Ashland Forestland Climate Adaptation Project - Tree Cutting to Start Mar 27
Updated 3/28/24: Selective tree thinning began on March 27th in lower Siskiyou Mountain Park and will temporarily finish by next week. No trails will close in Siskiyou Mountain Park until after April 11th. Lower Ashland Watershed trail and road closures are coming as early as the week of Monday, April 1. Helicopter work is now scheduled to begin April 14th or 15th, starting at Siskiyou Mountain Park. Please keep checking the City newsfeed at ashland.or.us, and the project website at ashland.or.us/ashlandForest for the most up-to-date information, along with the Trails Map for open/closed trails and roads. Previous helicopter project on
City-owned forests in 2004
Years of drought coupled with extreme temperatures indicative of climate change have stressed our local forests, causing unprecedented tree die-off and a significant increase in fire danger. To protect our community, municipal watershed, and the many values we rely on, we must help our forests adapt to the shifting climate.
The Ashland Forest Plan, including the 2023 Climate Change Adaptation Addendum, govern 1,100 acres of municipal forestland and have guided decades of ecological stewardship work. The City, with support from the Ashland Parks and Recreation Department, has evaluated forest health and developed a plan to reduce fire danger, help forests adapt to climate change, and remove thousands of dead and dying trees, including hundreds along trails and roads via helicopter.
Here is what is happening now and what to expect:
Crews from Lomakatsi Restoration Project finished marking trees with blue paint in late February. These trees will be thinned and sold to local mills, recouping a portion of project costs.
Another crew will start cutting the marked trees March 27 at Siskiyou Mountain Park.
Certain trails and roads could be closed as early as April 1for public safety. These include trails like Bandersnatch, BTI, Alice in Wonderland, Jabberwocky, Waterline, Wasabi, White Rabbit, and Wonder. Monitor the City website newsfeed and ashland.or.us/AshlandForest for exact trail closure timing and the Trails Map link above for a map of closed areas.
By April 14 or 15, a helicopter will arrive to remove the cut trees. Expect noise, especially if you live closer to forested areas. This portion of the project will last four to five weeks, weather dependent. Log trucks will need to use city streets during this time, so please give trucks extra space… and a thumbs up for helping our community!
Once trees are removed, forestry crews from Lomakatsi Restoration will clean-up areas as needed, building burn piles to safely burn as much wildfire fuels as possible before summer while following air quality regulations and safety guidelines.
The second phase then begins… selecting and planting trees, grasses and other plants that are adapted to current and future heat and drought… building a forest for the future that we hope can thrive with the changing climate.
Updates to the project, including a trails map, will be posted continuously at the project homepage, ashland.or.us/AshlandForest.
For more information on why so many trees are dying, see page five in our September 2023, City Newsletter at ashland.or.us/Communications.
Released March 20, 2024
Updated March 27, 2024
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