Jhe Latest Murd on tivc Mater shed
by Shelly M ajors
There are 800 acres of Clatsop State Forest drectfy
east oi town, which are relatively unknown to many
Cannon Beach res dents and v 6 tors This state land 6
one oi the «$t remaining stretches of forest in the Cannon
Beach area that s still accessfcle to the public The 800
acres contrfcute to the gualty of the cty s water sources
by bordering the cty springs and containing part of the Ek
Creek Watershed As well as a soiree of lin k in g water
for humans, Ek Creek supports senstrve populations of
wild saknomd species
In an effort to better consolidate ther lands, the
Department of Forestry in Astor» met informally last
spring w th Cavenham Forest Industries to dscuss a
possible exchange for the 800 acres Several tracts of
Cavenham land contiguous to other state Forests were
d e n tiie d for future consideration There have been no
officai lard exchange proposals or agreements w th
Cavenham The Department plans to meet w th
Cavenham this fall after the two have further explored
the r options and priorties
The 800 acres, refered by the Department as the Ecola
tract, are part of severa I isolated tracts in the southwest
corner of Clatsop County The Department's'long term
goar is to exchange these tracts for land adjacent to
larger, more efficient and easy to manage State Forests in
the County Assistant District Forester Bill Lecture further
explained this goal in a letter regarding the Ecola tract
'These scattered tracts are not located in otz d e n tf ted
priorty working crcles, are more costly to manage (»e
more property lines, access easement problems, more
d ffic u t logging problems, etc ) and therefore are not
accomplishing our objective to generate permanent value
to the state Healso noted that the mandates and policy
emphasize that t is desrable that lands aegured shall
be consolidated in areas wherever possbie through
exchanges of land t is recognized that the management
of state forest will be more economically feasble through
such consolidation ”
The legislations also mandate that the lards authorized
to be aegured by the State Board of Forestry be "chiefly
valuable for the production of forest crops, watershed
protection and devepment, erosion control, grazing,
recreation or forest administrative purposes' These are
all part of the aggregate values that the Department must
take into account when considering an exchange
The July 20,1993 preliminary appraisal of the Ecola
tract estmates its worth is $6,298,205 00 The worth of the
tm berlandalone is $6,291,305 00 which consttutes 731
acres (the other 69 acres are 'non-production swamp,
roads, etc") This may not seem of real value when
considering the going rate of an acre w th mature tm ber is
about $10, 000 dollars Yet, 405 acres of the tmber
appraised contain pre-merchantable 26-40 year old trees
t left to mature t would seem that there is m ix h future
tm ber value in the 800 acres of the Ecola tract
The assumption made from the appraisal is that the
Department sees only the monetary worth of the land,
based predominantly on tmber Not mentioned in the
appraisal is the value of the waters tied protection in the
Ecola tract The watershed must be included in the
'non-production swamp area' that has little monetary
value to the Department Yet, watershed protection and
development is considered in the legislative mandates
w henconsideringacguringapieceof land 'The State
Board of Forestry m ayaegure lands chiefly valuable
for the production of forest crops, watershed protection
and development, erosion control, gazing, recreation or
forest administrative purposes' These are all part of the
aggregate values that the Department must take into
account when considering an exchange “Watershed
protection and development" must have had mportant
value to the State of Oregon at one tm e or else t would
not have been listed
The mportance of the Ecola tract's watershed influence
is immense to the c iy of Cannon Beach The 800 acres
border cty springs containing Cannon Beach s primary
water source The tract is also part of the Ek Creek
Watershed which is the cty s reserve water soiree The
useage of the Ek Creek Watershed will increase w th the
growth of the town and ts vis tors
Lfe is contingent gx>n clean water Bottled water is
an accepted part of people s live in many areas of our
country and state This is mostly because watershed's
have been misused and can no longer naturally protect
andhterth e water Cannon Beach's water quaIty
depends upon the heath of ts watershed Themonetfy
value of the watershed ts fe tb y the residents and vis tors
