Restoring and protecting Oregon's watersheds through locally-driven, voluntary, cooperative efforts.The Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds represents an unprecedented undertaking on the part of the State of Oregon to restore our state's salmon and trout resources. Our goal is to restore populations and fisheries to productive and sustainable levels that will provide substantial environmental, cultural, and economic benefits. The Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds

See the publication Saving the Salmon, by the Oregon Forest Resources Institute for more information.

What has Starker Forests, Inc. been doing to improve forest practices under the Oregon Plan?

The Oregon Plan is designed to enhance and restore Oregon’s native fish populations and improve wildlife habitat and water quality. As members of Oregon Forest Industries Council, Starker Forests is voluntarily committed to comprehensive improvements for fish passage. Starker Forests has replaced over 130 stream crossing culverts to allow for adult and juvenile fish passage and/or a fifty year flood flow. New culverts installed in fish bearing streams simulate natural streambed conditions by allowing gravels to collect in the bottom of the culvert. This allows even the smallest of fish to swim through the culvert.

The Oregon Department of Forestry administers the comprehensive Oregon Forest Practices Act (OFPA). The OFPA devotes a large portion of its rules to protecting water quality. Starker Forests continually meets or exceeds the standards of the OFPA.

While erosion is a natural and normal event, runoff from forest roads is not a beneficial kind of erosion. Properly installed culverts and water bars divert runoff to stable roadside areas. This prevents the water from flowing directly into a stream. Starker Forests also spreads grass seed and hay on exposed soils after new culvert installations and places rock on the surfaces of roads that are used often.

Today, the most common way to harvest timber is by using cable logging systems. Cables pull the logs to the landing (usually high on a ridge) without having to drive heavy equipment over the ground. Advancements in logging systems and road construction and maintenance have greatly helped to minimize erosion keep water in our watersheds clean.