Project team organizes for Community Forest establishment

Scott Swanson

Members of the South Santiam Community Forest Corridor Project Team are moving forward with an effort to develop of the forest east of Sweet Home, forming teams to work on various aspects of the project.

The Governor’s Oregon Solutions Team met April 1 in Lebanon to form project subcommittees that will identify what needs to be accomplished to make the forest project happen and determine what resources or representation will be needed to accomplish that.

The team’s goal is to “find better ways to ensure public access to natural resources, provide opportunities for nature-based and cultural tourism, improve public health, support jobs, and promote natural resource health both along the river and in the entire South Santiam watershed,” says a progress report prepared for the meeting.

The group has formed three subcommittees that will deal with “recreation and tourism, work on Cascadia Cave and cultural resources in the area, and the third is taking a look at the area as a working forest – how to promote economic opportunity through specialty forest product development,” said Oregon Solutions Project Manager Steve Bryant.

The meeting was one in a series that will be held throughout the year following the designation of the Oregon Solutions Team last fall by Gov. John Kitzhaber. The governor’s action created a group of interested and affected parties representing federal, state and local interests, who will gather every few weeks over the next six to eight months to effectively cut through red tape and other hindrances to the establishment of a forest of public and private lands between Sweet Home and Cascadia – and possibly beyond.

Bryant said the community forum held Feb. 25 in Sweet Home drew some 150 people.

“That was viewed as a successful event,” he said, noting that leaders plan to hold more events to make sure they get the word out about their ideas and progress.

The team is still developing its specific goals, but its long-term goals, listed in the progress report for the April 1 meeting, include a mix of environmentally responsible development of the forest resources by:

n Increasing the physical connection between Sweet Home and the Willamette National Forest via the South Santiam River corridor.

n Helping improve quality of life for local residents. “A high quality of life and successful, livable communities serve to attract new businesses and residents to the area,” the report said.

n Providing for public access to local natural resources and the South Santiam River.

n Contributing to job creation in the Sweet Home area through promotion of recreation and tourism and forest restoration and management activities.

n Promoting improved natural resource health through management and restoration actions within the watershed and implementation of conservation education programs.

n Contributing to improved health of local residents by providing a safe, desirable, and convenient system of recreation opportunities.

n Promoting knowledge of and connections to historic local places, including the Santiam Wagon Road.

n Contributing to an integrated system of recreation opportunities, consistent with local values, that attracts tourists, promotes local economic development, and fosters natural resource stewardship and appreciation.

n Protecting and enhancing important cultural resources in the corridor, particularly Cascadia Cave.

n Highlighting the history and culture of local area tribes associated with the South Santiam Watershed and community forest corridor area.

One of the challenges still to be addressed is deciding what geography will be included in the community forest corridor. Five possibilities listed in the report are boundaries extending:

n From the Western States Land Reliance Trust site (north and east of McDonalds), through city and county lands to Corps of Engineers (COE) land and Andrew Wiley Park at Foster Lake. Continuing around Foster Lake and connecting to the south arm of the Santiam River. Continuing to the eastern boundary of COE land and the beginning of private land areas (e.g., Cascade Timber Consulting).

n From the boundary formed by the eastern end of COE land and private land (e.g., CTC), continuing to the western boundary of the Willamette National Forest (potentially via the Triple-T Mill site). “There may be opportunities for using county road rights-of-way as necessary in areas of private lands,” the report notes.

n From the western boundary of the Willamette National Forest and the Triple-T Mill site, continuing to Gordon Road and eastward to the Santiam Wagon Road. Coordination with private landowners would be required for some portions of this segment, the report says.

n Cascadia Cave site. Potential future public ownership and governance of the cave site could be considered concurrently with the other community forest corridor development phases.