who have to pay for th e r useage of the cty s water, yet t
is a resource beyond monetary value to our communty
The Ek Creek Watershed also contains senstrve
populations of wild salmon id species The American
Fisheries Society listed the watershed as a potential
reserve because t's a relatively intact, heathy watershed
that can sustain the small populations of salmon ids t
precautions are taken Ek Creek, is one of the several
streams in Clatsop County listed as vtal Coho habtat in a
recent pettion sent to the National Marine Fisheries
Service requesting Federal Endangered Species Act
protection The vulnerabil ty of the stream is an issue that
needs to be adetessed w th all ownershps containing the
E k Creek W atershed
According to Bill Lecture, there are no scheduled
armory basement And Headwaters stall and members are
harvesting operations planned in the Ecola tract at this
tm e However, he did mention that the Department does
plan to 'qenerate t r t w * revenue in the near future (le
1995 to 1999)'
Cavenham Forest industries seems to be lttk<
interested in the Ecola tract at this tm e Ther interest in
this land would be to make an addhon to the company's
tree farms in the area Cavenham is the predominant
owner of the Ek Creek watershed They are currently
harvesting and have future harvest plans in the
watershed They probably would not log in the Ecola tract
for a couple of years r the Department exchanged this
land w th Cavenham t would shut off the public access
The Ecola tract appears to be the largest of the several
isolated tracts in the southwest comer of the County Whv
not try consolidating the smaller tracts in the area wth the
Ecola tract, thus keeping them in the southwest area >
The Department could repnortse ther working areas
while dealing w th less property lines, possbfy less
access easement problems, therefore, most probably,
making t less dtheut to log This would allow the
residents in the southwest county to enjoy legally
accessbie forest tand(s) in ther area
The watershed issues should be taken into account by
the Department of Forestry, or any owner of the Ecola tract
and Ek Creek Watershed Let us not w at until t is too
late for the fish, the heath of our watershed and our
ctinking water The Ecola tract should remain in the
southwest comer of the county
Steps need to be taken to make all this happen Fellow
ettzens need your hep, ideas, and support The
Department of Forestry, local, state and government
ofhcla Is need to be contacted There is power in numbers
and this s no exception Some preliminary meetings
ha ye been he d to disc uss these issues Information is
being gathered in the midst of these busy summer
months When things (hopefully) slowdown this fall, there
will be more information at hand and tm e to focus
For more information, suggestions, interest, e tc , please
regular participants in meetings at the f orest Service and
HI M offices and lael -finding lours out in the woods
As Headwaters has become more involved in forest
management issues at higher levels - analyzing Forest Plans
and Resource Management Plans that apply across larger
landscapes they have not lost touch with individual water­
sheds and local timber sales Headwaters has assisted in the
development and provides ongoing support to nearly twenty
localized watershed groups throughout southwest Oregon,
teaching others io monitor the forests and creeks m their
own backyards much as the original Headwaters founders
did twenty years ago. Hus network has greatly expanded
the ability of kxal citizens to effectively participate in deci­
sions about how the public forests ol the area are managed
Hie cuxiperative attitude espoused by Headwaters has
led to a bold new eltort in the Applegate River Watershed
that is being watched closely as a potential model lor further
enhancing citizen involvement in federal forest management
Hie Applegate Partnership has brought environmentalists,
iimtvr industry representatives. community leaders and
federal agency personnel into a collaborative effort to de
sign a management plan for the enure
acre water
shed, which includes parts ol two national forests, HI M
land, and both industrial and non industrial private owner
ship While the Partnership is still working on its first eon
erete projects. the fact that these disparate groups have been
meeting regularly for nearly a year, and have unanimously
adopted objectives that emphasize ecosystem health and
promote natural diversity has eaught the attention of people
throughout the region and at the highest levels of govern­
ment.
