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Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest receives $150,000 to help reduce wildfire risk in Medford’s watershed
Release Date:
Contact(s): Virginia Gibbons (541) 690-6681, Arlo Todd (541) 774-2451
Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest receives $150,000 to help reduce wildfire risk in Medford’s watershed
MEDFORD, Ore. – June 3, 2024--The Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest (RRSNF) received $150,000 from the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) for forest restoration work that will reduce catastrophic wildfire risk on 20,000 acres of the Big Butte Springs watershed, the year-round source of drinking water for Medford and surrounding communities.
The award is under the Planning Assistance and Categorical Exclusion or PACE funds administered by ODF’s Federal Forest Restoration (FFR) Program.
Kyle Sullivan-Astor, who leads ODF’s FFR Program, said “PACE investments provide contracting opportunities that assist federal forest managers to expand and accelerate planning for restoring forests. The Snowy Butte Forest Restoration Project will reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire in the watershed supplying Medford and nearby communities with drinking water.”
Sullivan-Astor said ODF invested about $2 million in 10 PACE projects this year to expedite planning efforts. The funds came from both federal and state funds – $1.4 million Good Neighbor Authority federal funds and $600,000 from the state’s General Fund.
“These will help the Forest Service plan faster, for more acres, and for more complex projects,” said Sullivan-Astor.
The highest scored proposal was submitted by the High Cascades Ranger District (HCRD) located on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. The project rated high due to a strong partnership with Medford Water. The awarded funds ($150,000) will be used to conduct additional heritage surveys to keep the project on the established timeline. In 2022, the RRSNF received $100,000 in PACE funds, also for heritage surveys needed for the project.
“We’re very excited to be two-time recipients of ODF PACE funding,” said USDA Forest Service District Ranger Dave Palmer. “The Snowy Butte project area provides drinking water to 150,000 people in the Rogue Valley, so there’s a definite need to reduce wildfire risk as soon as possible.”
The goal of the project is to reduce hazardous fuels on approximately 20,000 acres, which amounts to one-third of the watershed. The work includes non-commercial fuels reduction, habitat restoration, silviculture treatments, fuel breaks (which are designed to reduce risk of catastrophic wildfire), protect drinking water quality, and promote resilience against stressors such as drought and insects. A project on this scale is necessary to achieving the level of widespread resilience necessary for sustaining and protecting this critical watershed.
Given the importance of the watershed as a drinking water source, the project has enjoyed widespread support and significant engagement from local partners including Medford Water, the Southern Oregon Forest Restoration Collaborative (SOFRC), The Nature Conservancy, Lomakatsi Restoration, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the American Forest Resource Council. The watershed is identified as a priority area in the Rogue Basin Cohesive Forest Restoration Strategy, published by SOFRC in 2017.
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