Ashland Forest Partnership - Ashland Forest Resiliency Project

Fall/Winter 2011-2012

Wildlife Monitoring
Volunteers worked alongside USFS scientists to monitoring the Northern Spotted Owl, Northern Flying Squirrel, and track 11 Pacific Fishers in the watershed this fall. Data from tracking collars have provided important information about the home ranges of these older forest species, setting the stage for monitoring their habitat usage in the AFR project and adjacent forests.

A Southern Oregon University (SOU) entomology class will collect aquatic macroinvertebrates (water bugs) in four branches of Ashland Creek this fall. Results will be used with data from sediment transects and a turbidity sensor put into the West Fork of Ashland Creek by SOU students, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Geological Service staff to provide important information about water quality and sediment levels.

Klamath Bird Observatory staff continued annual songbird monitoring in spring and summer to gather baseline information about population trends, breeding success, health, and longevity. Data will be used to evaluate future trends that could be associated with AFR project work.

Fire History and Legacy Tree Monitoring
The Nature Conservancy secured a half million dollar grant to study the historic role of wildfire and help us understand how the historically resilient forest looked and functioned. Results will inform future AFR project work. TNC also led efforts to use aerial data collected using lasers (LiDAR), to map large, old trees, called legacy trees. Paired with field data, LiDAR analysis will help us monitor our oldest trees as work to promote their health unfolds during AFR.

Update on New Signs in the Watershed
Volunteers and AFR partners have continued working hard to develop interpretive signs that will be located at integral sites in the watershed. Signs will include:

Site-specific signs will include additional messages about fire ecology, ecological monitoring, natural processes, and restoration jobs. Removal of current signs has already begun, and installation of new signs is scheduled for Spring 2012.

Environmental Education Update
Lomakatsi Restoration Project, with help from AFR partners, have led 6 classes in the watershed, totaling over 170 students this fall, in hands-on forest restoration activities. On these field trips, students have learned how to navigate using GPS devices and compasses, use hand tools to thin brush, and perform sample plot surveys. In addition, Lomakatsi and City of Ashland have led nine in-class presentations this fall, totaling over 90 students, and the AFR partnership has participated in numerous seminars and classes at SOU. Collaboration between SOU and AFR produced two SOU senior capstone this last year, one on sedimentology of the watershed and one identifying common water bugs in Ashland creek. These activities have provided important opportunities for all members of the community to learn about watershed ecology and ask questions about the AFR Project.

Controlled Burning and Thinning this Fall and Winter
Over 300 acres of surface and ladder fuels thinning will be implemented through the fall and winter, primarily on western side of the watershed near Horn Gap and Ostrich Peak. Lomakatsi Restoration Project workers have begun tree and brush cutting, and will soon use controlled burning to consume slash piles from last year’s thinning work. As they continue this work through fall and winter, hikers, bikers, and equestrians can expect to smell smoke and hear the hum of chainsaws primarily above Granite Street in the Hitt Road trail area and up to Horn Gap. Trail users are urged to be conscious of signs that give information about trail closures and alternative routes. Updated trail information can also be found on the project website at www.ashland.or.us/trailinfo. You can also receive notifications on trail closures by signing up for the AFR email list at www.ashlandwatershed.org and selecting the “Notify Me” button.