Potential corridor routes both pass through, and go around, the cave site. The particular role and emphasis of the cave site within the community forest corridor can be identified through the Oregon Solutions process and through a corridor governance structure that respects cultural resources.

n Identification of working forestlands (and their potential governance) that are not necessarily adjacent to the corridor, but that could be tied to the corridor as sources of revenue. Because much of the land in the potential corridor is physically constrained by rivers and highways and timber production potential is limited, other lands are likely necessary to produce consistent and timely revenue.

According to the report, the forest would be “sustainably funded in an entreprenurial fashion” and financed through a variety of sources, including revenue from forest products and land management in and outside of the corridor, a variety of grants, ecosystem services payments, and U.S. Forest Service stewardship contracting revenues.

One possibility for revenue is the Sweet Home All-Lands Collaborative, established last year, which promotes “collaborative coordination of forest management” on public and private lands in the South Santiam watershed to improve the forest’s health and contribute to the local economy.

Collaborative participants, who include U.S. and state forestry officials and private landowners such as Cascade Timber Consulting, are also involved in the community forest project.

The report also includes goals for establishing management and governance of the community forest.

It further lists “activity development” outcomes members would like to see realized. They include

n Recreation – Developing plans for enhanced recreation opportunities within the community forest corridor including multi-use trails, expanded camping, fishing, hunting, swimming, rafting, kayaking, scenic vistas, wildlife viewing, and cultural exploration.

n Public health – Developing collaborative partnerships with area health care organizations with a focus on creating healthy lifestyle activities within the community forest corridor. Potential partners include Samaritan Health Services and Lebanon’s Western University COMP Northwest.

n Redevelopment – Identifying opportunities for redevelopment of the former mill sites at both ends of the community forest corridor as potential corridor “activity anchors.” Both the former Weyerhaeuser mill site in Sweet Home and the Triple-T site east of Cascadia offer tremendous potential to the community corridor concept based on their proximity to the river, undeveloped acreage, and brownfield redevelopment assistance programs.

n Local history – Developing plans to enhance the utilization, recognition, and historical features of the Santiam Wagon Road and its significance to the community forest corridor. Developing strategies to increase the understanding of local area tribal heritage.

n Citizen engagement – Identifying opportunities to engage East Linn County citizens, especially students, in actively connecting with the community forest corridor through hands-on experiences and value-added activities.

n Community information center – Developing a strategy for creation of a community information center that serves as a gathering place and could include a Cascadia Community Post office.

n Cascadia State Park – Moving forward opportunities to promote and enhance utilization of Cascadia State Park as a significant asset of the community forest corridor.

n Land exchange – Developing a strategy and identify opportunities for land exchanges between public entities and private landowners that would result in achieving other vision document outcomes.

n Planning – Developing a stewardship and interpretive plan for Cascadia Cave.

The group is committed to good communication and working out any impacts on private landowners by increased emphasis on developing recreational and other opportunities that will draw visitors, Bryant said.

“There was a lot of discussion about making sure there will be plenty of public outreach,” he said. “We agreed that we need to make continued efforts to keep the public informed about this project.”

The April 1 meeting wasn’t attended by the full 50-member team, thanks to absences caused by congressional duties and spring-break conflicts, but it otherwise “pretty much went according to script,” Bryant said. Two residents who own property in the area being considered for the forest were also present – Jim Gourley and Trevor Burchard.

“We’re making sure everybody knows we have no interest treading on private property rights, but we’re trying to bring more economic opportunities to that area through increased forest product development and tourism,” he said.

“Yes, there could be conflicts as we bring more visitors into the area, so we need to be on the lookout for that and keep the community engaged in that process – make sure we try to balance everybody’s interest. We want visitors to enjoy the amenities of the area while preserving private property rights.”

He said the leadership team will meet quarterly to review progress of the three subcommittees and he expects to hold more public information sessions.

“We will hold large meetings where we really anticipate that anybody interested in following this process will be invited to attend and participate in those meetings,” he said. “They can ask questions so we keep that process going.”

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