Hi, I'm Michelle, and an Idahoan that has a love
for the great outdoor opportunities that exist in our state.
Recently, I've learned that something different
is happening here in the Payette National Forest.
For the past five years, the forest has been a part
of the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program,
and forest restoration work is in full swing
within these ecosystems.
An important part of this program
is the collaborative process
that the Payette Forest Coalition is a key player in.
The Payette Forest Coalition is an independent group
of interested members of the public
that represent all interests in land stewardship.
For these projects, the Payette National Forest
and Payette Forest Coalition came together to increase
the scale and pace of forest restoration projects,
improve communication and trust,
and understand values and needs of various interest groups,
and accomplishments are taking place.
So, what's different?
What were the issues of the past
that led to the status quo
of little work being done in the woods
and how have those troubles been removed
through a truly collaborative effort.
[Man] No one is particularly happy with the status quo.
If you're in the conservation interest,
there isn't a lot of forest restoration going on there.
From the forest products industry,
there isn't a lot of commercial activity going on.
From recreationists,
there isn't a lot of trail maintenance going on
and there's lots of concerns out there.
- [Man] The management was stagnant
and there was nothing going on.
The perception by forest leaders,
the coalition, and the public
was critical work needed to increase,
but landscape-scale-level projects were slow
and projects were stalled or stopped
due to a lengthy planning process, appeals, and litigations.
By getting a forum together
to work out these issues in advance
and find a zone of agreement,
the Forest Service can start off a project
on the right foot and then end up in a spot
where they can actually get work done on the ground
that everyone supports.
In 2009, Congress passed legislation that authorized
the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program,
known as the CFLRP.
That act provided authority for the Forest Service
to engage collaboratives for landscape-scale projects.
In 2012, the Weiser-Little Salmon Headwaters
Restoration Project, here on the Payette National Forest,
was selected to receive annual funding for eight years.
Through that authority,
the Payette Forest Coalition developed recommendations
and brought the interest of all parties
together for several projects.
These collaboratively-developed projects
significantly increased the scale and pace
of forest landscape restoration.
- We convened, and by we, I mean a broad spectrum of people
representing a variety of different interests,
from loggers and motorized recreationists
to non-motorized recreationists,
county government, business people,
and we all got together
and talked about what we would like to see happen
on the Payette National Forest.
And the one thing we agreed upon pretty quickly
was that we would like to see work get done on the forest.
[Michelle] These projects that bring the interest
of all parties to the table have promoted economic growth
and improved forest and watershed health.
They have enhanced fish and wildlife habitat
through vegetation thinning, road improvements,
riparian enhancements, invasive species management,
and fuels treatment.
Today, the Payette National Forest
is actively managing 130,000 acres
within the Mill Creek-Council Mountain
and Lost Creek-Boulder Creek Watersheds
north of Council, Idaho.
In addition, they are working on 50,000 more acres
in the Weiser River Watershed.
- We need large-scale solutions
to some big problems we have and landscapes getting away
from those smaller analysis areas,
going bigger and really trying to treat
these vast areas we have around here
with some pretty darn big projects.
The goal of the Forest Service is to redevelop
ecologically sound systems and watersheds
that function naturally and have openings
and vegetation patterns
that are somewhat similar to the past,
when fire played a dominant role.
Each project is helping to improve watershed health
by reducing road sediment, add or replace road culverts
with open-bottom arches to allow easy fish passage,
and reduce dense vegetation that pose fire risks.
Much of the Payette National Forest
is within a fire-adapted ecosystem,
meaning, historically, frequent lower intensity fires
reduce fuel that created natural diversity,
such as forest openings, meadows,
and desirable animal habitat.
[John] What we found is there's a lot of work to do
because you have areas of the forest stands
that have missed a lot of fire cycles.
We had a lot of brush and trees that have grown up
that normally wouldn't be there.
[Michelle] The coalition advocates prescribed fire
combined with timber projects at a landscape level.
That management approach
changes forest vegetation conditions
so they are more resilient to wildfire,
while providing economic and social benefits.
After mechanical vegetation removal,
adding fire under a controlled environment
mimics the historic fire role.
Each year, forest personnel use prescribed fire
on thousands of acres
following vegetation reduction from timber sales.
We go out and look at an area
that we visited to prior to treatment
and we saw how dense and overgrown it was.
And then we go back out after veg treatment
and look at it again and say,
"Oh, now we understand how the firefighters
"would be able to get in here and fight a fire successfully
"and not have it blow up and consume 100,000 acres."
If we can take some areas
and, through our restoration work,
reduce the severity of those catastrophic fires,
I think that's a positive all the way around.
[Michelle] As a part of their collaborative goals,
projects have been developed
that generate increased timber value
and much needed good restoration work.
