Now that the rain has been falling for a few weeks, it is easy to quickly forget about fire season. The Oregon Department of Forestry provides landowners with a update about the 2012 fire season. This year, there were 23 human caused industrial fires on ODF protected lands that involved 66 acres. The causes for the largest fires in this industrial category included a warming fire, logging equipment fires and a fire caused by a cable logging system. ODF reports that the 10-year average is 26 fires and 338 acres burned. Of note is that there were no fires between the middle of September and the middle of October, when fire danger was extremely high.

Forest landowners and operators work hard to stay prepared for fires by training, maintaining equipment and carrying the proper firefighting equipment on logging operations. Their hard work pays off when there are very few fires or very few acres are burned during the fire season.

Effective Monday, October 15, 2012, Starker Forests lands are open to the public for recreational use.
Gates will be opened as we are able to open them. Walk-in hunting ok. Please do not block gate. For those driving in, please avoid logging operations. Log trucks have the right of way on forest roads.

Due to the lack of any precipitation, the managers at Starker Forests have made a decision to keep our lands closed to recreational use until at least Monday, October 15th.
Our lands will not be open for hunting this weekend. This does not mean the lands will open on Monday. Decision to open lands to hunting and other recreation is weather dependent. We will let you know right here or you can find us on Facebook.

Okay, we know that all of you deer hunters really want to get to the woods. We too see the forecast of “chance of showers” for this coming weekend. However, it needs to rain ALOT before we will open our lands to the public for recreation. A few days of drizzle will NOT do it. Some of our own employees also want to go hunting too (and they aren’t allowed now either!), but we will not open our lands for any recreation until we receive significant rain. How much? Probably about an inch of rain would do the trick in restoring some of the moisture to the forest vegetation. Until then, enjoy the sun!

From the Corvallis Gazette Times on 9/28/12

For a list of corporate closures go here

SALEM — Hunters heading out Saturday on the opening day of deer season in Oregon will find locked gates at the entrances to most private timberlands in the state because of the wildfire danger.

The director of forest protection for the Oregon Forest Industries Council, Mike Dykzeul, said about 50 percent more member acres are closed this year due to dry conditions.

The Oregon Department of Forestry has compiled a list of private and corporate land closures.

Hunter information booths are being set up at a half-dozen locations on major routes to Eastern Oregon.

Connecting Kids with Natural Resources

Kids Day for Conservation is coming to Corvallis and the Benton County Fairgrounds on Saturday, September 29, 2012 from 10 am until 4 pm and everyone is invited!

Kids Day for Conservation, (KDC) is an annual, day-long, natural resource educational event for families from Benton County and the surrounding areas. Over forty natural resource agencies, businesses and organizations from the local area provide free, fun, family-oriented, hands-on activities. This event has been made possible due to the generous support of community members, businesses, agencies, and organizations such as yours. With your support we can continue to provide this popular event.

The major goal of KiKDCds Day for Conservation is to connect youth and adults to the variety of natural resources that we all depend upon and to promote conservation of these resources. The committee is composed of local and regional businesses, agencies and organizations from varied backgrounds and missions. We agree that providing this balanced educational experience forms a strong foundation for responsible use of our natural resources.

Donations to this event are gratefully accepted. Expenses include: wages for facilitation, publicity costs, facility rental, printing and more. To donate to Kids Day for Conservation, complete the contribution form and mail to the Benton County OSU Extension Service, 4077 SW Research Way, Corvallis, 97333. If you have questions, please contact Maggie Livesay, KDC project representative, at 541-766-6750 or maggie.livesay@oregonstate.edu.

Your contributions to Kids Day for Conservation are very much appreciated, and we thank you for your generous support!

**This article is taken from the Kids Day for Conservation webpage of the Benton County Extension Service website: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/benton/KDC

The Industrial Fire Precaution Level is Level 2. Level 2 means that forest operation sites are required to have fire prevention equipment, firefighting equipment, and a fire watch after shutdown.

Under Industrial Fire Precaution Level 2, the use of fire or power-driven machinery in any operation area is unlawful unless such use is in compliance with the following:
Partial Shutdown. The following activities are not permitted between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., except as noted:
1. Power saws, except power saws used at loading sites.
2. Cable yarding.
3. Blasting.
4. Welding or cutting of metal.

These restrictions will remain in effect until replaced or terminated by an additional Closedown Order of the State Forester or an authorized representative.

Due to continued hot and dry conditions, the West Oregon District WO-1 will be moving to an Industrial Fire Precaution Level (IFPL) 3 beginning Tuesday, September 18, 2012.

