Rigdon Landscape Restoration Project
Scroll down, all the way through, to learn about the history of this landscape and proposed actions. Please be patient for web maps to load.
If you are having problems viewing this website and you are using Internet Explorer, please try Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge or Apple Safari.
Location
The Rigdon landscape encompasses an area south of Oakridge, Oregon within the Headwaters of Middle Fork Willamette River. This area, 104,000 acres in size, is surrounded by the High Cascades to the east and the Calapooya Mountains to the west and south.
Historic conditions
Climatic conditions and wildfire, along with prescribed fire maintained by Native Americans, resulted in open, mixed conifer forests of Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, sugar pine, and Oregon white oak. Trees were widely spaced, and the ground vegetation was composed of grasses, wildflowers, and scattered shrubs.
Cold, clear springs fed tributaries and historically provided spawning habitat for Chinook salmon and bull trout. Wide floodplains of multiple, braided channels were once common, especially near confluences, and provided high-quality fish spawning and rearing habitat.
Culturally modified trees (CMT’s) are found within the Rigdon landscape area. Native Americans often created CMT’s as a result of cambium/inner bark harvesting and bark peeling for making textiles. Euro-American practices of trail blazing for routes, boundaries or signage resulted in different types of CMTs as a result of defining routes and allotment boundaries.
Photo courtesy of Stephen Todd Jankowski, USDA Forest Service
19th Century Changes
During this time, Native American populations decreased as European settlers increased. Uncontrolled grazing took its toll on the landscape, and prescribed burning ceased to exist.
Photo courtesy of USDA Forest Service archives
20th Century Changes
Fire suppression became more prevalent. Private and public land managers emphasized maximum timber production, resulting in an increase in road construction. Recreation increased, as did trail and campground construction. A dam was built on the main stem of the Middle Fork Willamette River. In some areas, levees were built, large wood was removed from streams, and bull trout populations were eliminated. A notable decrease in big game, northern spotted owl, salmon, ponderosa pine, and Oregon white oak populations continued. Invasive non-native plants and aquatic organisms were introduced and spread from grazing, road use, and harvest disturbance.
In the late century, a reduction in timber harvesting resulted in the closure of local lumber mills in Oakridge and Westfir. This created an economic decline within the local communities.
Photo courtesy of USDA Forest Service archives
21st Century Changes
At the start of the century there was a significant reduction in harvesting on public lands. Prescribed burning was re-initiated on a small scale. Road systems became more restricted and unstable. Stream restoration became more of a priority.
Ultimately, land managers desired a better understanding of the landscape and the actions needed to restore resilience and diversity. As climate change threatens warmer, drier, and longer summers, there will be an increase of fire frequency and severity. For this reason, it has been identified that collaborative efforts are needed to restore the landscape.
Photo courtesy of Molly Juillerat, USDA Forest Service
Collaborative Efforts to Facilitate Landscape Restoration
For land managers to take the necessary steps to restore the landscape, a Facilitated Landscape Analysis and Design (FLAD) process was imperative. The FLAD process is designed to develop desired landscape patterns that will inform land management objectives. For the assessment, the Middle Fork Ranger District Rigdon planning team worked collaboratively with the Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative (SWFC). As a result, the SWFC formed the Rigdon Collaboration Committee (RCC) to allow interested stakeholders to take part in the process. The SWFC facilitated learning sessions, field trips, and roundtable discussions between the Middle Fork Ranger District and RCC members.
Photo courtesy of the Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative
Youngs Rock Rigdon
The first project using information from the Rigdon Landscape Analysis is Youngs Rock Rigdon (YRR). This area is 33,000 acres in the northeast portion of the Rigdon landscape, focused on the bulk of the mixed conifer forest in the area, as well as restoration activities in and near the main stem of the Upper Middle Fork Willamette River.
The Purpose and Need of the Youngs Rock Rigdon project
Improve stand and landscape diversity, structure and resiliency
- Increase diversity and structure in mixed conifer forests
- Increase diversity and structure in moist forests
- Restore meadows and oak savannahs
- Restore aquatic resources and floodplains
- Control stocking and improve structural complexity and diversity of riparian vegetation as needed to attain aquatic conservation strategy objectives
Strategically reduce hazardous fuels
Sustainably manage existing trail systems and dispersed recreation while minimizing impacts to natural resources
Identify a sustainable road system needed for safe and efficient travel and for administration, utilization, and protection of National Forest System Lands
Provide a sustainable supply of forest products
Timber Harvest and Prescribed Underburning
Variable density thinning, underburning, and regeneration harvesting is proposed in about 4,300 acres of stands ranging from 40 to 200 years old. Treatments would be primarily through timber harvesting and/or underburning but also include other methods such as fall and leave and fall and remove for aquatic habitat restoration activities. Non-Forest Service ownership in black hatch.
