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Hinkle Creek crossing
Oregon Forest Resources Institute members tour part of the Hinkle Creek project near Sutherlin, where biologists catch and tag fish for research.
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ENLARGE
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Forest talk
Dave Lorenz, an official for the Oregon Department of Forestry, stands among 4-year-old trees in Margo’s Meadow as he talks about the Forest Practices Act during the Oregon Forest Resources Institute Hinkle Creek tour Thursday.
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SUTHERLIN -- Wired fish and high-tech water-quality tools wowed a school bus full of Oregon Forest Resources Institute board members, state legislators and interested community members on a tour of the Hinkle Creek project Thursday.
The institute, created by the Oregon Legislature in 1991 to provide information on Oregon's forest practices, schedules periodic field trips to examine forestry issues on the ground, such as wildfire and logging.
This time the tour's theme was a groundbreaking partnership between Oregon State University, private landowners and government that intends to shed scientific light on how aquatic habitats respond to logging.
"We're going to generate some fundamental new knowledge about how water, fish, amphibians and aquatic insects are linked at the watershed level ... because we're able to utilize state-of-the-art data collection technology," said Steve Tesch, an OSU forest engineering professor who is involved with the project.
The paired watershed study takes place on 5,000 acres of land owned by Dillard-based Roseburg Forest Products outside of Sutherlin. RFP stepped up to provide a test area in response to increasing controversy over state regulations incurred on private logging through the Forest Practices Act. Industry and small landowners want to make sure the science aligns with those regulations.
"We're running off of studies that were basically completed 20-plus years ago. In the meantime, forest practices rules have continued to evolve," said Dan Newton, Oregon timberlands manager for RFP. "I think it's gotten to the point where we need to gather new data and take another look at it."
Those involved with the project marvel over the collaboration involved between more than 10 federal and state natural resource agencies, nonprofit organizations and private companies. Researches expect to spend $1.36 million by June 2005. Douglas County has contributed $410,000 to the project over the past three years, and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board contributed another $250,000 to the project.
The north fork of Hinkle Creek will serve as a control watershed with no logging or other work during the 10-year study, which ends in 2011. On the south fork, units will be logged in 2005 and 2007.
The landscapes on each fork are similar, with thick trunks of 55-year-old trees looming skyward amid lush foliage.
The institute, created by the Oregon Legislature in 1991 to provide information on Oregon's forest practices, schedules periodic field trips to examine forestry issues on the ground, such as wildfire and logging.
This time the tour's theme was a groundbreaking partnership between Oregon State University, private landowners and government that intends to shed scientific light on how aquatic habitats respond to logging.
"We're going to generate some fundamental new knowledge about how water, fish, amphibians and aquatic insects are linked at the watershed level ... because we're able to utilize state-of-the-art data collection technology," said Steve Tesch, an OSU forest engineering professor who is involved with the project.
The paired watershed study takes place on 5,000 acres of land owned by Dillard-based Roseburg Forest Products outside of Sutherlin. RFP stepped up to provide a test area in response to increasing controversy over state regulations incurred on private logging through the Forest Practices Act. Industry and small landowners want to make sure the science aligns with those regulations.
"We're running off of studies that were basically completed 20-plus years ago. In the meantime, forest practices rules have continued to evolve," said Dan Newton, Oregon timberlands manager for RFP. "I think it's gotten to the point where we need to gather new data and take another look at it."
Those involved with the project marvel over the collaboration involved between more than 10 federal and state natural resource agencies, nonprofit organizations and private companies. Researches expect to spend $1.36 million by June 2005. Douglas County has contributed $410,000 to the project over the past three years, and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board contributed another $250,000 to the project.
The north fork of Hinkle Creek will serve as a control watershed with no logging or other work during the 10-year study, which ends in 2011. On the south fork, units will be logged in 2005 and 2007.
The landscapes on each fork are similar, with thick trunks of 55-year-old trees looming skyward amid lush foliage.
Meanwhile, in the water, scientists are already inserting microchips they call PIT tags (passive integrated transponders) into fish to track their movements and habits. Biologists have already tagged about 1,300 fish in Hinkle Creek in two years.
Stations set up throughout the project allow for continuous measurement of temperature, sediment and turbidity.
Onlookers were awed by the technology used in one of six flumes on the project, where water testing occurs. Engineers constructed a flat fiberglass surface across the bottom of the stream bed with walls on each side of the bank to measure water depth. A contraption called a boom dangles about 10 feet high into the water, and wires transmit information on temperature and turbidity every 10 minutes to a control box in a shed nearby.
Those involved in the project and those visiting it for the first time agree it will provide some much-needed science.
"I think it will give us a lot of the answers we've been looking for," said Hap Huffman, a former OFRI board member and owner of Huffman-Wright, a Canyonville logging and construction company.
Bill Arsenault, owner of Paradise Creek Ranch, is also hoping for some solid science. He and his wife own 360 acres west of Elkton, including 270 acres of forest land.
"I think it's marvelous," he said of the project. "The technology is really, really impressive."
He said burdensome rules are doubly frustrating because they're made without any clear evidence that they're needed.
"You're continuously fighting back whether you need more than a 100-foot buffer near streams," he said, citing one example.
Hal Salwasser, dean of OSU's college of forestry, also toured the project and characterized it as a necessary step toward creating a science-based balance in forest policy.
"What we're seeing here is an intersection between global forces and local values" -- the intersection of global market pressures and local concern for healthy watersheds, he said to the group at the end of the day.
"This is a good beginning to get the science needed ... to find the balance between protection and production."
* You can reach reporter Diane Huber at 957-4218 or by e-mail at dhuber@newsreview.info.
Stations set up throughout the project allow for continuous measurement of temperature, sediment and turbidity.
Onlookers were awed by the technology used in one of six flumes on the project, where water testing occurs. Engineers constructed a flat fiberglass surface across the bottom of the stream bed with walls on each side of the bank to measure water depth. A contraption called a boom dangles about 10 feet high into the water, and wires transmit information on temperature and turbidity every 10 minutes to a control box in a shed nearby.
Those involved in the project and those visiting it for the first time agree it will provide some much-needed science.
"I think it will give us a lot of the answers we've been looking for," said Hap Huffman, a former OFRI board member and owner of Huffman-Wright, a Canyonville logging and construction company.
Bill Arsenault, owner of Paradise Creek Ranch, is also hoping for some solid science. He and his wife own 360 acres west of Elkton, including 270 acres of forest land.
"I think it's marvelous," he said of the project. "The technology is really, really impressive."
He said burdensome rules are doubly frustrating because they're made without any clear evidence that they're needed.
"You're continuously fighting back whether you need more than a 100-foot buffer near streams," he said, citing one example.
Hal Salwasser, dean of OSU's college of forestry, also toured the project and characterized it as a necessary step toward creating a science-based balance in forest policy.
"What we're seeing here is an intersection between global forces and local values" -- the intersection of global market pressures and local concern for healthy watersheds, he said to the group at the end of the day.
"This is a good beginning to get the science needed ... to find the balance between protection and production."
* You can reach reporter Diane Huber at 957-4218 or by e-mail at dhuber@newsreview.info.
