A public meeting will be held Wednesday, Aug. 4, to give community members a chance to learn about the U.S. Forest Service’s plans for the Trout Creek planning area, which include what could be the largest timber harvest in the Sweet Home Ranger District since 2011.
The briefing and public meeting on the U.S. Forest Service’s proposed 43,000-acre Trout Creek planning area will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at Jim Riggs Community Center, 880 18th St.
District Ranger Nikki Swanson and interdisciplinary team (IDT) specialists will brief attendees in areas ranging from fisheries, wildlife and recreation to silviculture.
Specialists will be available to answer questions and take input for their specific areas. The Forest Service is also seeking input on areas of interest for three public field trips to be conducted Sept. 1, 8 and 9.
Trout Creek’s 43,000-acre planning area contains matrix and late successional reserve lands and an adaptive management area under the Northwest Forest Plan that provides complex restoration and management challenges. Five significant cultural resources exist inside the planning boundaries: Cougar Rock, Gordon Meadows, Camas Prairie, the Molalla Trail and Santiam Wagon Road.
Planning has been under way since 2013 and the District’s IDT specialists have done considerable work and outreach focusing on science, vegetation management, water quality, and road and fire aspects. More than 35 organizations have participated, and three earlier field trips have focused on stand treatment and forest resiliency.
“Based on that public outreach work and other scientific input, the current Trout Creek project has been modified,” Swanson said. “We are encouraging existing stakeholders and members of the Sweet Home community to come learn about the changes, give us feedback on planning, ideas for our field trips and help identifying potential monitoring projects in this area.”
Three specific areas the Forest Service is seeking input on during this session for pre-National Environmental Policy Act consideration are: 1) harvest of a total of 16 million board feet of timber, in a series of smaller sales; 2) associated restoration projects that will enhance threatened and endangered species and other wildlife habitat; and 3) cultural resources and monitoring opportunities.
“Citizen input at this time is critical,” Swanson said. “We intend to move into scoping the environmental impact statement this fall, so having input now will allow us to understand and incorporate the interests of the community as we move forward.”
For more information, contact Swanson at (541) 367.3145, or Sharon Kanareff at (541) 401.4811 or by email at [email protected]. RSVPs to Sharon are requested for those who plan to attend. Let Sharon know if you can’t attend on Aug. 4, but would like to attend the September field trips or to be added to a list to receive more information.