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The Heppner
Conservationists look toCongress W H
for help in preserving areas
SKCTIO.N H
Thursday April 2G, 1979
A Conservationist's View of RARE II and Heppner L nit Roadless Areas
A-
Rare II (Roadless Area
Review and Evaluation), the
Forest Service's on-going dec
ision making process which
began in the summer of 1977 is
now coming to an end with
recommendations from state
and federal agencies; gover
nors of states involved; and
various environmental organi
zations, now being submitted
to Congress who makes the
final decision.
Past Oregon Governor Bob
Straub had his sights set on a
recommendation of over
700,000 acres in the State of
Oregon. Even though this was
far less than what environ
mentalists considered fair, it
has come to be a far greater
recommendation than the
380,000 acres recommended
6y the Forest Service and
many times more generous
than the 61,000 acres recom
mended by the wood products
industry and Governor Victor
Atiyeh in February 1979.
Conservationists are hot and
angry about these latter
recommendations. Rare II
has been a grass-roots conser
vation effort from the begin
ning. The job of roadless area
inventory was to be done by
the Forest Service, but instead
it took dedicated conservat
ionists to accomplish the job
which the Forest Service
began under direction of Asst.
Secretary of Agriculture
Rupert Cutler. The Rare II
decision is now in the hands of
the 96th Congress, which will
begin the job of trying to
analyze the greatest public
effort ever made in the name
of conservation in the history
of this country. Because of the
enormous amount of data to
evaluate and continued rec
ommendations from conser
vationists. Congress will make
few sudden, quick releases of
land from the areas inventor
ied. Following is an overview of
roadless areas and their
potentials that lie within the
Heppner unit of the Umatilla
National Forest.
Wapiti is the Shoshone
Indian name for our American
elk and the Wapiti wilderness
is just exactly what it means;
"A wilderness for the elk."
Of six sub-species of elk
which were native to North
America only four remain
today. The two species which
are extinct are the Merriam's
Elk and Eastern Elk, natives
of the plains states and
Appalachain Mountains area.
Why are they extinct today?
Being constantly in conflict
with man's conquest of their
habitat they soon became a
bygone resource, caused by
both hunting and habitat loss.
Todays populations of elk
which are indigenous (native)
species exists only in areas of
habitat which have not been
lost to human habitation and
development. The most popu
lous of these species by far is
the Rocky Moutain elk found
in the Blue Mountains.
The Wapiti Wilderness is a
complex of six small roadless
islands of land totally sur
rounded by over a thousand
miles of road and land being
intensively managed for tim
ber and livestock grazing. A
population of about 4,000 elk
use the roadless complex for
summer and winter habitat.
Being isolated individual
areas, elk use habitat outside
the roadless areas as they,
move from winter to summer
range and as they use their
habitat on a daily basis. The
real value of these roadless
areas for the elk comes during
times of stress; hunting,
winter, and during the sum
mer and fall calving and
breeding periods.
Natural habits of the elk
make them extremely depen
dent on these last threads of
habitat strategically located
in a 220 square mile area
known as the Heppner Plan
ning NUnit. Two Ranger Dist
ricts of the Umatilla National
Forest are involved in the
Planning Unit; the entire
Heppner Ranger District and
that portion of the Ukiah
District lying west of U.S.
Highway 395.
The wilderness complex lies
predominately in the Heppner
District with two areas on the
border of the Ukiah District.
- What is very unique about this
complex is that three of the six
areas Hells Half Acre, Texas
Butte and Kelly Prairie com
prise most of the lands used as
summer range and three
areas Potamus, Skookum
and Bologna Basin are land
used as winter range. What
happens is the elk use about
half of the proposed wilder
ness complex for six to seven
months in the summer and the
other half for about five
months during the winter.
Summer range then would be
expressed as the Summer-Fall
Range and the winter range as
the Winter-Spring range, to be
more accurate.
Secondly unique is the fact
that summer and winter range
areas in the complex lie North
and South of each other with a
relatively short distance sep
arating summer and winter
habitat.
