Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
April 15, 2004
Page 9
Timber sale assessment for 2005 released
Coltsfoot sale
expected to yield
42-45 million
board feet of timber
By Bill Rhoadea
For Spilyay Tymoo
The Resource Management
Interdisciplinary Team has re
leased a draft project assessment
covering the Coltsfoot 2005
Timber Sale for public review.
The document was prepared by
the Project Interdisciplinary
Team to provide options for
timber harvest in the Badger
Forest Planning Unit.
Three alternatives were for
mulated and numerous logging
methods were considered for
this project, taking into account
present resource conditions, for
est health and public input. The
Coltsfoot Timber Sale is ex
pected to yield approximately
42-45 million board feet of tim
ber. The document is divided into
sections explaining the purpose
and need for action, resource
based indicators used to help the
technical staff analyze and miti
gate environmental impacts, and
details of the three alternatives.
1 SP" VC
Badger Creek drainage, in area
There are maps showing the
harvest blocks, quick reference
tables to compare the alterna
tives, a list of measures needed
to mitigate environmental con
sequences, and the Project In
terdisciplinary Team's recom
mended alternative.
The goal of Alternative A is
to continue current manage
ment. Activities such as hunting,
recreation and cultural food
of the timber sale.
gathering would continue as in
the past. The only harvest pro
posed under Alternative A
would be through conventional
salvage operations.
Alternative B is designed to
harvest approximately 45 mil
lion board feet of timber from
approximately 4,065 acres. Al
ternative C is designed to har
vest approximately 42 million
board feet of timber from ap-
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BillRhoadesSpilyay
proximately 4,250 acres.
The three alternatives would
have varying impacts on water,
fish, wildlife, cultural, timber,
range, soil and economic re
sources and there would also be
some changes to the transpor
tation system. All of these im
pacts are explained in the project
assessment.
Once the allowable cut has
been reached for 2005, any re
maining volume associated with
this project will be harvested in
future years. The actual volume
to be harvested under the
project will depend on which
alternative is selected subject to
approval by the Confederated
Tribes.
The tribal public has been
involved in the planning process
for the Coltsfoot Timber Sale
over the course of several
months. Scoping meetings were
held during 2003 for the Agency
District (June 3), Seeksecqua
District (July 10), and Simnasho
District (June 12) to solicit tribal
member input on the proposed
project. A timber tour was con
ducted during August 2003 for
Tribal Council and for the tribal
public, Comments received dur
ing the scoping process are used
to identify issues that arc rel
evant to the Coltsfoot Timber
Sale. A summary of the com
ments is on file in the Forestry
administration office.
For more information or cop
ies of the documents contact
John Arena or Raymond
Tsumpti Jr. in the Forestry
Branch, or call 553-2416. Tribal
members have 30 days to com
ment on the proposed sale.
Range
to be
improved
The tribal Range and Agricul
ture Department has announced
that funding is available for
range improvement projects on
the reservation. Improvements
may be anything from fencing
issues and corrals, to ponds,
Anyone with an idea is wel
come to attend a meeting at
Natural Resources starting at 5
p.m. on Monday, April 26.
Weather permitting, the meeting
will be outside, and will include
a barbecue, said Bill Reynolds,
of Range and Ag.
For more information please
contact Reynolds at 553-2001.
Spring is
clean-up time
April 2004 is community
trash pick-up time. Together we
can make a difference. Enter lo
win prizes at the I lousing De
partment BBQ on April 30.
For more information call the
Housing Department at 553
3250. Remember, April is spring
clean-up and environmental
month.
Tribes name conservation area, schedule volunteer weekend
By Mark Berry
Conservation Area manager
The Confederated Tribes ac
quired the 35,000-acre Pine
Creek Ranch near Clarno, as
partial mitigation for the im
pacts of hydropower dams on
wildlife and fish.
The purchase, in 1999 and
2001, was through the North
west Power and Conservation
Council's Columbia River Basin
Fish and Wildlife Program.
The tribes now manage this
former ranch, now called the
Pine Creek Conservation Area.
The conservation area pro
vides important wintering habi
tat for mule deer and Rocky
Mountain elk, as well as habitat
for over 250 other species of
amphibians, reptiles, mammals,
and birds,
One of the largest manage
ment issues facing the conser
vation area is encroachment of
western juniper into grassland
and shrub-steppe habitats.
The increase in western juni
per results in loss of habitat to
grassland and shrub-steppe wild
life species, out-competition of
understory species such as bit
terbrush and bunchgrasses, and
impacts to the watershed.
Juniper woodlands consume
more water than bunchgrasses,
and the resulting decrease in
available water for springs and
riparian areas is a problem for
both wildlife and fish.
The tribes are working with
the Prineville District BLM to
plan and conduct prescription
fires to restore bunchgrass
steppe and watersheds.
The first project is planned
for 2004 in the Rattlesnake Can
yon and Amine Peak area, near
the John Day River. The tribes
and Wheeler Soil and Water
Conservation District are cur
rently seeking additional fund
ing to conduct a second fire in
2005 that would benefit the Pine
Creek watershed.