Starker Forests shuts down forest harvest operations when the humidity drops below 30% at the harvest site. Additional restrictions occur when the Oregon Department of Forestry issues a proclamation that we are in IFPL 3. These decisions are evaluated on a daily basis.

What does this mean for the recreational permittee?
As of Wednesday, September 18th, our gates are locked and walk-in/bike-in/ride-in (horse) use is permitted. It is possible that we will keep our gates locked when the upcoming deer season begins on September 29th. It is also possible that we will close our lands completely for all recreation users due to high fire danger. The decision has not yet been made by the managers at Starker Forests and will be dependent on weather. Check back with our website or find us on Facebook or call our office for the current status.

What does this mean for our forest operators?
LEVEL III – Partial Shutdown:

The following are prohibited except as indicated:

· cable yarding – except that gravity operated logging systems employing non-motorized carriages may operate between 8 P.M and 1 P.M. when all blocks and moving lines are suspended 10 feet above the ground except the line between the carriage and the chokers.

· power saws – except power saws may be used at loading sites and on tractor/skidder operations between the hours of 8 P.M. and 1 P.M. local time;

In addition, the following are permitted to operate between the hours of 8 P.M. and 1 P.M. local time:

· Tractor, skidder, feller-buncher, forwarder, or shovel logging operations where tractors, skidders, or other equipment with a blade capable of constructing fireline are immediately available to quickly reach and effectively attack a fire start;

· mechanized loading or hauling of any product or material; blasting;

· welding or cutting of metal;

· any other spark emitting operation not specifically mentioned.

A creature that resides in the streams of our forestlands is the Western brook lamprey. They are found from coastal southeast Alaska to California. They are a primitive group of fishes that are eel-like in from but lack jaws and paired fins.

Adult lamprey spawn in gravel bottomed streams, at the upstream end of riffle habitat. Both sexes construct the nests, often moving stones with their mouths. Spawning occurs from March to July where 1,100 to 5,500 eggs are laid per adult female. The adults typically die after the eggs are deposited and fertilized. The newly-hatched ammocoetes emerge about 10 days after spawning and drift into silty backwater areas. They remain burrowed in the stream bottom, living as filter feeders on algae and detritus for 2 to 7 years. In the spring, western brook lampreys emerge from their burrows sexually mature and remain in freshwater where they may migrate short distances to spawn.

Western brook lampreys are nonparasitic and do not feed as adults. Except for the last 6 months to 1 year of life, the western brook lamprey and the river lamprey are indistinguishable from each other.

In streams on Starker Forests lands, lamprey can sometimes be easily found. One surprising instance where lampreys are easy to see is during fish culvert replacements. Since lamprey’s burrow into the streambed, and excavating for a new culvert temporarily disrupts the stream channel, these little creatures can often be found moving around the stream. It seems like it would be hard to know exactly how many lampreys are in any given stream since they spend so much time burrowed in the stream bed.

Reference: www.fws.gov/wafwo/species/Fact%20sheets/WesternBrookLamprey_final.pdf

Fire Season and Regulated Use Closure is in effect on all Starker Forests lands.

Fire season is determined by the state forester when vegetation becomes dry and fires become harder to control.

The Industrial Fire Precaution Level is Level 2. Level 2 means that forest operation sites are required to have fire prevention equipment, firefighting equipment, and a fire watch after shutdown.

Under Industrial Fire Precaution Level 2, the use of fire or power-driven machinery in any operation area is unlawful unless such use is in compliance with the following:
Partial Shutdown. The following activities are not permitted between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., except as noted:
1. Power saws, except power saws used at loading sites.
2. Cable yarding.
3. Blasting.
4. Welding or cutting of metal.

These restrictions will remain in effect until replaced or terminated by an additional Closedown Order of the State Forester or an authorized representative.

All ODF Districts that included Starker Forests lands are in a Regulated Use Closure.
Listed below are additional restrictions:

• Smoking is prohibited while traveling, except in vehicles on improved roads.

• Open fires are prohibited, including campfires, charcoal fires, cooking fires and warming fires, except at designated locations. Portable cooking stoves using liquefied or bottled fuels are allowed.

• Chain saw use is prohibited.

• Use of motorized vehicles, including motorcycles and all terrain vehicles, is prohibited, except on improved roads.

• Possession of the following fire fighting equipment is required while traveling, except on state highways, county roads and driveways: one shovel and one gallon of water or one 2½ pound or larger fire extinguisher.

• Use of fireworks is prohibited.

• Cutting, grinding and welding of metal is prohibited.