thinned to 15-foot spacing, with understory trees retained in this order of preference: western larch, ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, and lodgepole pine. All remaining trees were pruned to a height of 10 feet. All residual slash from the project was piled and burned on site.

Links

	2	Land Ownership Bureau of Land Management
	3	Location Elk City, Idaho
	4	Forest Type Lodgepole pine
	Context
	5	Is this project a part of a landscape plan? Yes
	6	In a Wildland Urban Interface (WUI)? Yes
	7	Acreage treated 18 ac
	8	Type of contract Stewardship contract
	9	Funding source
	10	Collaborators and partners Framing Our Community
	11	Project start date Mar. 2002
	12	Project completion date Jan. 2007
	Treatment Goals
	13
	14	Reduce fuel load
	15
	16
	17
	Treatment Specifics
	18	Primary treatment objective Reduce hazardous fuels.
	19	How does biomass removal fit with other objectives? Biomass removal links hazardous fuel reduction with job creation.
	20	Treatment description Heavy Thin: Remove all overstory lodgepole pine and thin remaining overstory to 10-15 ft spacing.
	21	Description of contractors Local workers
	22	Travel distance for contractors Local
	23	Type of equipment used Hand felling
	24	Treatment of residual slash if any Piled and burned
	25	Treatment cost per acre
	26	Trucking costs
	Utilization
	27	Products from project Sawtimber, pulp, firewood, fencing
	28	Price for products
	29	Date of Sale
	30	Did biomass markets exist previous to project? Yes
	31	Type of utilization Bundled firewood, fencing, shade trellis and custom cut dimensional timber
	32	How well did the woody biomass match the utilization options? Well
	33	Distance to utilization Sawtimber: 50 miles; Pulp: 125 miles
	Treatment guidelines, targets, limitations
	34	Diameter limit No
	35	Basal area reduction
	36	Crown coverage
	37	Fuel loading
	38	Retention guidelines 15 foot spacing, healthy trees
	39	Treatment of snags and downed logs Downed logs left
	40	Soil impacts Minimized by yarding and use of existing skid trails
	41	Other ecological impacts monitored
	Pre Treatment
	42	Fuel load
	43	Stem density (stems/ac)
	44	Basal area (ft2/ac)
	45	Canopy closure (%)
	46	Height to live crown base
	47	Snags and downed woody material
	48	Size class distribution
	49	Tree species composition
	50	Presence/absence of invasive species
	51	Soil and other ecological data
	Post Treatment
	52	Fuel load
	53	Stem density (stems/ac)
	54	Basal area (ft2/ac)
	55	Canopy closure (%)
	56	Height to live crown base Pruned to at least 10 ft
	57	Snags and downed woody material
	58	Size class distribution
	59	Tree species composition
	60	Presence/absence of invasive species
	61	Soil and other ecological data

< Prev		Next >

[ Back ]