Through these projects,
we're able to generate a lotta value in the timber.
I've always said that timber's just an outcome
of good restoration work.
[Michelle] The Evergreen sawmill near New Meadows
has added a second shift,
due largely to the Lost Creek-Boulder Creek Project,
and frequently posts a help wanted sign.
These projects have also helped fill log yards
from Meridian to Grangeville.
[Man] Lost Creek-Boulder Creek,
that's roughly 65-70 million board feet.
So, now we have timber target met for roughly three years.
That's a far cry from where we were 10 years ago.
It's allowed us to increase shifts.
It's given me the more of the confidence
that we can hire more people on,
that we can grow the company.
And I hope they keep just doing these projects
'cause every time you see these projects,
it's a win-win for everybody.
The win-win comes by thinning the overgrown forest
and by providing economic stability to these mountain towns.
The effort also focuses on road management
and recreational opportunities,
and those two can present a challenging debate.
But bringing people together to talk about these issues
produces an outcome that reaps strong benefits.
When it comes to these roads,
we have a variety of people using the forest
in a variety of ways.
And some folks would like to see lots more ATV trails.
Other folks would like to see ATVs banned from the woods,
so (laughing) how do we come to an agreement
somewhere in between?
[Michelle] The Forest Service developed projects
that reduced road impacts but maintain public access,
emergency access regarding wildfire,
and for future land stewardship projects.
[Mike] In a lot of places, there's roads are redundant.
So, they'll get a road outta the stream bottom
and leave a road on the ridge top or mid-slope,
still keep access.
We're actually able to recommend
more miles of road decommissioning
and more miles of stream restored
than the Idaho Conservation League would've done on its own.
At the same time, we were able to work with recreationists
and they were actually able to designate
some recreational loops
that otherwise wouldn't have been available.
So, coming together, we actually found a sweet spot
for both recreation interests
as well as wildlife and fisheries and sporting interests.
[Michelle] The Lost Creek Watershed
and Lost Valley Reservoir
are very popular recreational areas.
Recreation improvements were needed
and the collaborative effort
brought people together to make improvements.
[Wendy] It was very important to include in that project
some work to improve those dispersed campsites,
to move a few sites
away from the immediate shore of the reservoir,
to harden some sights so there'd be less erosion,
less resource damage, to put in some vault toilets
so we don't have sanitation concerns up there
like we had before.
It was not a pleasant place to be.
And now, it is going to be a much more pleasant place
for people to go and camp
and take their families and their kids and go fishing.
The bottom line is that collaboration works.
Already, these accomplishments include
84,000 acres of fuel treatment,
132 miles of stream restoration,
90,000 acres of wildlife habitat enhancement,
16 stream crossings improved for aquatic organism passage,
nearly 150,000 CCF of timber sold,
enhanced and upgraded recreational opportunities,
and 10,000 acres of noxious weed treatment.
The status quo has changed.
Forest restoration is taking place,
such as this vegetation treatment
and the use of prescribed fire.
The collaborative process has also helped
to effectively deal with the litigation issues.
When the Lost Creek-Boulder Creek Project
was challenged in court by non-collaborative parties,
the Payette Forest Coalition intervened
on behalf of the Forest Service.
The federal court cited the strong collaborative
and community support and dismissed the lawsuit.
It's exciting to see a federal judge say,
"No, this is a good project.
"A lot of people from different interests came together
"to collaborate and agree on a project."
Through this process, we're getting some progress done
and we're keeping people working
and we're adding some new jobs.
[Michelle] The benefit is an increased pace
and scale of landscape restoration.
Project planning is now more efficient
and on-the-ground results
are healthy, resilient, sustainable landscapes.
[Man] What the collaborative does is it creates a forum
for folks who are usually on opposite sides
of many of these issues to come together
and try to work some things out in advance.
[Mike] It's just a good way to do business face-to-face.
Everything that you're doing right now, guys.
[Mac] The more we talk, the more we realize
we have a lot in common in what we wanna see,
we share a lotta the same values.
[John] It's been very gratifying to see work get done
on the ground in real time
so that our forests are healthier,
they're more resilient to wildfire.
In addition, we're having healthier wildlife habitat
and fishing places
and also better recreation opportunities for everyone.
So, it's a lot of work, but it is working.
All of us value our public lands
and want to see these incredible forested ecosystems
survive for generations to come.
Forest restoration has started in these special places,
like the Payette National Forest,
and the collaborative process is key
to implementing positive results in the landscape.
Collaboration brings our values together.
And together, more and more forested lands
are being proactively brought back into healthy conditions.
If you're an interested Idahoan like me,
learn more about the collaborative process
and then pull up a chair to the table
so that these significant accomplishments,
through collaboration, can continue into the future.