Monday, July 13

After a long drive down to Deschutes National Forest, and a quick camp set up in the rain, we were definitely ready for some food and sleep. We woke up for our first full day of the trip and, after a quick breakfast, headed off to meet the Forest Service at a trailhead just outside of Bend. Robert Newey and Nicholas Swagger, both Fuels Technicians, explained some of the techniques they use to prevent uncontrolled wildfires. They showed us two sites which had different treatments done to them. One one site, a prescribed burn had been done in May, significantly reducing the amount of dry fuel on the forest floor, and also burning some of the lower limbs of the trees, making it harder for future fires to climb up into the canopy.

In another site right across the road, a logging operation had gone in six years prior to thin the forest, another method used to reduce the fuel load on the land. Logs will be brought to a landing zone, stripped of their limbs, and trucked out. The limbs are then gathered into a large burn pile, and set ablaze in the winter, when there is no danger of the fire spreading. The shrubs and grasses were then mowed down to 4 inches tall in order to keep them from growing tall and adding to the fuel load.

We then gathered around a small group of 5 trees, and imagined that we were marking trees to either be logged or left. We gave our reasons for either keeping or removing the trees. The exercise let us think about the different factors that go into logging decisions; whether the tree poses a safety hazard, its spacing with respect to other trees, whether it will provide good habitat for wildlife, its overall heath, and whether it will be in demand with lumber companies and bring a good price. Mr. Swagger and Mr. Newey also told us some other considerations that go into logging plans. How will the logging affect the watershed? How will heavy machinery affect soil compaction? Are there any heritage sites nearby that must be protected? What does the pubilc use the area for, and what will they think of the changes to the scenery? All these competing interests must be balanced in a logging plan.



After seeing the two forest sites, we headed down to Deschutes National Forest headquarters to tour the Seed Extractory. Here, Kayla Herman and her team take seed samples collected by biologists in the field, and prepare them for use in reforestation efforts, or for preservation in seed banks. First, they use the various tools in the extraction room to remove the largest of the stems, and remove seeds from their seed pods.

Then, the rest of the chaff, along with the non-viable seed, is removed in the finishing room.

Finally, the seed is examined in the testing room. Percent fill, purity, moisture, and seeds per pound are all recorded, and the seed lots are packaged for shipping to their final destinations.

After leaving the seed extractory, the Forest Service put on a very nice barbeque for us, and many people from different positions ate with us and explained the wide variety of jobs available with the Forest Service, and how they wound up in their current positions. Thank you so much to the Forest Service for an interesting and informative first day!