Northwest Forest Plan OUTDOORS NOTEBOOK: Contaminated soil to be removed from Ashland mill site; Coquille Tribe honored for its forest management
By SHAUN HALL Rogue Valley Times
Northwest Forest Plan
OUTDOORS NOTEBOOK: Contaminated soil to be removed from Ashland mill site; Coquille Tribe honored for its forest management
Dec 22, 2023 Updated Dec 22, 2023
The U.S. Forest Service is proposing a revision to its landmark Northwest Forest Plan of 1994, saying it wants to focus on wildfire and climate change issues, among others. The public has until Feb. 2 to comment. Conservation groups are already weighing in.
A key feature of the 1994 plan was the creation of reserves that generally prohibited logging on forests over 80 years old, thus allowing those areas to recover from past logging. The regionwide plan has been held up as a model.
“While the plan has guided important progress over the past three decades, changed ecological and social conditions are challenging the effectiveness of this plan,” the Forest Service stated in a written statement issued Dec. 15.
The 1994 plan covers 24.5 million acres of federally managed lands in western Oregon and Washington and northwestern California, including the Umpqua, Klamath and Rogue River-Siskiyou national forests. It was established to address threats to threatened and endangered species.
The Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center in Ashland celebrated the pending changes.
“This is HUGE news because much has changed over the last 30 years, but the management of crucial forestland across the [Pacific Northwest] has remained the same—now outdated,” the organization stated in a social media post on Wednesday.
Oregon Wild, a Portland-based organization, termed parts of the plan “dangerously vague.”
The Forest Service stated that the revisions will focus on five key areas: “wildfire resilience, climate change adaptation, tribal inclusion, sustainable communities, and conservation of old growth ecosystems and related biodiversity.”
More information is available online, at https://bit.ly/478uqpw.
Contaminated soil to be removed from Ashland mill site
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality says that it will soon oversee the removal of contaminated soil from the former Croman Mill in Ashland.
Heavy equipment will excavate the soil and load it onto dump trucks that will haul it to a private quarry and public landfill in Eagle Point.
The 60-acre property, located between Siskiyou Boulevard and Interstate 5 at the south end of the city, has been proposed for redevelopment including housing.
DEQ-approved soil sampling by the property owner last spring found cancer-causing dioxins and furans in shallow soils, above allowable limits, with the highest concentrations found at a former wood burner location. That soil will now be removed “in late 2023 or early 2024,” according to the agency. A more-definitive timetable for that work was not available as of Thursday. Amounts of soil to be removed were not listed.
As the soil is removed, additional testing will be conducted.
The mill operated from 1934 to 1995. In 1989, DEQ oversaw the removal of 12,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil and the removal of four underground storage tanks that once held gasoline, diesel and waste oil.
Additional information is posted to the agency’s website and the city of Ashland’s website, at bit.ly/3GUXCFy. Call Anthony Chavez of the DEQ for additional information, 541-687-7348.
Coquille Tribe honored for its forest management
The Coquille Tribe, with headquarters in North Bend, has been honored by the Forest Stewardship Council of Atlanta for the management of tribal forests.
The tribe, which has proposed to open a casino in south Medford, was honored for its “outstanding sustainable forest management and conservation work, leading unique legal accomplishments in tribal trust forestland, fish and wildlife management, and innovative product marketing,” according to a tribal announcement.
Brenda Meade, tribal chair, said care of the forests has been a practice handed down through generations.
“Seeing that this tradition has not only carried over to our modern care of natural resources but is also being noted by others as being of a high standard is a credit to our entire tribe,” Meade said.
Robin Harkins, natural resources director for the tribe, said the work being done by the tribe was a team effort.
“The Coquille Indian Tribe takes pride in being a leader of innovative, responsible, and sustainable stewardship of the forestlands they have called home since time immemorial,” she said. “It is an honor to receive this award recognizing the commitment of our tribal council, tribal members, and staff, to manage our land for multiple economic and cultural resource values benefiting the tribe and the communities in which we live.”
In the casino matter, the tribe hopes to build a 30,000-square-foot casino on Highway 99 in south Medford on 2.42 acres it owns. The property includes Roxy Ann Lanes, 2375 S. Pacific Highway. At last word in November, the tribe was awaiting expected federal approval of its plans.mark Northwest Forest Plan