We wake up from our Crater Lake campsite to a cloudy morning. We all fetched up some quick breakfast before we packed our things and headed into town. On our way Tait was kind enough to let us stop for breakfast and Coffee. Me and a few others of the group went over to one of the small roadside coffee stand that we had been seeing all trip. I cannot describe how good the tea I got there was, it physically made my entire day better because of it, I only wish I could remember what it was called. Anyway, we arrived at the Bureau of Land Management where we met with our presenter who was there to discuss logging issues with us, although I am not sure he knew that. It felt like he had no idea we were coming that day and had no real idea who we were, and if he did he definitely seemed under prepared. Nevertheless, we went out into the field with him to one of the forest sites that the bureau uses for harvesting to see how they manage their harvesting and what types of trees they focus on.
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| Our presenter showing us around a previously harvested site |
The Oregon BLM has systematic harvesting methods to ensure sustainable supply of lumber, for instance each year they plant 6.9 million board feet of timber while harvesting only 5.4 million board feet. This allows the forest time to re-seed itself and allows room for new trees to grow and fill in the area in 20-30 years. The BLM produces logs to be used for lumber or wood-chips, supplying Christmas trees, firewood, and dispersing mushroom permits as well as supporting public land recreation. The harvesting methods the bureau uses are based on tree species and size so they usually cycle every 15-20 years for trees of similar volumes. The bureau supports Douglas furs and other pines but white fur trees can be problematic. Not native to the area, the white pine thrives and is very shade tolerant meaning it can grow very well under the shade of larger trees and can occupy more space because of this, meaning their population can get out of hand very fast. The white fur can out-compete these other pines if there is a lot of trees in the area producing shade. To help support Douglas fur growth, the bureau focuses on patch harvesting and the physical elimination of white fur.
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| Douglas fur slowly returning to life |
By harvesting an open area and leaving a few scattered trees behind, there is enough trees to help reseed the area and there is enough open space for these Douglas fur's to grow unhindered. Unfortunate, one of the conflicts the bureau constantly finds themselves facing is one between the white furs and the spotted owl. The white furs compete against the desirable Douglas furs, so naturally the BLM tries to remove the invasive white fur from the area. The problem is that spotted owls which are an endangered species of owl have taken a liking to the white fur and use them for hunting. The regulations revolving around this endangered species forces the BLM to manage the area, even though the trees are not native and constantly encroach upon their operations. When the bureau tries to remove some of these white fur so that they can harvest, they are repeatedly slammed by environmental groups pestering about destruction of spotted owl habitat and these disputes often lead to lawsuits. It is largely becoming an up-hill battle for the bureau to supply the timber that is needed by their customers, an occupation that has long been the primary resource which supplied the state with jobs.
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| A pine of some sort that was overexposed to sun |
A balance must be found between managing habitat for these spotted owls, but the BLM must still be aloud to harvest their timeber, they should be give credit for the efforts they make to ensure the forestts come back healthy by planting more than they harvest, as not many operations would put that much consideration into their work. The day ended with everyone at their campsite, diligently working on putting their notebooks together. It was a quiet night compared to the one before but everyone knew the trip was winding down and I think everyone was just about ready to be home. With nobody really to talk to I decided to head to bed myself and do my best to enjoy my last day of the trip, surrounded by great friends who brought many good times.
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