Alder Slope program has money left for forest health

ENTERPRISE — Federal assistance to improve forest health is still available to landowners who apply by June 5, according to a press release.

The money comes from a National Resource Conservation Service program that started several years ago as the Wallowa North Alder Slope Renewal Project and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program.

Abe Clark of the NRCS office in Enterprise said the irrigation portion of the funding is largely already spent, and took place south of town on Alder Slope.

The remaining portion — about $111,000 — targets forest thinning needed in northern Wallowa County.  It is allocated according to how many acres a landowner thins.

“It’s not a lot of money,” Clark said. “It’s money we got back from a canceled project.”

But, he said, it’s a necessary expenditure to keep the underbrush down and eliminate fuels that could spread a wildfire to the canopy.

“Typically you spend a million a year in forest thinning,” he said.

Under the program, farmers, ranchers and forestland owners in the county can obtain assistance to address forest health and irrigation efficiency in high-priority Alder Slope areas just outside Enterprise.

Available conservation practices include forest stand improvement, woody residue treatment, irrigation water management, prescribed grazing and herbaceous weed treatment.

The irrigation portion of this project aims to increase irrigation efficiency by 15%, reduce water waste and generate power in the Alder Slope area.

The forest health portion of this project aims to create a defensible space from wildfire between public forests and private nonindustrial forestland by reducing the density of overstocked stands, manipulating fuel arrangement, forest structure and significantly reducing the fuel load by an estimated 99,000 tons of fuel.

A catastrophic fire on Alder Slope would damage forests, soil and  endangered species such as bull trout, steelhead and salmon.

NRCS and its partners hope to assist landowners with restoring forest stands to a healthier stocking rate, diversifying species composition and eliminating current insect infestations to improve the health and resistance ability of the trees remaining.

Key project partners include the Oregon Water Resources Department, the Oregon Department of Forestry, the Wallowa Soil and Water Conservation District, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, the U.S Forest Service, the Farmers Conservation Alliance and the Energy Trust.

To learn more and apply for available funding in your area, contact your local USDA Service Center at 401 NE First St. in Enterprise, call Clark at 541-263-3044 or apply online at farmers.gov.