Silver Falls State Park plans 100-acre logging project in burned forest near backcountry trails

Trees marked for harvest at Silver Falls State Park.

Reprinted from the Salem Statesman Journal
September 15, 2021
By Zach Urness

Silver Falls State Park officials are planning to log about 100 acres in the park’s backcountry beginning this month in forest that was partially burned by the Beachie Creek Fire last September.

The plan sparked concern from advocates and scientists who feel the park should let the forest regenerate naturally and that the project is more about earning money than sound forest practice.

The timber being removed has an estimated value of over $1 million and the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department estimates the project will fetch a $300,000 profit that will be used for future “forest health programs,” parks officials said.

The plan includes two projects — a logging operation in the backcountry, and the removal of about 200 hazard trees from around historic buildings.

Both projects are far from the waterfalls most people visit at Silver Falls but are close and along some popular backcountry mountain bike and hiking trails, including the upper section of the popular Catamount Trail. 

The larger backcountry project, called the “Beachie Creek Salvage,” could begin this month and would produce 2.2 million board feet of timber. Trees logged would come from forest that’s fully burned, partially burned and green trees, near where the wildfire encroached on Silver Falls, interim park manager Chris Gilliand said.

The plan is part of an ongoing effort to restore the park’s backcountry to more natural forest conditions that’s been taking place in bits for the past decade, Gilliand said.

“Many areas of Silver Falls were commercially harvested and replanted with tightly-packed trees before it became a park, and we’re still treating one pocket at a time to try and reset the forest to a natural, self-sustaining system,” Oregon Parks and Recreation Department spokesman Chris Havel said. “In this case, we marked trees we felt would die or be weak enough to pose a fire or insect risk over the next five years or so. Our goal is a natural, self-sustaining forest.”

This map shows the location of the planned logging operations at Silver Falls State Park.

Disagreement with plan

Dr. Beverly Law, a professor at Oregon State University’s Forest Ecosystems & Society department, questioned the wisdom of removing burned trees and opening the forest canopy. 

“Leaving the trees there the next couple of years would allow them to naturally reseed,” she said in an email. “It will also maintain the genetic and structural diversity of the forest. And they will have better information on what trees might not survive.

“The daylighting goal (opening up the forest canopy) is questionable. The trees will maintain a cooler microclimate for new growth. Opening it up too much dries out and heats up the soil,” she said. 

Richard Waring, a professor of Forest Ecosystems & Society at Oregon State University, said  officials would need to remove 75 to 80 percent of the trees over a large area — a dramatic move — to have an impact on stopping insect infestations.

“In other words, fairly drastic cutting to prevent other trees from being at risk,” said Ralph Bloemers, an advocate for natural forest recovery who has filmed wildlife in the Silver Falls forest post-wildfire. “To me, it looks like a timber sale dressed up in the language of ‘treatment’ and ‘forest health’ that is producing 2 million board feet and a million dollars.”

Gilliand defended the park’s plan. 

“Removing some of the damaged trees now will lead to long-term improvements for plants and wildlife,” he said. “Some of this area needs to be rehabilitated from the way it was managed before it was a park.” 

Trees marked for harvest at Silver Falls State Park.

Where are the projects and how will they impact hiking and biking trails?

Parts of Catamount and Perimeter trails have been closed since the fire, and they will stay closed as the logging takes place and finishes up. Some mountain bikers worried about what affect a ground-based logging operation would have on the area. 

“After the tree harvest we will need to work with local partners in the spring to help with trail rehab and a potential reroute of the Perimeter Trail that was greatly affected by a dozer putting in a fire break (during the firefighting efforts),” Gilliand said. “But we hope to have all trails reopened for Summer 2022.”

Areas that will be logged this month are now off limits at Silver Falls State Park, including near the Catamount Trail.

Trees removed by historic buildings

In addition to the backcountry logging, about 200 trees will be removed around facilities near Camp Silver Creek and the volunteer host camp loop.  

“These trees have been allowed to grow too close to historic buildings and infrastructure and are causing maintenance issues,” Gilliand said. “The trees in this area all suffer from laminated root rot and have begun to fail.”

In general, parks officials paint the project as one part of an ongoing process to restore a healthier forest that in the long-term will be better for the park and its wildlife.

“People who love wildlife and deep forest experiences – and that includes us – will need to be patient as we get closer to that ideal,” Havel said. “We expect to see better habitat and more wildlife experiences for visitors when this work bears fruit.”

For Bloomers, the parks department is moving outside its mission.

“There are also cumulative effects from extensive logging and the park is not a logging area,” he said.

Social Share Buttons and Icons powered by Ultimatelysocial