Tenmile Creek Watershed Forest Health Pilot Project

Eel River Recovery Project

How can Forest Health Management Plans help landowners in a watershed work together to improve forest health?

Significant effort is needed to restore forests and grasslands in the North Coast region, but regulatory and financial barriers hinder forest management, especially on private land. Forest Health Management Plans (FHMPs) can reduce these barriers by qualifying land owners for grant funding and exempting them from state and federal permitting requirements. To test the effectiveness of FHMPs in increasing the pace and scale of forest health work, the Eel River Recovery Project (ERRP) developed an FHMP template and completed five FHMPs for twelve landowners in the Tenmile Creek watershed. These properties now serve as forest health demonstration sites and have hosted field trips that generated significant interest and landowner buy-in for collaborative forest health management. This project demonstrates that FHMPs can be an effective and efficient strategy to scale up forest management on private lands.

Project Overview

Goals

  1. Create a streamlined Forest Health Management Plan template for the North Coast Region
  2. Pilot the use of LIDAR and remote sensing tools in the development of Forest Health Management Plans
  3. Create Forest Health Management Plans for 12 landowners in the Tenmile Creek watershed 
  4. Educate the public about forest health issues and increase interest and participation in forest health planning and implementation

Location

The five FHMP areas are located in Mendocino County near the town of Laytonville. The FHMP areas lie within the Tenmile Creek watershed, a subbasin of the South Fork Eel River watershed.

Project Implementation

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Forest Health Management Plans

The Eel River Recovery Project worked with BBW Forestry to create the  Forest Health Management Plan Template: An Annotated Guide for Wider Application in North Coast Watersheds , which was used to complete five FHMPs for twelve landowners in the Tenmile Creek watershed. The FHMPs qualify landowners for the  NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program  (EQIP) and  CAL FIRE California Forest Improvement Program  (CFIP) grants. Once an FHMP is completed, no additional permits from state or federal agencies are required for implementation, making it easier for landowners to conduct needed forest health activities.

Forest inventory data was collected from 102 plots across the five FHMP areas to better understand forest stand conditions. BBW Forestry trained two volunteers, who subsequently assisted two Registered Professional Foresters with forest inventory data collection. The data was run through the US Forest Service’s Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) growth and yield program to estimate forest inventory. The FVS model yielded estimates of the volume, size and diversity of trees in forest stands as well as an estimate of projected growth. FVS output data can also be used to calculate carbon sequestration using a newly developed FVS module, however this was not feasible due to budget constraints of the project.

Geological and biological data were also incorporated into the FHMPs. Digital maps of slope, roads, streams, and soil water storage capacity were created to assess erosion risk and other possible geologic hazards. Other supporting maps, reports, and tables were acquired from various sources, including NRCS, the California Natural Diversity Database, and the California Native Plant Society.

Remote Sensing

Three remote sensing methods were employed in this project. LIDAR imagery and summary statistics were provided by the Watershed Research & Training Center as part of the  California Forest LIDAR Analytics Collaborative  (CFLAC) project. Orthophoto and infrared (IR) data were collected by Humbots Data Analysis with interpretation assistance provided by Dr. Mike Jones, a UCCE Forestry Advisor. Orthophoto imagery was captured for the Kovner and Cahto Trail FHMP areas, and both orthophoto and IR imagery was captured for the Lower Tenmile Creek and Triple Creek Ranch FHMP areas. Graphics and data interpretation were integrated into each FHMP. 

Workforce Assessment

ERRP conducted outreach to the workers in the Laytonville area and found great interest in participating in paid forest health work. ERRP also reached out to local schools to assess interest in starting forest health training programs. Mendocino Community College expressed strong interest in having a forest health training program that articulates with Laytonville High School courses, but the pandemic delayed any discussion about initiating such a program. 

Community Outreach

The twelve landowners whose properties were covered by the FHMPs (815 acres total) allowed their land to be used as forest health demonstration sites. All hosted field trips during the course of the Project. Two additional landowners with substantial grassland holdings (1,950 acres total) also offered their land as demonstration sites following a successful native grass restoration field trip in May 2021.

ERRP hosted two Eel Zoom series in spring and fall of 2021, with two presentations on forest health, including one featuring the Tenmile Creek watershed project. ERRP also helped make the KEET TV video entitled  Harmony in the Eel River Basin , which explains how frequent, low-intensity fire can decrease the risk of catastrophic wildfire.

Lessons Learned

Forest Health Challenges

This project demonstrated the severity of forest and grassland health challenges in the Tenmile Creek watershed. Dead and dying oaks are prevalent, often due to over-topping and competition from encroaching Douglas fir trees. FVS model outputs showed that Douglas fir trees accounted for most of the tree growth in the Tenmile Creek FHMP areas. For example, in the Lower Tenmile FHMP area, Douglas fir dominated growth in all but one forest type. Within two of the forest types, conifer growth far exceeded that of hardwoods. This data suggests that oak woodlands will continue to decline without proper management.

Remote sensing in FHMPs

LIDAR data proved to be useful for developing individual FHMPs, as well as for planning and analysis at the watershed and regional scales. With LIDAR imagery, forest stand structure can be displayed and tree heights can be estimated to assess the overall age and size of trees within a stand. Furthermore, LIDAR can be used to recognize old ghost logging roads, skid trails, and hillslope gullies that could be addressed during forest health project implementation. Low altitude collection of remote sensing data such as orthophoto and IR data are useful at the FHMP scale, but are more appropriate for detecting emerging forest health problems at larger geographic scales. 

Landowner interest in forest management

All twelve landowners who received FHMPs for their properties were very satisfied and plan to proceed with implementation if additional resources are secured. At least two of the FHMP recipients are already moving forward to apply for NRCS EQIP funds for implementation in the near future. In addition, over the course of the project multiple neighboring landowners expressed interest in having FHMPs completed for their properties.

Trained volunteers can conduct forest inventories

This project aimed to assess whether people who lacked formal forestry training could learn how to perform forest inventories. The data collected by the two trained volunteers was reviewed and found to be accurate by a Registered Professional Forester. Although the trained volunteers worked more slowly than the RPFs on the project team, it may be possible to increase workforce capacity by leveraging trained landowners and volunteers to complete forest inventories.

Recommendations

Scale up use of FHMPs in the North Coast Region

FHMPs can expedite forest health project implementation because they qualify recipients for CFIP and EQIP grants and do not require additional permitting. Watershed groups, Fire Safe Councils, and other community organizations should inform residents of the FHMP option, assess interest in developing such plans, and apply for grant funding for interested landowners. 

Consider developing FHMPs at the watershed scale

With widespread cooperation and community buy-in, FHMPs could be completed at a watershed scale. Watershed-scale FHMPs can decrease the cost of forest health planning due to an economy of scale and speed implementation by reducing financial and regulatory barriers. 

ERRP has requested funding to develop a forest health action plan for the Tenmile Creek watershed, which would be useful for prioritizing implementation and developing a strategy for restoring native grasslands.

Use LIDAR to assess forest structure and composition

LIDAR provides very detailed information about forest structure and composition that is applicable at a range of geographic scales and complements on-the-ground forest inventory surveys. Local LIDAR data should be integrated with regional-scale LIDAR efforts to increase the value of each.

Related Solutions

More Information

Contact

To learn more about this project, please contact Patrick Higgins ( phiggins@humboldt1.com ). The project sponsor may be able to provide access to additional materials such as the Forest Health Management Plans developed as part of this project.