Ochoco Forest Restoration Collaborative

A diverse group of stakeholders who work together to create and implement a shared vision to improve the resilience and well being of forests and communities in the Ochoco Mountains.

Why collaborate on the Ochoco?

• History of disagreement and conflict • Convergence of interests and desire for community-led dialogue • Local, county, and regional leadership • Evidence of outcomes across Oregon

Goals

• Ecologically-sound restoration • Tangible land management outcomes that address the broadest range of needs • Work together on solutions to local socioeconomic and ecological issues • Collaboration early, at the watershed analysis stage • Grassroots community-driven role in public land management • Proactive management for forest • Understand and support viable workforce and forest processing infrastructure that can make restoration possible —and understand what it takes to make management economically viable health • A safe environment to share needs and ideas, and build solutions • Increasing forest management and timber production that is ecologically and economically sustainable

Governance

• Executive committee • Main stakeholder body • Facilitator and supporters – Jack Southworth, Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council, TNC • Conveners – Crook County and the City of Prineville

First year accomplishments

• Collaborative input to Wolf Watershed Analysis (ongoing) • Discussion of Forest level issues: roads, mixed conifer • Development of organizational structure and charter

Wolf Watershed Analysis

Wolf collaborative process

• Eight full group meetings from April November 2012, including one field trip • Formation of subcommittees for each broad resource area, which drafted and revised material before presenting it to the full group • Feedback and revision of subcommittee work by the full group • Compilation of all subcommittee work into one document

Identify existing conditions • Share knowledge and experiences, articulate interests and values Describe desired conditions • Cohere around resource priorities and themes of interest Make broad-scale management recommendations • Secure adequate trust on broad strokes; identify issues for future work

Specific issues of interest

• Stand density and thinning in clumps (partiularly large/old trees) for forest health • Possible exceptions to removing >21” trees (e.g., large/young grand fir) • Management in RHCAs • Use of Upper/Lower Management Zones • Use of Forest Plan amendments

Ongoing work

• Shared learning on mixed conifer forests in the Ochoco Mountains (e.g., diversity, distribution, ecology, historic/current condition) • Collaborative input to Wolf NEPA alternatives • Discussion/input on Son Stewardship project • Forest-level restoration and values mapping analysis

Thank you

https://sites.google.com/site/ochococollaborative Contact: Phil Chang, [email protected]