Community-Based Forestry Program

Community-based forestry (CBF), or community forestry, has been described as, “…an innovative approach to managing forests and providing Americans with the forest products and environmental services that they need.  Community forestry is rooted in the belief that forests and rural communities are inextricably linked and that we can protect our environment while creating jobs.  Community forestry uses democratic processes to ensure decisions about our public lands involve all citizens.” (Sustainable Northwest)

As our initial program, Mt. Adams Resource Stewards sought to draw from the community-based forestry movement around the United States.  The motivation was simple:  CBF represents a way for us, as a community with strong ties to the forest, to engage in forest management in ways that bring about greater prosperity for the broader community while promoting healthy, functional forest ecosystems in the process.

Some of our on-the-ground accomplishments are described below.  As far as financial contributions of this program to local economies, after our first year of having a full-time staff person at MARS our CBF Program has contributed or leveraged over $300,000 via contracts, wages and other investments.

Public Lands Restoration

While public lands restoration is a broad topic, most anyone that has spent time in the Mt. Adams Region in the past decade can point to forest health as a critical issue.  Outbreaks of the western spruce budworm took advantage of forest conditions that had departed significantly from what they were historically, as humans have altered the composition of forests, changed the role of wildfire and introduced various other stressors.  The incidence of other pests and diseases has also increased, and the result has been widespread tree mortality over tens of thousands of acres, resulting in increased wildfire risk, loss of wildlife habitat, poor watershed function, etc.

In recent years the U.S. Forest Service prioritized watersheds for treatment and restoration, and the initial project on the Mt. Adams Ranger District was the Gotchen Risk Reduction and Restoration Project.  Other projects scattered across the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area are in various stages of planning and implementation.

Initially we were involved with documenting current forest conditions associated with the Gotchen restoration project, in order for conditions to be tracked and evaluated after forest treatments are implemented.  This work continues and we continue to develop our relationship with the Forest Service and other stakeholders as we begin to assess future restoration opportunities.

Aspen Restoration

Quaking aspen represent a unique and locally important habitat in the Mt. Adams Region, valued as high quality forage for a number of wildlife species and nesting sites for songbirds.  Aspen stands have also been documented to have other important ecosystem impacts - including reducing the intensity of wildfire behavior and improving watershed function and water yield.  Some even consider aspen to be a keystone species.  Many visitors to our forests find their fall colors to be of great appeal as well.

Aspen inhabit a couple of distinct ecological niches in our area, and in particular dry-site (upland) aspen stands have suffered most the effects of fire exclusion, browsing from livestock and relatively high elk populations.  Most upland aspen stands are in a serious state of decline in the Mt. Adams area.

Recognizing this, we teamed with the Mt. Adams Ranger District to restore key aspen stands in the vicinity of the historic Gotchen Guard Station.  With funding provided through the South Gifford Pinchot Resource Advisory Committee, contracts were let to remove as many competing conifers as was permitted by forest management plans for this area, and a buck-and-pole fence was constructed to exclude deer, elk and cattle that browse on aspen suckers.  MARS helped with contract preparation, administration and is monitoring the project in order to evaluate long term impacts.

Conboy Lake NWR Habitat Projects

The Glenwood Valley is the location of the Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge, managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.  Several thousand acres of mostly seasonal lake bottom and wetland habitat have been acquired by the USFWS to protect and enhance habitat for waterfowl during their spring migration.  The refuge is also home to a nesting population of greater sandhill cranes and Oregon spotted frogs.

Many of the species that the USFWS manages for at Conboy benefit from open wet meadow habitat.  Many of these meadows are being encroached upon by young stands of lodgepole pine.  MARS has been working with the USFWS to plan the removal of lodgepole from certain sites, with one goal of connecting local contractors with work opportunities.

Glenwood Community Wildfire Protection Planning

MARS was contracted by Washington Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) to write the community wildfire protection plan (CWPP) for Glenwood.  Initial meetings involving community members and stakeholders occurred during the summer of 2006, and continued through late 2007.  The CWPP has been finalized and approved by county commissioners.  You can download a PDF of the plan, which includes recommendations for future fuels reduction and mitigation projects.

Other Community-Based Forestry Initiatives

Small Wood Utilization Initiative

Working Lands Initiative