Work Resuming on the MERA Red Apple Project
By Garrett Christensen on Tuesday, August 23rd, 2022 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – Forest health management is an ongoing process and can involve a mix of both direct and indirect options for keeping lands safe and pristine. Going with the former plan, Union County’s Red Apple Project will be providing needed thinning and brush clearing for the Mount Emily Recreational area upon its resumption.
According to Union County Commissioner Paul Anderes, the goals of the project are to reduce fire fuels, increase forest health and maintain the park-like recreational setting of MERA. Notably, the project is providing fire breaks. As explained by Anderes:
“It’s what’s called a strategic fuel break. It runs across the very top, North and South. What that’s designed to do is, if a fire starts at the bottom and moves to the ridgeline on Mount Emily, they’ll be able to have a defensible space and go further West and vice versa if it starts on the federal ground.”
Red Apple is being overseen by county public works director Doug Wright, who is coordinating with the forester and contractor assigned to the project. Work at MERA is broken into two distinct phases, with phase 1, completed last winter, involving the strategic fuel break. Phase 2 will see work finished on the roughly two hundred remaining acres of the project, including chipping of some slash piles.
Originally, this second phase was also scheduled for the winter in order to limit ground damage by working over frozen terrain. However, due to problems encountered with ground thaw in phase 1, the remaining clearing was rescheduled to the end of summer. Anderes explained in further detail, stating:
“We were trying to avoid disturbing the use of it. We did it in the wintertime. We learned a lot, and that it was a mistake. The plan was to work over snow, but we didn’t realize at the time that the base was not frozen, followed by one of the wettest springs we’ve had on record. The other thing is that the masticating head chews up the brush and scatters it in one fell swoop, but they weren’t able to get as close to the ground as they needed to. So not only is it unsightly but it’s potentially dangerous.”
To compensate for any issues or damages caused by Red Apple, all funds generated from logging during the project will be reinvested into MERA. In addition, the Union County commissioners voted previously to invest $300,000 dollars received under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) into MERA for both acquisitions and forest upkeep.
Once clearing begins, visitors to MERA should expect portions to be closed off entirely for safety, while others may still be open to non-motorized use. MERA as a whole will remain open. “We understand it’s an inconvenience. My hope is it’s a temporary pain for long term gain,” Anderes noted. Closures officially begin August 29.
For closure updates, visit: Union County – Oregon (union-county.org)
