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Seeking Community Input on Landscape Wildfire Resilience Strategy: “East Oakridge Strategy”

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The Middle Fork Ranger District is starting an important plan known as the “East Oakridge Strategy.” The main goal of this initiative is landscape wildfire resilience. This plan covers an area of about 28,000 acres (that’s about 44 square miles!) Within this area, there are approximately 5,700 acres of managed and harvestable forest stands containing around 50 million board feet of timber.

These planning discussions are focused on the National Forest east of Oakridge, bordered by High Prairie to the north, the Cedar Creek Fire to the East, and Hills Creek to the south. There are three naturally distinct sections: Dead Mountain, Aubrey Mountain, and Kitson Ridge (see image).The Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative is working with the Forest Service to get input from the community to determine which area should be worked on first based on local knowledge and what people see as most important.

Dead Mountain provides an opportunity to build upon the 1,000 acres of thinning and prescribed burning from the Oakridge Westfir Thinning and Fuels Reduction Project. The area also has shaded fuel breaks from the Cedar Creek fire that can be expanded. This is a critical area to protect the High Prairie neighborhood.

Aubrey Mountain has Cedar Creek fuel breaks along an important road system. Additionally, it’s also a critical area to protect the Dunning Road neighborhood, Oakridge Industrial Park and railroad infrastructure. The railroad also has a history of fire starts along the very steep southern slope.

Kitson Ridge hasn’t had forestry related work in a long time. Due to its rugged ground and dense fuels, it’s another high fire risk area that is important to treat. While it hasn’t burned recently it does have a history of large fires, such as the 1998 Shady Beach fire. In 2008, the Kitson fire was rapidly suppressed in large part due to it starting very late in the fire season.

It’s worth highlighting that reducing hazardous fuels, thinning overstocked plantations, prescribed burning and improving roads across all of this area is critical to safeguard the communities of Oakridge and Westfir. Each area offers unique benefits, challenges, and opportunities. This is why input from the community on what they value most to be completed first is so important.

Community members are invited to provide their input on this strategy! One step to make your voice heard is by participating in planning meetings. Join the Landscape Planning Committee meeting on December 18th at 1:00 pm @48513 HWY 58 or email [email protected] or call 541-782-3422 for an online meeting link. There will also be an evening public open house held on January 10th from 5:30-7:00 pm @48513 HWY 58. During these meetings, you will gain a deeper understanding of the East Oakridge Strategy areas and have the chance to share your input and priorities. Your input is valuable, so please get involved!

Written By: Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative

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George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.

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