Dayton Chronicle - Your Hometown News Source

PENDLETON, Ore. (April 4, 2022) — The Pomeroy Ranger District of the Umatilla National Forest is seeking public input on the Pomeroy Danger Tree and Fire Salvage Project, located within the footprints of the Green Ridge and Lick Creek Fires approximately 10 miles south of Pomeroy, Washington. The Forest Service will be accepting written comments on this proposal until April 22, 2022.

The Pomeroy Danger Tree and Fire Salvage project aims to restore portions of the landscape burned by the Green Ridge and Lick Creek Fires and mitigate hazards that threaten public safety. The project proposes to remove danger and hazard trees that threaten public health and safety along multiple travel routes and within developed recreation sites; replant areas of the landscape that were more severely impacted by wildfire; and recover forest economic value and benefits through salvage harvest on approximately 1,076 acres. Trees that are removed may be sold through commercial timber sales, offered to the public as firewood, or used onsite for stream and habitat rehabilitation.

The fires burned at different intensities in different areas across the landscape. The Forest is generally not proposing activities in areas where fire severity was low, areas that are not accessible, or in restricted management areas (such as Designated Wilderness, inventoried roadless areas, or riparian areas).

This work is part of overall landscape restoration efforts following the 2021 fire season that burned nearly 100,000 acres on the Umatilla National Forest. The Green Ridge and Lick Creek Fires were both ignited on July 7, 2021, following widespread thunderstorms with no precipitation after an extended period of record-breaking drought conditions in June. The Lick Creek Fire burned a total of 80,421 acres (54,460 acres on Umatilla National Forest lands). The Green Ridge Fire burned 43,694 acres of Umatilla National Forest lands.

The Forest Service is seeking comments to help refine the proposed action and identify ways to improve project design. The comment period is an opportunity for the public to be involved in the process and offer thoughts on alternative ways the Forest Service can accomplish the project purpose and need. This will be the only opportunity to comment on this project.

Information about the project, documents, maps, and how to comment, are available on the project website at: https://go.usa.gov/xzEJ6. Hard copy comments will also be accepted via postal mail. Please address them to: District Ranger, Susan Piper, Attn: Pomeroy Roadside Danger Tree and Fire Salvage Project Comments, Pomeroy Ranger District, 71 West Main, Pomeroy, Washington 99347.

For additional information about the project please contact Lindsay Lockard, Project Lead, at [email protected].

As a reminder, Forest Service Roads 44 and FSR 4206 remain closed on the Forest for public safety. Umatilla National Forest officials are evaluating fire closures regularly and will modify or lift closures as soon as it is safe to do so based on fire activity and suppression operations. Sites directly impacted by wildfire may remain closed after fire activity has subsided while the Forest assesses hazards. Falling snags and limbs, stump holes, unstable ground, rock falls, downed trees, debris flows, and landslides can all occur in a post-fire landscape. Please recreate responsibly by respecting fire closures. They are in place for the safety of the public, to protect natural resources, and to allow critical repair work to be accomplished quickly and efficiently.

To keep the public updated on post-fire recovery and long-term restoration, the Umatilla National Forest has also developed an interactive story map, which can be viewed here: https://arcg.is/0nyrWq.

Additional information about the Umatilla National Forest is available at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/umatilla.