Thirdly unique is that only
48,992 acres, 76 square miles is
involved and is used by about
3,000 of the 4,000 elk which
inhabit the area.
, This area includes 17 land
types; ranges from 2,800 ft. to
nearly 6000 ft. and includes
plant communities ranging
from open bunch grass
through juniper and sage to
Ponderosa Pine and on up to
climax fir, spruce and lodge
pole Pine. The latter group
dominates much of three
roadless areas: Hells Half
Acre, Kelly Prairie and Texas
Butte.
Fourthly unique is that
there is .nothing in the way of
management which will im
prove these areas for the elk ;
the herds are making maxi
mum use of the areas. The
preferred habitat demanded
by elk not found anywhere else
in unit. 1. elevation, 2. timber
types, 3. soils, 4. tempera
tures, 5. Overall plant com
munity type (ecosystems), 6.
Most important solitude,
hiding cover, escapement
from human harrassment.
These areas are all that
remain for the elk; it's up to
you to do something about the
problem !
Fifthly unique is that the
main drainages of the unit all
head within or flow through
the wilderness complex and
that the remaining wild ana
dromousfish (steelhead) hab
itat is dependent on these
areas.
Sixth and most unique is
that because of natural habi
tat diversity all wildlife
species found in the Heppner
Planning Unit are found here
and that the oldgrowth forest
which remains supports popu
lations of species which are
dependent on this plant com
munity type or are dominately
found within only the wilder
ness complex!
This wilderness complex is
readily accessible to all
people, young and old and has
values which if lost by other
forest uses will be lost forever
and will cause many impacts
on the local communities
which will greatly change
peoples lives.
To make more clear why
this area should be wilder
ness, this data from the
Heppner Land Use Plan and
that which I have put together
and collected from experience
(on the ground knowledge)
and help from" other conser
vationists; many of them
professional resource people
in the fields of wildlife and
timber management; will
help explain why wilderness
management is important!
Before a land use plan can
be implemented or even put
together the land use planner
must know the different kinds
and potentials of the resources
which arc being managed.
This data has been compiled
by identifying the different
landtypes which exist in the
unit.
, As described by the Forest
Service in the Heppner Land
Use Plan, "A landtype is a
unit of land identified on the
basis of simalarities in condi
tions of vegetation type,
iandforms, soil, slope (and its
aspect) and geology. A land
type is thus a relatively (but
not pure) homogeneous land
area with similar capabilities
and responses to management
activities.
The various resources are
referred 'o as being commod
ity or ammenity. A commod
ity resource is something
which has a value, this is a
dollar value; example, tim
ber, minerals, forage (grass)
etc. An ammenity resource is
one of which no set value can
be placed on such wildlife for
viewing, scenic or historic
values and many other re
sources contributing to rec
reation and scientific values of
which there is no set value
placed upon. Many of these
values or resources are im
portant for the experiences
which they provide the public !
There are 25 landtypes in
this unit of 271.155 acres (424
square miles). The average
timber productivity for the
entire unit is 37.7 cubic feet, or
(190) board feet per acre per
year. Sixteen land types are
not capable of producing 50
cubic feet and total 210.660
acres and 77 per cent of the
unit. Nine landtypes produce
greater than 50 cubic feet per
acre per year, and total 60,450
acres and 23 per cent of the
unit.
The average productivity of
those landtypes below 50 cubic
feet is 22.2 cubic feet and they
range from 1.4 to 48.5 cubic
feet. Those landtypes which
produce over 50 cubic feet
average 65.2 cubic feet (327).
board feet and range from 53.6
to 90 cubic feet.
Forest land
natives
The National Forest Man
agement Act of 1976 requires
the Forest Service to Iden
tify lands which ore not suited
. for limber production, consid
ering physical, economic and
other pertinant factors to the
extent feasible and shall in
sure that, except for salvage
sales or sales necessitated to
protect other multiple use
values, no timber harvesting
shall occur on such lands for a
period of ten years.
