$3 million awarded for Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program
By Paul Hall on Wednesday, June 23rd, 2021 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News Eastern/Southeast Oregon Top Stories
BAKER CITY – (Release from the Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests) Following the award of $3 million under the national Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP), the Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests are implementing thinning and prescribed burning within 15 project areas during the 2021 field season. Meanwhile, public and private partners are pursuing additional treatments to enhance forest health on lands adjacent to the National Forests.
Northern Blues CFLRP interactive project map
CFLRP and associated projects provide a unique opportunity to invest in the health and stewardship of natural resources across the northern Blue Mountains landscape, including northeast Oregon and southeast Washington. Projects slated for implementation in 2021 are just the beginning of a long-term, collaborative effort to improve ecosystem resilience and deliver social and economic benefits that will last decades.
By taking an all-lands or “shared stewardship” approach, the Forest Service (an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture) and diverse partners are combining efforts to accomplish more together. The Northern Blues CFLRP proposal was developed by the Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests in 2020 with partners who bring a strong record of cross-boundary restoration accomplishments, spanning Northeastern Oregon and Southeastern Washington. Because of the long-term suppression of naturally occurring wildfires, a proliferation of small shade-tolerant tree species, and past management that removed fire-tolerant trees, the forests and communities of the northern Blue Mountains face risk of severe wildfires. Therefore, the partners united around the goal of improving wildfire resilience in the Northern Blues while restoring more natural processes to forests and watersheds.
Initial funding is being used to implement thousands of acres of already-planned projects to reduce the risk of destructive wildfires. Future projects will aim to continue reducing wildfire risks and make the most effective use of funds by connecting treated areas and establishing strategic landscape fuel breaks to slow future fires.
Information about current Northern Blues CFLRP projects is available in an online project map. The Forest Service and partners will continue to update this map as work is completed. Additionally, monitoring for effectiveness and communicating results after each field season will be a key part of CFLRP work, so please stay tuned for project accomplishments. For more information, visit the Northern Blues CFLRP website.
