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Northwest fire learning network
  Link Lake, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon © Charlie Ott
Link Lake, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon
© Charlie Ott

The Northwest’s dry, fire-prone ponderosa pine and mixed conifer ecosystems are presently experiencing unnaturally severe wildfires, largely as a result of decades of fire exclusion. These fires pose a significant threat to local communities, forests, wildlife habitat and overall ecosystem health. Thus far, developing landscape-level plans to manage for these values has been difficult due to a general lack of consensus among stakeholders.

Using tools that facilitate collaborative visioning and planning, the landscapes in the Network are helping stakeholders set priorities for the restoration of ponderosa pine and dry mixed-conifer ecosystems. They are also building understanding and support for planned treatments, thereby speeding up on-the-ground restoration.

Demonstration Landscapes

The Upper Deschutes Basin (OR), the Tapash Sustainable Forest Collaborative (WA), and the Applegate Watershed (OR) are the Network's demonstration landscapes.

Partners working at Oregon's 2-million-acre Upper Deschutes Basin are developing and exporting landscape assessment and prioritization tools. Partners are also working to develop a communication plan around objectives and the collaboratively-derived desired conditions for the landscape. This site is also a LANDFIRE Application project.

The Tapash Sustainable Forest Collaborative in Washington is helping to implement a pilot stewardship contracting project on 28,000 acres in the Naches Ranger District. The collaborative is also continuing planning efforts for an 8,000-acre, multi-ownership fuels treatment project at the Tieton/Oak Creek site.

In Oregon's Applegate Watershed, the local FLN team is working with multiple stakeholders to develop Conservation Action Plans based on social, economic and ecological values and landscape modeling tools. This group also provides technical expertise to a large collaborative that is deciding where restoration projects will occur.

Participating Landscapes

  • Lakeview Stewardship Unit (OR)
  • Sprague Watershed, OR

 

Resources

 

Leader: Diane Vosick

Fall Workshop

Bend, OR / 19-20 November 2008

This workshop will focus on:

(1) forest restoration treatment design and review;

(2) products that are needed from ecoregional and landscape assessments that can inform action on the ground; and

(3) the integration of conservation goals and other stakeholder values and attributes to inform the prioritization and strategic placement of management.

Downloads

Stewardship Contracting Workshop

Bend, OR / 18 June 2008

Participants in this meeting learned:

(1) how stewardship contracting can be used to meet local ecologic, economic and community goals;

(2) the authorities, guidelines, opportunities and limitations involved;

(3) how other communities have used stewardship to meet multiple goals; and

(4) the initial steps needed to foster successful stewardship.

Downloads

Successful Collaboratives Workshop

Bend, OR / 13-15 November 2007

The objectives of this meeting were to:

(1) Learn about collaborative operating guidelines, and examples of successful collaborations that include federal partners and land management planning.

(2) Develop a list of successful strategies collaboratives have used to develop key operating principles.

(3) Determine the appropriate scale for principles of restoration and whether statewide principles should be pursued.

(4) Assess the effectiveness of new techniques in collaborative planning.

Downloads

 
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