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September 7, 2011     Indian Valley Record
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September 7, 2011
 
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Indian Valley Record Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011 3A Public, professionals visit forest with rangers Trish Welsh Taylor Staff Writer ttaylor@plumasnews.com To appreciate the forest and streams of the area, a simple walk through the woods will do. We have lots of access, since more than three-quar- ters of Plumas County's 2,618 square miles is national forest land. The sights and sounds in the wild tell us a lot about the health of the dynamic system of the forest and waterways. Yet to understand the intri- cacies of managing our na- tional lands, going out with a team of experts on a field trip to plan or assess a project gives a person the perspective of forest professionals. They see not just with their senses. They bring their trained minds to the job -- plus, they bring the goals and objectives of their projects to bear on the facts found in the field. Freeman Defensible Fuel Profile Zone A field trip out of the Beck- wourth Ranger District last month gave public and profes- sionals a chance to see the re- sults of the Freeman Defensi- ble Fuel Profile Zone Project and the Cow Creek Restora- tion Project. In attendance were landowners, businesses, conservation groups, HFQLG members, Project operators, rangers and experts in ecosys- tems, hydrology, wildlife biol- ogy, fire ecology, fuels, botany and silviculture. The team of 26 was amazingly focused, given the backwoods setting and the many distrac- tions -- scolding squirrels, dusty heat, pine cones falling from above, the rugged terrain of the meeting sites. The job was to appraise the degree of success of each project. With the public present, this was the chance for all heads to come to- gether and witness the impacts of man, nature and time. Specialists took turns talk- ing about what they saw, their concerns and questions, their predictions and recommenda- tions. The discussion was im- pressively knowledge based. The USDA Forest Service is more than a host of forest lovers. They are scientists do- ing research, testing theories, keeping data and analyzing findings from a cross-discipli- nary view. Details of the field trip can be found with the pho- tos accompanying this article. The Freeman Defensible Fu- el Profile Zone Project, west of Lake Davis, was initiated about five years ago to create 720 acres of defensible fuel profile zones (DFPZs). A DFPZ provides more than fire inhi- bition at the site, It is a safe lo- cation for fire crews to work from. Ground based firefight- ing equipment can get into the DFPZ, reducing the need for costly aircrews. Then there is the fact that forest health is in- creased in the DFPZ as well. Cow Creek Stream Restoration At the western edge of Lake Davis is lively stream that is the site of the Cow Creek Restoration Project. It might have been a meadow restora- tion but the creek had such deep, severe channel erosion, sediment problems and inhos- A completed defensible fuel profile zone treatment slows a fire down and is also considered a safe place to fight fires from the ground. In addition, there is a cost benefit to using ground crews instead of helicopters and air tankers. This 10-acre unit was created as a portion of the shaded fuel break network, as pointed out by HFQLG Monitoring Team Leader Colin Dillingham on a map detailing completed and planned DFPZs. The HFQLG monitoring program has com- pleted an assessment of 20 wildfires that burned into DFPZs. These defensible zones have been shown to be effective. PhOto by Trish Welsh Taylor pitable conditions for fish that the purpase was redefined. The project goals became: --Reduction of soil and stream channel erosion. --Enhancement of herba- ceous and woody cover within the channel. --Reduction of sedimenta- tion to Lake Davis. --Improvement of fish pas- sage. Fish are considered the ca- nary in the coalmine when it comes to stream systems, and they were in fact seen by field trip participants to be swim- ming as young fry. Their pres- ence is living evidence of a successful restoration. The project, performed in fall 2010, was designed by Don Kozlowski, a hydrologist with the Beckwourth Ranger Dis- trict. Speaking of the complet- ed project, Kozlowski said, "The stream itself is the sedi- ment filter. We didn't hyper- engineer it. It will have to en- gineer itself." He succeeded at his goal to make "something the fish like to go through." There were reports in the spring of full-size trout in the upper stream, beyond the half- mile restoration segment. Kozlowski's design expedit- ed natural processes that would have taken decades or longer. The stream restora- tion also mitigates continued erosion of sediment into the °system. Lake Davis fish will be, glad for that. The Whittington Project Sept. 13 is the last field trip of this year by the Herger- Feinstein Quincy Library Group (HFQLG) Implementa- tion Team. The public is invit- ed to join the excursion to the Hat Creek Ranger District Whittington Project in the Lassen National Forest. "We'd love to have the public in- volved," said Hat Creek Dis- trict Ranger Kit Mullen. Their field trip will visit several sites of interest. On the field trip schedule is an area where aspen are being re-established. The aspen is a fire resilient tree that sends sprouts up from the roots after a fire has destroyed the upper tree. Groves of aspen can be protected from the shade of faster growing, encroaching pines by simple management practices. Once aspen are 6 to 8 feet tall, deer find the screen of fluttering leaves a safe haven for birthing. Birds take to aspen for nesting habitat, and many types of wildlife use the groves for refuge from predators. Baker cypress is another in- digenous but threatened tree that is present in the Whit- tington Project area. To en- hance the conditions under which the rare Baker cypress can successfully re-establish itself, management methods are being used in the area sur- rounding the trees, taking into consideration the needs of oth- er plants and animals. Moni- toring the effectiveness of these methods is a major pur- pose of field trips. The Whittington Project, according to the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, proposes treat- ment of 5,000 of acres of nation- al forest lands near Burney Mountain. This is forest that is recovering from having been cleared decades ago and con- verted to a plantation of pines for harvest. Mullen said that these older plantations are a problem. Because of the densi- ty, it would burn very intense- ly, growth is weak and it makes for poor wildlife habitat. "It was a different time," Mullen said, referring to for- est plantations. The practice is no longer used, and the re- covery process is what the Whittington Project is all about. She explained that when certain elements in the ecosystem have been dimin- ished, such as occurred in the plantation, the practice of managed restoration of those diminished elements supports the rebuilding of plant and an- imal diversity, re-establishing the resilience of the forest. The project design is in its initial stage, which seeks as much input from as many inter- ested perspectives as possible. 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If another plan has better viabil- ity than the proposed one, the implementation team will an- alyze their alternatives. "There may be uses for the land that we don't know about," MuUen offered. The HFQLG Implementation Team won't finalize the pro- ject plan until it has vetted all the input. "We want the feed- back." Mullen can be reached at 336-5521. The field trip be- gins at 10 a.m. Sept. 13 from the Hat Creek Work Center. Ready to make the change? Now is the time to make that happen, with a complete contact lens exam. Contacts are now much more comfortable than they were even five years ago. We have many styles to choose from: Multifocal • More Moisture More Breathable IFREE trial lenses with a I contact, lens exam www.fridenoptome?ry.com ~,-,~ FRIDEN OPTOMETRY ..... 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