Grants Pass Ore – September 17, 2024 — The Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest will re-mark, re-cruise and re-advertise the Secret Creek Timber Sale after a recent comprehensive review of the sale was conducted by Forest Supervisor Molly Juillerat. The timber sale, located on the Wild Rivers Ranger District, was originally scheduled for August 27, 2024, but was extended to September 19, 2024, to provide time for the Forest Supervisor to make the review.
An on-the-ground review was conducted with District Ranger Scott Blower, timber management personnel and marking crew members. The review was conducted to ensure that the implementation and marking of the timber sale matched the original intent of the Upper Briggs Environmental Assessment (EA).
The EA was developed to enhance fire resiliency in mixed conifer stands by strategically removing certain trees and improving forest heath. The marking of trees was intended to meet a variety of goals, including reducing forest density for the purposes of restoration of oak, pine and cedar species while also reducing fuels. The EA allowed for the removal of trees up to 120 years of age and generally not larger than 40” DBH. Some trees marked for removal were found to be older than 120 years old. While most of these trees were initially marked to meet restoration and fire resiliency goals, this was not fully aligned with the EA. Moving forward, necessary adjustments are being made to ensure compliance with the EA.
As a result, the Secret Creek Timber Sale will be re-marked, re-cruised and re-advertised to ensure it meets the objectives of the EA. The sale has been cancelled and will be re-announced after the corrective steps are completed. The nearby Taylor Creek area also part of the Upper Briggs EA may be combined with Secret into one sale area.
“We are committed to transparency and stewardship, ensuring the right work is done at the right time for forest health and sustainability,” said Forest Supervisor Juillerat.
In this forest ecosystem, frequent, low-intensity fire historically maintained open stands with large ponderosa pine, sugar pine, and black oak. In order to restore and maintain these shade-intolerant species and forest structures in the landscape, cutting some larger trees is necessary. While the aim is to retain legacy trees, cutting some large trees (less than 120 years old) helps create the conditions needed for a healthier, more resilient and diverse forest structure and composition.
“The Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest is open to providing public field trips to show both treated and untreated areas, explaining our management objectives and the on-the-ground realities of forest restoration. We understand there may be differing opinions, but we believe in the importance of showing how cutting some larger trees for restoration purposes can benefit the forest in the long term,” added Juillerat.
The Secret Timber Sale project footprint is approximately 329 acres of treatment units that will generate 4.3 MMBF of timber. There are additional areas in Upper Briggs EA that have been and will be treated with restoration and fuels treatments in this project area, totaling 4017 acres. The project’s primary purpose is to create forest resiliency to fire, hotter and drier conditions resulting from climate change, and other natural disturbances from insects and disease.Thinning activities include some cutting of Douglas fir trees in order to release and promote the growth of other tree species that are more resilient to hotter and drier conditions, such as Ponderosa Pine, Sugar Pine, Oregon white oak and California black oak. Other large trees may also be marked if they are dead, dying or present hazards.