Timber Harvest
Thinning and/or underburning in about 2,780 acres of older natural stands within the mixed conifer forest to transition to more open canopy conditions and promote pine and oak habitat.
Timber Harvest
Thinning in about 984 acres of younger managed stands to accelerate late-successional characteristics and provide the opportunity in the future to increase or connect patches of older forest.
Timber Harvest
Regeneration harvesting in about 531 acres of younger managed stands to provide temporary early seral habitat with complex structure.
Commercial harvesting is expected to generate about 63 million board feet of timber. Harvest systems for this project would include roughly 940 acres of helicopter yarding, 1251 acres of skyline yarding, and 925 acres of ground based yarding.
Road Treatments
Road maintenance and reconstruction activities would be proposed on about 127 miles of existing forest system roads within the planning area.
Maintenance and reconstruction needs vary by road, but include brushing, reconditioning of roadways and ditches, replacing culverts, and cut/fill slope repair.
Road Treatments
This project would decommission (rehabilitate and remove from system) up to approximately 12 miles of roads and store (close) up to approximately 47 miles in a hydrologically stable condition.
Road Treatments
One rock pit would be developed for this project and would include activities such as blasting, crushing, materials wasting, and rock haul.
Fuel Treatments
Proposed hazardous fuel reduction treatments would reduce existing natural fuel loads as well as logging slash in treated stands to levels within Forest Plan standards and guidelines. Treatments proposed to reduce logging slash will occur within treated managed and natural stands. Treatments proposed to reduce existing natural fuel loading would be proposed in locations that offer a strategic benefit for future fire management on the landscape in regard to suppression strategies and firefighter safety.
Approximately 2,608 acres of logging slash as a result of harvest will be addressed within all treated stands as well as on landings with a combination of underburning, piling, and pile burning. Non-Forest Service ownership in black hatch.
Fuel Treatments
Approximately 489 acres of understory fuel treatment units, primarily located around adjacent private industrial forest land, would include underburning, understory thinning (removal of brush and trees less than 7 inches diameter at breast height), pruning, whipfelling, chipping, piling, and burning.
Fuel Treatments
Understory thinning, pruning, whipfelling, chipping, piling, and burning would be implemented on approximately 739 acres of roadside understory fuel treatment units that connect stands proposed for treatment.
Aquatic Restoration
Floodplain restoration on about 695 acres involves the redistribution of depositional material in floodplains and the removal of levees, roads, and placement of large wood using tree tipping, ground based mechanized equipment, and helicopters.
Aquatic Restoration
Riparian fall and leave would occur on about 200 acres of no harvest buffers of managed stands. Riparian reserve fall and leave involves felling trees within identified riparian areas to improve connectivity and create habitat for native flora and fauna.
Aquatic Restoration
Streamside tree tipping requires whole trees with rootwads attached to be tipped into the stream channel.
Meadow Restoration
Meadow restoration activities on approximately 276 acres would include tree cutting, piling, pile burning, pruning, invasive weed treatment, underburning, and planting native plants. Milkweed and other pollen sources for monarch butterflies would be planted. Invasive weed treatment would incorporate mechanical, manual, and chemical methods.
Sustainable Recreation
Recreation related activities include rerouting approximately two miles of the Middle Fork National Recreation Trail. The new trail would be located out of the floodplain to prevent further resource damage and would require the construction of at least three bridges.
Sustainable Recreation
Approximately 800 feet of trail would connect Forest Service Road 2100-276 to the existing Middle Fork National Recreation Trail. The new trail would create a two-mile loop along existing road and trail, allowing for continued access and educational opportunities on the historic features in the area.
Sustainable Recreation
Dispersed campsites within the floodplain of the Middle Fork Willamette River would be evaluated based on use, condition, and resource risk. Site closure, conversion to walk-in camps, and in some cases no action would be proposed to balance a need for dispersed recreation sites with the protection of riparian areas.
Sustainable Recreation
Two horse trailer turnarounds and parking areas would be created and designated. One along Forest Service Road 2127 between the 028 and 029 roads...
Sustainable Recreation
...the other horse trailer turnaround and parking area at the junction of Forest Service Roads 2133 and 2134.
The collaborative FLAD process brought these complex proposals together in a unique landscape to rehabilitate and improve ecosystem functions.
For more information:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=55868
