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Blue Mountains Forest Resiliency Project
June 2019
The Forest Supervisors of the Ochoco, Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests have modified the Forest Resiliency Project planning approach from one dedicated interdisciplinary team working across portions of the three National Forests to each forest addressing individual restoration needs through their regular program of work.
The change in approach responds primarily to several upcoming personnel retirements on the Blue Mountains Restoration Strategy interdisciplinary team (planning team). Hiring a new planning team would require more time and expense. The planning team had anticipated releasing a draft environmental impact statement sometime this summer. However, the recent withdrawal of the Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision led to a need to rework the Forest Resiliency project alternatives, which would require additional personnel time.
After careful consideration, the Forest Supervisors decided the most efficient way to ensure successful completion and implementation of this important restoration work would be to transfer all existing data and completed analysis to help forest teams more efficiently start and complete local restoration efforts. This decision will also allow each forest to work closely with local communities during project development to ensure the right work is completed in the right locations to increase forest health and productivity, while also contributing to local economies and protecting natural resources. All comments submitted by the public during scoping will be transferred to each forest.
While the approach for the Forest Resiliency Project has changed, the Forest Service remains committed to focusing on the need to restore dry forest landscapes in eastern Oregon so that the forests are more resilient to wildfire (and other disturbances) and continue to provide the benefits the communities depend on.
For more information on the Forest Resiliency Project, please contact David Hatfield at 541-278-3875 or david.hatfield@usda.gov.
View archived information for eastside resiliency.