Pine Creek flows into the
John Day River near Clarno,
and provides spawning and rear
ing habitat for native steelhead.
The tribes are working with
the Wheeler Soil and Water Con
servation District to remove or
replace culverts that were bar
riers to migrations of adult or
juvenile steelhead. Two projects
have been completed, and a
third culvert replacement is
planned for 2004.
These cooperative projects
received funding support from
the Oregon Watershed Enhance-
To improve riparian
wildlife habitat, the
tribes planted native
trees and shrubs along
the lower five miles of
the creek in March of
this year.
ment Board, U.S. Fish and Wild
life Service, Wheeler County,
and the Bonneville Power Ad
ministration. These projects, combined
with adequate stream flow in
2004, have improved steelhead
access to spawning habitats.
To improve riparian wildlife
habitat, the tribes planted native
trees and shrubs along the lower
five miles of the creek in March
of this year.
The Natural Resources Con
servation Service funded this
planting through the Conserva
tion Reserve Enhancement Pro
gram. The Soil and Water Conser
vation District and tribes are
planning an evening tour to high
light these projects on Pine
Creek in early May. More in
formation will be available soon.
The tribal acquisition has led
to public access benefits, includ
ing youth education, hiking, and
hunting on land that was previ
ously closed to public use.
To reduce resource damage
and the spread of noxious
weeds, most access is by foot
only. The tribes provide a lim
ited number of permits to hunt
the conservation area, both for
tribal members and the general
public.
The conservation area is
open to hikers all yeitr,"ahd all
users are required to sign in and
out when visiting the ranch.
The conservation area is
holding a volunteer work party
April 17-18.
We will be working hard out
doors removing barbed-wire
fences to benefit wildlife.
OMSI and the tribes are pro
viding meals and lodging at
Hancock Field Station, at a cost
of $24 per person. Advance
registration is required. Volun
teers who don't desire meals or
lodging could participate during
the day at no cost.
For more information, or to
volunteer for this or other
projects, contact Mark Berry,
Pine Creek Conservation Area
Manager, by email at
pinecrcekbendnet.com; or
phone at (541) 489-3477.
Please support
businesses yon
see in the Spilyay.
1FEIIIS
Buyer Reps, from Northwest,
California, and Midwest I
Computerized System
Ring Scale
541475-3851
Trent Stewart
480-5540
Clay Tanler
419-6060
Advice on fire safety
By Suzi Macy
Fire Management
Are you worried about the
wildfire threat to your home, but
aren't sure how to get started in
making your home more defen
sible? Follow these steps to an
effective defensible space.
First determine the recom
mended defensible space dis
tance. This distance varies with
the type of vegetation growing
near your house and the steep
ness of the terrain. Also, the
steeper the slope the greater
your recommended distance will
be.
Next, clear out any dead veg
etation within the recommended
defensible space. Dead vegeta
tion includes dead trees and
shrubs, dead branches lying on
the ground or still attached to
living plants, dried grasses and
wildflowers, and dropped leaves
or needles.
Break up continuous grow
ing vegetation, the more continu
ous and dense the vegetation the
greater the wildfire threat If this
type of situation is present in
your defensible space you
should break it up by providing
a separation between plants or
small groups of plants.
Remove ladder fuels. Vegeta
tion is often growing at varying
heights, similar to the rungs of
a ladder. For example, pine
needles burning on the ground
can be carried to shrubs, which
can ignite still higher growing
fuels like tree branches.
The area surrounding your
home is important in terms of
defensible space. It is this area
that is usually landscaped.
Within this area extending at
least 30 feet from the house, the
vegetation should be kept lean,
clean and green.
Trim and remove tree limbs
touching the house or within 15
feet of a chimney, or near
power lines.
Maintaining your defensible
space is an ongoing process. At
least once I year review these
defensible space steps. An ef
fective defensible space can
quickly become ineffective thru
neglect. If you have any ques
tions or need help with your
defensible space call Fire Man
agement and speak with the fire
prevention tech, 553-2413.
MARKET REPORT
For the week of April 7th 1 ,466 HEAD
Baby Calves 100-200 I I Butcher Cows
Steers (Very Agressive) high yielding cows 54-59
200-300 lbs 115-127 tfimmnwB fleshy cows 45-50
300-400 lbs 118-125 -manfe medium flesh 45-50
400-500 lbs 112-119 feeder type 50-55
500-600 lbs 107-116 QSWl'W thin older cows 40-45
600-700 lbs 103-113 Ganman Heifers (Very Aggressive)
700-800 lbs 95-99.25 'mt' 200-300 lbs 117-120
800-900 lbs 80-85 300-400 lbs 110-124
Bulls -W' 400-500 lbs 104-116
high-yielding 63-68 500-600 lbs 100-112
mostly 57-63 600-700 lbs 90-99.5
thinner bulls 52-56 W' 700-800 lbs 80-90
toSN. cfeirv Hfrettes 1000 & up 60-70
I Hfrettes 1000 & down 70-75
j