At present lauds which have
a capability of twenty cubic
feet per acre per year are
considered commercial forest
land. Here is where the
problem lies. 20 cubic feet is
now considered the minimum
productivity for commercial
forests but most professional
foresters also beHeve that any
timber stands producing less
than 50 cubic feet are not
really considered profitable to
manage. With 77 per cent of
the Heppner Unit producing
less than 50 cubic feet the
public should be very concern
ed about what is actually
happening out there on the
forest. It's yours, don't forget !
It is the intent of the 1976
Forest Management Act to
withdraw all marginal lands
which are not suitable for
timber management, includ
ing the physical aspects of the
land as well. It is quite clear
that a much more restrictive
definition is needed for what is
actually commercial forest
land, based on all consider
ations including most of all the
cost benefit ratio!
The fact that roadless lands
being studied or inventoried
for wilderness contain stands
of commercial timber, has
been the dominate objection
against wilderness manage
ment. What the public needs to
consider here is future gener
ations; their rights and oppor
tunities as stated in the
Muliple Use Sustained Yield
Act of 1960 and the Wilderness
Management Act of 1964 as
The majestic Rocky Moutain
Elk and (heat Gray Owl are two wildlife species
conservationists say are dependent on old-growth timber and
dense ground cover At present between :?.rii()-4.0()() elk range
in the Blue Mountains surrounding Heppner and the owl
pictured here is one of four known recorded nests in Oregon,
located in the Swale Creek area of the Texas Butte roadless
area. Other wildlif e species conserv ationists fear losing if all
roadless areas are logged include: cougar, bobcat. Black
bear, Pine Marten, trophy buck Mule deer, flying squirrel,
Prairie falcon. Fileated woodpecker, Goshawk. Merriam
turkey. Golden and Bald eagle and sleelhel I
By Beryl Stillman
State Proiect Manager
Klk Foundation Assn.
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designated by Congress!
ia "Multiple use" means:
The management of all the
various renewable surface
resources of the national
Crests so that they are
utilized in the combination
that will best meet the needs
of the American people;
making the most judicious use
of the land for some or all of
fhi'se resources or related
serviccsover areas large
enough to "provide sufficient
latitude for periodic adjust
ments in use to conform, to
changing needs and condi
tions; that some land will be
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used for less than all of the
resources; and harmonious
and coordinated man, emont
of the various resources each
with the other, without impair
ment of the productivity 'it the
land, with consideration being
given to the relative values of
the various resources, and not
necessarily the combination of
uses that will give the greatest
dollar return or the greatest
unit output.
(b) "Sustained yield of the
several products and ser
vices" means the achieve
ment and maintenance in
perpetuity of a high level
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annual or regular periodic
output of the various renew
able resources of the National
'uresis uilliout impairment
ul the productivity ol the land.
From the. Wilderness Man
agement Act Section 2 (a) In
order to assure that an
increasing population, ac
companied by expanding set
tlement and growing mechani
zation, does not occupy and
modify all areas within the
United States and its posses
sions, leaving no lands desig
nated for preservation and
protection in their natural
condition, it is hereby de
clared to be the policy of the
Congress to secure for the
American people of present
and t ut lire generations the
benelils of an enduring re
source ul wilderness. For this
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Before,
Conservationists fear that
maor wildlife species depen
dent on old growth timber and
roadless areas will sutler if
some areas aren t preserved.
At right is the Forest Service's
Wickiup sale before logging,
showing heavy ground cover,
thick lorest and old-growth
timber.
...and after
The same Wickiup sale area
alter logging and commercial
thinning operations show
what conservationists term "a
manicured lloor. Logging
removes thermal cover, snags
and old-growth timber used by
inanv wildble species
purpose there is hereby estab
lished a National Wilderness
Preservation System to bo
composed of federally owned
areas designated by Congress
as "wilderness areas' . and
these shall be administered
for the use and enjoyment of
the American people in such
manner as will leave them
unimpaired for future use and
enjoyment as wilderness, and
so provide for protection of
these areas, the preservation
of their wilderness character
and for the gathering and
dissemination of information
regarding their use and enjoy
ment as wilderness; and no
federal lands shall be desig
nated as "wilderness areas"
except as provided for in this
Act or by a subsequent Act.