Oregon is facing two distinct challenges. Wildfires have become larger and more destructive and wildfire season has become longer and more costly. Similarly, Oregon’s wood products sector faces decreasing supplies of available wood fiber.
This effort will demonstrate that forest resilience treatments on federal forests can make forests and communities safer from wildfire while simultaneously providing small-diameter fiber to serve the growing mass timber industry.
Planned actions:
1. Advance forest health and community wildfire resilience on three to four 70-acres project areas within the Willamette National Forest.
2. Partner with the Willamette National Forest to prepare supporting documentation necessary for NEPA determinations (including categorical exclusions and determinations under other environmental laws such as ESA and NHPA) by the applicable federal agencies.
3. Collaborate with the Willamette National Forest to plan, layout, and administer three to four Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) timber sales to provide additional wood fiber to the regional mass timber supply chain.
4. Provide restoration fiber to the regional supply on three to six approximately 70-acre areas.
5. Develop robust track and trace program to bring additional transparency and accountability to the restoration mass timber supply chain in partnership with Sustainable Northwest.
6. Develop multi-media communication and outreach efforts to raise public awareness of socio-economic and ecological benefits of building affordable mass timber housing from restoration fiber.