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Severe Oregon Fire Erased
Much Spotted Owl Habitat

By Beth Quinn
Correspondent - The Oregonian
1-27-3

GRANTS PASS -- The Biscuit fire destroyed three of every four trees across hundreds of thousands of acres in the Siskiyou National Forest, much of it old- growth habitat for the northern spotted owl that was at the heart of battles between loggers and environmentalist 20 years ago.
 
Most of the forest canopy was destroyed across about half of the 500,000-acre swath of the fire, according to a detailed assessment of the fire's damage to be released next week by the Siskiyou National Forest. While U.S. Forest Service biologists say the endangered owls will survive in the 1.1 million-acre forest, the owl's numbers there may decline as much as 20 percent because Wildfire did some of its greatest damage on the 81,000 acres set aside for their protection. Studies done last fall based on satellite images suggested more than a third of the acreage in the Biscuit fire area was virtually untouched by the fire. But the latest report, based on aerial photographs, found extensive damage in those areas, where the fire burned hottest.
 
"This is not your normal fire," said Tom link, assistant timber officer of the Siskiyou Forest "What we're realizing from the Biscuit fire is it was an unusual fire, hotter and more intense than we've experienced before, and that has changed the level of vegetation mortality." 'The fire also severely damaged up to 186 miles of trails, with repair bills expected to cost up to $10,000 a mile, according to Siskiyou Forest's post-fire assessment. Typically, wildfire burns in a hop-scotch pattern than leaves a third of the land barely touched, a third scorched and a third in ashes. The 78 percent of above-ground vegetation scorched or in ashes within the Biscuit fire perimeter is another example of the extraordinary nature of the blaze, the most expensive in U.S. history and the largest in Oregon in 137 years. One factor in that severity was the four July days when towering smoke plumes created by tornadoes of fire roared across miles of forest, a usually rare wildfire phenomenon that arose at least 25 times during the Biscuit fire.
 
Despite multiple fire plumes and extensive canopy kill, an earlier analysis showed only 16 percent of the forest soil was severely burned. Some hardwood sprouts on the fire ground are already 3 feet high, and three torrential storms since November have caused little erosion from the steep mountainsides into creeks and the Illinois River.
 
"That's good news for the fish and good news for the soil and good news for our ability to grow things in the future," said Unk. The Siskiyou Forest's canopy- kill map is based on a comparison of aerial photographs taken in late October with earlier surveys of above-ground vegetation on the same land. The map is part of a post -fire assessment describing the fire's effect on the forest's key resources, including creeks and rivers, wildlife and habitat, recreation and forest products. The assessment also includes dozens of recommendations for managing the forest in light of changed conditions following the fire.
 
The Biscuit fire effected 49 of the Siskiyou Forest's 202 known northern spotted owl territories, including 22 which lay completely within the fire perimeter and another 11 where the nest was within the fire perimeter. Each northern spotted owl territory is 3,400 acres, and biologists rate the quality of individual territories by the percentage that is actually late successional forest at least 160 years old. The benchmark for excellent habitat is 40 percent old growth or more. Before the Biscuit fire, 40 of the 49 territories effected by the flames contained at least 40 percent old growth, said Lee Webb, biologist for the Siskiyou Forest After the fire, only 17 contained at least 40 percent old growth.
 
Webb thinks most of the owls survived the fire but many won't reinhabit territories that no long offer sufficient food or shelter: With up to 80,000 acres of suitable habitat gone, there might be up to 40 pair that there isn't suitable habitat for," he said. "It's quite a bit at one time. I'd rather see the change more gradual, less disruptive, but I don't think there's any vertebrate species that will disappear from the Siskiyou Forest because of the Biscuit fire."
 
To jump-start the creation of new owl habitat, the Siskiyou Forest will consider opening 36,568 acres of late successional reserve to salvage logging as well as 15,150 acres already open to commercial harvest.  In addition, dead trees " considered hazards will be removed from campgrounds, fire lines and up to 300 miles of forest road. Foresters say removing dead trees and replanting areas where some old-growth trees survive would regrow forests that might support owls in 80 to 100 years.
 
But environmental groups plan to challenge salvage logging projects because most of the trees are with - in roadless areas. "We definitely have a problem with any kind of logging in roadless areas, late successional reserves or wild river corridors," said Barbara "Ullian of Cave Junction-based Siskiyou Regional Education Project. "They're trying to push the time- lines. They don't want to wait for the natural succession to happen, for the shrubs and brush species to establish themselves and then the conifers come up through the brush.
 
The threat of delays caused by such challenges and the extra costs involved in helicopter logging won't deter comrnercial loggers long-starved of the Sisikyou's famed 24-inch and larger Douglas fir trees, said Dave Hill of the Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association.
Beth Quinn 541-474-5926
<mailto:bquinn@terragon.com>bquinn@terragon.com.



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