We didn't expect 6 inches of snow and below-freezing temperatures in early November when we planned a trip with the Chiloquin Ranger District on the Fremont-Winema National Forest to see the proposed Fort Project. But Oregon Wild staff are hearty, and Doug Heiken, Tim Lillebo and I are glad we toured the project with Forest staff earlier this week.

The objective: see various forest management proposals in the project area, see if they meshed with our own restoration principles, and discuss with the forest managers how they could best reach desired outcomes in this area between Hwy. 97 and Hwy. 62 southeast of Crater Lake National Park.

Most of the dry Ponderosa pine stands we viewed had been previously logged and were suffering from fire exclusion. The proposed treatments will thin them out, removing small trees from around larger, older ones, introducing more variability in tree spacing, and taking into consideration the needs of multiple wildlife species. All in all, it looked pretty good, though we'd like to see some minor changes.

As our relationship with Forest managers - in eastern Oregon in particular - evolves, we find more and more that we are on the same page, advocating for restoration where fire suppression and past logging has led to unhealthy forests. And building relationships by getting out and kicking the dirt together (or snow in this case) leads to mutual respect and openness to incorporating our ideas about old-growth protection and restoration. 

I just wish we could spend more days like this, and fewer battling interests that want to increase unsustainable logging in western Oregon...