Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
July 18, 2018
Page 7
Fuels management with fire is essential to forest health
by Bob Sjolund
Fuels Planner – Fuels Division
Warm Springs Fire Management
It may be suggested across the
nation that fire and hazardous fu-
els management on tribal forest-
lands is misguided. The suggestion
may be that management offers an
approach based on road closures,
defensible space, replacing com-
bustible roofs and limiting the
spread of non-native grasses and
“sprawl” in areas prone to wildfire.
Critics proclaim this approach
is not fully informed by sound sci-
ence, citing historical documents
from land surveys done in the mid
1800s.
We all agree that the top prior-
ity for fire management is the pro-
tection of lives and property.
We also support defensible
space around homes, agree that
fire has a positive ecological role
in natural forests, and share their
concern for the potential invasion
of non-native vegetation.
However, we know that forest
thinning and the reduction of haz-
ardous fuels do indeed address for-
est health.
Surviving fires
Those of us who spend time in
the forests have probably noticed
fire-burned trees, charred logs, and
charcoal.
Evidence of previous fires is
observed in virtually every forest
stand in Indian country.
Prior to settlement and before
there were barriers to fire such as
roads and farmland, fires would
burn across the landscape, sculpt-
ing the forest with every pass.
We know many trees survived
dozens of fires. In fact, by repeat-
edly thinning stands and reducing
competition for the established
trees, it was fire that created the
possibility for trees to survive and
grow.
Fire intensity
History shows
Research conducted into the his-
tory and frequency of fires reveals
that nearly every old-growth for-
est stand on the reservation has
experienced multiple fires, and
many older stands survived six or
more fires each century.
Because of these frequent fires,
trees became large enough and ac-
cumulated bark thick enough to
survive low-intensity fires, leading
to park-like stands that were not
nearly as novel as claimed by past
experts.
With fires excluded, forests con-
tinue to grow, becoming denser and
accumulating fuel. This dynamic
has been the subject of many stud-
ies, including a recent study, which
measured a 10-fold increase in for-
est density since the 1800s.
Community notes...
The Warm Springs Outdoor
Market is open this Friday, July
20 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on
campus by Kalama’s Fry Bread.
The Madras Saturday Market
is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at
Sahalee Park.
The Warm Springs Boys &
Girls Club is having a penny drive
through the end of summer. The
proceeds will go towards incentives,
... Uncharacteristi-
cally high tree density,
coupled with a huge
increase in homes,
creates an environment
where high-intensity fires
are not desirable for the
forests and not compat-
ible with current man-
agement objectives.
supplies, a playground and other
things for the club. Stop by the Club
to donate or contact Club Director
June Smith if you have questions.
The Warm Springs Youth Cen-
ter facility is now shared with the
Prevention and Family Preser-
vation programs.
They are located on the South
end of the building. To ensure
youth safety during Boys & Girls
Similar numbers have been
documented across the neighbor-
ing forests that border the reser-
vation on the north, south and west.
Practically all the increases are
a consequence of fire exclusion
over the past century.
Fire intensity effects on forests
and tree mortality are likely the
most studied concept in the field
of fire ecology.
There are more than 30 mod-
els in use today that incorporate
real data on potential weather, to-
pography, fuels, structure, moisture
and quantity of available fuel.
They all agree that more fuel
leads to more extreme fires, which
mean greater tree mortality regard-
less of size or age.
Tribal land managers recognize
the ecological role of fire.
Club program hours, all adults go-
ing to the Prevention or Family
Preservation offices need to use the
south entrance doors off of Wasco
Street.
The Warm Springs Police Depart-
ment has an anonymous crime tip
line at 541-553-2202. If you have
information about criminal activity
and wish to report without identify-
ing yourself, call and leave a mes-
sage. There is no caller ID used on
this line. You remain completely
anonymous.
Public notice - Ground Water Rule
- Failure to Take Corrective Action
Within Required Time Frame
Important notice about your drinking water:
The Warm Springs Community Water System violated a drinking water requirement.
Although this incident was not an emergency, as our customers, you have a right to
know what happened and what we are doing to correct this situation.
A routine inspection conducted on January 27, 2015 by the US Indian Health Ser-
vice on behalf of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found deficiencies
as listed below. We have developed a corrective action plan and anticipate resolving
these deficiencies in the next 90 days.
As required by EPA’s Ground Water Rule, we were required to take action to
correct these deficiencies. However, we failed to take this action by the deadline
established by EPA.
What should I do?
· There is nothing you need to do. You do not need to boil your water or take other
corrective actions. However, if you have specific health concerns, consult your doc-
tor.
· If you have a severely compromised immune system, have an infant, are preg-
nant, or are elderly, you may be at increased risk and should seek advice from your
health care providers about drinking this water. General guidelines on ways to lessen
the risk of infection by microbes are available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water
Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
What does this mean?