Ihe tael that Headwaters has maintained its close lies to
the people and communities ot rural southwest Oregon has
kept the group sensitive to the economic transition that is in
part a result ol their successes at protecting the public for
ests Hie organization has helped spawn a new effort to
address the need lor the development ol alternative, kxal
economic opportunities Hie Rogue Institute for I eulogy
and Economy. now m its third year, promotes the produc­
tion and use ol certilied sustainable lorest products, and us
encouraging the creation ol secondary , value added wood
products industries in mral communities Headwaters and
RII I are also currently collaborating to establish a
revolving loan fund, under the sponsorship of the success
contact
The Clatsop Conservation
Council 436-0351
The Upper Left Edge
PO Box 1222
Cannon Beach. OR 97110
436-2915
We hop« to hear from you soon
Headwaters
■ •*1 r ib w * " ,
Headwaters Works for Sustainable Forests
and Sustainable Communities
lul Cascadia Loan fund of western Washington Slate, to
provide investment capital lor starting such new businesses
and purchasing operating equipment
In the basement ol the old National Guard Armory in
Headwaters successes in these- many areas has propelled
downtown Ashland, a couple dozen kxal citizens sit it into a somewhat unique position in the larger debate over
around a long table discussing ihe latest management plan the preservation and management of the national forests
lor the federal forests ot the Pacific Northwest A mixed throughout the Pacific Northwest Ihe organization has be­
group ol women and men, young and old. city dwellers and come a major player in shaping conservation strategy within
residents ol the woods they seek to protect, they analyze the regional and national environmental movements During
with uncommon expertise- the varied details of the Clinton the past two winters, Headwaters hosted the largest gather
Administration plan for ending the logjam over lorest man
mgs ol West Coast ancient forest activists ever held Over
agement from legal questions of compliance with federal 400 representatives of forest conservation groups from
laws, to scientific concern over the ecological impacts on every part ot Washington, Oregon and northern California
local watersheds, to economic analysts of the financial aid
and even from the national environmental offices in
offered displaced workers and struggling communities, Washington. DC
converged on the old Ashland armory
those around the table scrutinize the- President's proposal to discuss strategy, brainstorm new ideas, and hone their
from every angle
skills in public education and political lobbying These lour
Such thoughllul and tar reaching discussions have he
day conferences played a significant role in strengthening
come a common txcurrence in the converted locker rooms and unifying the Northwest conservation movement at a
and storage vaults of the retired armory basement since the critical time, and the s ta ll at Headwaters is already planning
group Headwaters moved tn four years ago. A non profit, the- third event for February 1994.
grassroots organization. Headwaters traces its history back
Ihe future of our Pacific Northwest forests lies in the
to the mid-1970s, when rural residents ot southern hands of many people throughout the region and across the
Josephine County hegjn to challenge Bureau o l Land Man
nation But there is no doubt that the group of dedicated
agement timber sales in their watersheds, from that humble activists in the basement of the old Ashland armory have
beginning, where volunteers spent long hours digging haul a significant impact Ihe Oregon Natural Resources
through boxes of agency d«xuments and hand writing ap­ Council recognized their special contributions by naming
peals ot destructive limber sales, the organization has come Headwaters "Conservation Organization of the Year' for
a long way Headw aters now has a staff of ten and a mem­ 1988. And ONRC selected Headwaters president Julie Kay
bership ol approximately a thousand southwest Oregon Norman as Conservationist of the Year for 1992.
residents. The staff members, including forest policy ana
f rom the Halls of Congress and the White House to the
lysts. scientific researchers, an environmental lawyer, publi
remotest watersheds of southwest Oregon, Headwaters us
cations editor, administrator and numerous supporting per­ recognized and respected for us commitment to protecting
sonnel, along with an active board of directors and a solid and restoring our precious ancient forest ecosystems,
core ol volunteers have become the principal watchdogs lor
the Rogue River National Forest, the Siskiyou National by John Stahmer
Forest, and the Medford District of the BLM
Headwaters. P () Box 729. Ashland, OR 9752(1
Headwaters relationship with these federal agencies has 503 482 4459
also gone through a dramatic transformation over the past
two decades from a primarily confrontational beginning,
the group has moved into a more collaborative association
ACCOMMODATIONS CANNON BEACH
with the Forest Service and BLM professionals who manage
Do fho Writ« Stuff'
the public forests of southwest Oregon. Although they still
challenge the legality ot agency actions when necessary, and
Cobin Rental* • Rafraat* For
continue to lobby at all levels for changes in agency policies.
• Arttata • Writer* • Whatever«
Headwaters tries to work cooperatively with the federal
land managers and scientists to develop a model for hbw the
Fatty furpanaan
fo Bo* rn
(M l) 4 M KOI
Cannon Beach. OR (7110
federal forests should he administered These days it is not
at all uncommon for a forest Supervisor, a District Ranger,
or other agency specialists to join the long meetings in the
urrtu tin c&w Au&usr inj 'f