This is not an emergency. If it had been, you would have been notified within
24 hours.
For more information, please contact Travis Wells, Branch of Public Utilities Gen-
eral Manager, at 541-553-3246 or:
travis.wells@wstribes.org.
This notice is being sent to you by the Warm
Springs Public Water System. State Water System ID#: 104101247. Date distributed:
July 9, 2018.
If you have
questions, you
can
reach
Warm Springs
Utilities at 541-
553-3246.
Prescribed burns, thinning
The Warm Springs Fire Man-
agement department has the expe-
rience to combat wildland fires for
the safety of the reservation. Be-
cause Indian country is primarily
used for everyday living and cul-
tural needs, the objective for all fire
starts is full suppression
Fire management agencies have
robust prescribed fire and thinning
programs that treat thousands of
acres each year, and Warm Springs
Fire Management is a leader in this
field.
The typical burn or thinning
project may not take place directly
adjacent to developments.
They are designed to strategi-
cally treat areas that will allow for
the protection of all tribal proper-
ties should a large fire become es-
tablished during the long, hot and
sometimes windy days of summer.
Fuel specialists and ecologists
believe the pre-settlement forests
were “a patchwork of densely
grown areas intermixed with oak
woodlands and scrublands.”
They advocate that manage-
ment is not necessary because
high-intensity fires are natural and
beneficial to the forests. There is
no doubt that under the right con-
ditions and in the right fuel types,
high-intensity fires did occur.
However, we now have a com-
pletely different forest than was
present in the late 1800s.
Uncharacteristically high tree
density coupled with a huge in-
crease in homes creates an envi-
ronment where high-intensity fires
are not desirable for the forests and
not compatible with current man-
agement objectives.
The Warm Springs Fire Man-
agement department is responsible
for about 650,000 acres of tribal
land, most of which is managed for
multiple objectives via the Natural
Resources Branch.
For example, watersheds are of-
ten managed for wildlife habitat,
clean water, recreation, and ripar-
ian and stream values while gener-
ating both economic and cultural
benefits. These objectives are des-
ignated by tribal council and the
tribal members and implemented
through local plans and policies.
Thinning and fuel treatments
are designed to promote and pro-
tect these values and objectives by
reducing the chances of high-inten-
sity fires.
Given the potential for intense
fires, the responsibility for the pro-
tection of lives and property, the
commitment to preserving and en-
hancing wildlife habitat, and the
obligation to manage these lands
for multiple objectives, we simply
cannot afford to treat fire and fu-
els on the tribal lands cavalierly. To
do so is not in the best interest of
the forests or tribal members and
their resources.
Head Start recruiting for fall
Warm Springs Head Start and
Early Head Start are recruiting chil-
dren for the next school year.
Early Head Start is for children
up to age 3. Head Start is for 3-5
year olds.
Call or stop by the Early Child-
hood Education center to get an
application. Their number is 541-
553-3240.
Summer Bridge for 9th graders
Madras High School offers the
Summer Bridge program for its in-
coming ninth graders.
Summer Bridge is two weeks of
classroom work that will give stu-
dents a jump start to high school,
while earning half of an elective
credit upon completion.
Summer Bridge starts Monday,
August 13. Class will be from 8:30-
12:30 each day. Breakfast, lunch
and transportation will be provided.
If your student will not participate,
please contact Madras High School
to let them know, 541-475-7265.
Public notice - Ground Water Rule
- Failure to Take Corrective Action
Within Required Time Frame
Important notice about your drinking water:
The Sidwalter Public Water System recently violated a drinking water requirement.
Although this incident was not an emergency, as our customers, you have a right to know
what happened and what we are doing to correct this situation.
A routine inspection conducted on April 25, 2017 by the US Indian Health Service on
behalf of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found deficiencies as listed
below. We have developed a corrective action plan and anticipate resolving these defi-
ciencies in the next 90 days.
As required by EPA’s Ground Water Rule, we were required to take action to correct
these deficiencies. However, we failed to take this action by the deadline established by
EPA.
What should I do?
· There is nothing you need to do. You do not need to boil your water or take other
corrective actions. However, if you have specific health concerns, consult your doctor.
· If you have a severely compromised immune system, have an infant, are pregnant,
or are elderly, you may be at increased risk and should seek advice from your health care
providers about drinking this water. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of
infection by microbes are available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-
426-4791.
What does this mean?
This is not an emergency. If it had been, you would have been notified within 24
hours.
For more information, please contact Travis Wells, Branch of Public Utilities General
Manager, at 541-553-3246 or travis.wells@wstribes.org.
This notice is being sent to you by the Sidwalter Public Water System. State Water
System ID#: 104101101. Date distributed: July 9, 2018.